Is that a baby under that chicken stand?

Ah Bolivia, where the food is cheap, the street dogs are cute and plentiful, and the people look at you like you have six heads.  Bolivia brings up a lot of complicated feelings in Luke and I as we travel throughout its beautiful lands.  There is much to see here--tons of natural beauty, from misty and lonely mountains with herds of wandering sheep, to deep red canyons where there is not a soul around.  Everything is here for the viewing and the experiencing.  Some things are unbelievably cheap here, like food.  The last few days we have been eating our dinners in the central market of Tarija, and for the two of us to eat dinner it costs just under 2 dollars.  Granted, the first night Luke accidentally ate shredded cow stomach, but still.  You can get salteñas, the amazingly delicious traditional Bolivian breakfast food for about 15 cents a piece, and a freshly made in front of you apple carrot juice for fifty cents.  On the down side, food hygiene leaves something to be desired.  Raw chickens are on every counter top of every corner store, and on the hands of most people who are handing you your change, whether you are buying chicken or not.  We´ve seen pigs being cut up on the sidewalk in front of clothing stores, and yes, babies hanging out underneath meat stands where blood and guts are running down the sides.  Needless to say, it keeps you on your toes!  Also, in general, it definitely feels like people do not want us here.  We feel like outsiders in a way that is profound, and that is challenging.  Yesterday we spent some time with a wonderful and odd Bolivian family on our way to a lake out of town, and they told us it was their first time interacting with foreigners, which was exciting.  It was so fantastic to be so taken in by them off the side of the road, and so special to feel a little bit accepted for a brief period of time. 

We are currently in Tarija, which is the heart of Bolivian wine country.  The wine is not so good, but it´s still a beautiful area with lots to do and see.  Unfortunately we are now in the rainy season, so it rains pretty much very day.  This has put a damper on some of our outdoor adventures, but we are still making it work the best we can, getting a bit soggy in the process.  We have climbed some beautiful large hills/small mountains, hiked through some amazing canyons, seen petroglyphs, and eaten some pretty delicious (and some fairly dicey) food.  We spent Christmas in Tupiza, which did not turn out to be quite what we had hoped for, but we got out and did some trekking around in the surrounding countryside.  There is a serious, and I mean serious, littering problem here, but we are not contributing and trying to get far enough away from the heart of things to get away from it.  We begin what will probably be our final job today-tommorow, meaning we arrived at our host´s house today, but we begin work tomorrow.  He growns organic greens in the city and sells them to a few local restaurants.  We will work only mornings with him and have the afternoons to ourselves.  His place has a bit of what I imagine a Bolivian prison cell would look like look/feel, and we are praying for not so much rain because there is a hole in the ceiling over our "bed", but we have our game faces on!  He´s really nice and hopefully in the dark it won´t be so bad.  I´ll keep you posted.