About our new home

So a little bit about the city we live in:

Population:  No se!  (I don't know!)  I asked a local the other day and she got a book that said 302,000.  But I don't know if this is correct, it feels alot smaller but I'm only in the city area - on the internet it says around 200,000.  It has a nice climate and is known for it's vineyards and is one of the nicest cities in Bolivia - could be the nicest as in cleanest?  I'm not sure as it's the only place we have visited so far.

Safety:  The locals say it is very safe, hardly any crime.  It does feel that way, everyone walks everywhere although one local said, after 10pm, it might be dangerous to walk alone.

Transport:  Most people here use their legs!  But buses and taxis are cheap:  To get around on the bus, you pay $1.50B - which is about 30 cents NZ.  The buses are like link buses - you get off wherever you want in the circuit they are headed in -which always seems like it would be a big round trip.  Taxis cost $3.50B so about 70 cents NZ.  They take you anywhere in the city for that price.  The taxi drivers always try to charge Gringo's (foreigners) $4B to rip us off what works out to be 10 cents NZ.  But we know what the appropiate rate is even though what they are trying to get off us is not much!  After 10 pm - it costs $5B to get around by taxi so it is cheap but still many walk, especially the locals as it is quite expensive for them to use them all the time.

Roads:  In town, there are some sealed roads but mostly dirt roads or stone roads! Whenever we come home, we need to wash our feet because they get paru walking around on these roads - I feel like Jesus, especially with my roman sandals lol!  Even the foothpaths in town - on one side of the road, the foothpath is big enough for 2 people to walk side by side, on the opposite side of the road, there is room for one boliviano person to walk (they're quite small/short in general), it's narrow so you have to walk on the road if someone else is coming).  Crossing the road here is scary sometimes, cos the cars keep coming at you, they won't stop!  No one seems to wear seat belts here - I don't know why because they're not the safest drivers!  In town, after school hours, they have these zebras at the zebra crossings that hold up signs saying 'PARE' which means Stop, it's good because you can cross easily and the kids love the zebras.  When they stop the cars, the zebras lean on the cars or do a little dance on the road, it's hard case.

The dog's roam freely here - there's no dog pound and you always have to dodge the dog poo when you're out walking which is a bit of a hassle.  Some dogs looked well cared for well others look emaciated.  You often see a couple of dogs walking along the dirt roads together looking for food.

Shops:  You can buy most things here.  On almost every corner, there is a pharmacy or a dentist or orthodontist.  They don't have many asian food places here, but apparently there is a Thai place and I did see a Hong Kong restaurant on the first day.  No big fast food chains here.  I love the Saltenas here - they are special empanadas, you eat them with red onion and a spicy sauce and they are cheap!

Parque Bolivar - the closest plaza to our house

Here are some photo's of Tarija and out witnessing from yesterday and today:

A bible study I went on yesterday afternoon - with a lady who sells lollies and snacks on the foothpath, study went for about half an hour, in between people buying things.



Waiting for the bus to get to the group

While walking to the group - I saw this dog jaw, hate to think of what happened to the poor dog :(

The area we were in was quite poor today

Today, I met a young boy, about 14 who had never seen the magazines before and he wanted to read them.  I also met another boy, about the same age.  I asked him: 'Have you ever wondered what God's name is?'  He replied straight away:  'Jehovah!'  So he didn't need to see it in the Bible - good to know that people are being reached with the truth.