Mikey's Second Blog

This blog is called Mikey's Second Blog because it's the second blog that I have written. It's about the time when I was in Bolivia also, but it has different information than the first blog that I wrote, which was also about the time I was in Bolivia, which is now. My brother told me I should start a blog. So that's what caused the blog to be started. In actuality, the blog was caused by the existence of the medical clinic at which I am currently working for. But enough about blogs.
So, Edith the former coordinator has been gone and I have taken over for her. She is dearly missed, like when a train misses a truck by just a few feet. I am doing an alright job so far, just getting my feet wet. I can speak more Spanish than before, can drive a manual transmissioned car, and have driven patients around the city of Santa Cruz so that they can get to their appointments. Daniel, the son of Dr. Douglas Villarroel (one of the founders of the clinic), says that he likes manual transmissions more than automatic ones because he feels like "I am in control of the car. When I drive an automatic, the car is in control of me." I said, "That's great. Now, can I control the radio for once?!" We had a good laugh about that, until I changed the radio station and he got mad. Then, we pulled over and had a good talk.
My parents were here. They also started the clinic. Their names are Dr. Molitch and Dr. Hou. My friends and neighbors ask me how it feels to have parents with the same first name. I always reply, "That's the least of my problems!". Everyone seemed happy to have them. My dad didn't fall asleep during anything that I'm aware of and my mom got to dress up in a lot of bright colors. I broke a bottle on the road that leads to the clinic. I thought everyone was going to yell at me, but when I was crying they said that it was okay because I was supposed to break it and that people always break bottles of champagne to christen things. That made me feel a whole lot better and have since felt completely comfortable christening just about everything. I even christened a man I met in a bar using a beer bottle. I know it's not the same, but I'm not too picky!
We had a big party for the anniversary of the clinic, celebrating six years. There was dancing and singing of the national anthem and speeches thanking the doctors who started the clinic. It was very nice and sweet. There was an old couple from a town called Warnes that did a cute dance that made me look forward to being an old man some more. The group from a town called Yapacani did a dance using really brightly colored masks that looked like monsters. I like monsters so I was a bit biased towards their dance. Also, there was a soccer tournament in which one of the medical volunteers participated. In fact, her team, the team from Palacios where the clinic is located, won the women's tournament and all the players got to take home watches as prizes.
Oh, that volunteer is new. We're currently the only two volunteers from the States here right now.
Alright, bye.

Mikey's first blog!

This blog is called Mikey's First Blog. It's about the first time I made a blog, which is right now, in fact. It's called this because this is the first blog I have written. So now begins the blog part:
My name is Mike Molitch-Hou and I am in Palacios, Bolivia, the World. I am working the the Medical Clinic Humberto Parra, which is a clinic that my mom and dad and their friend Douglas invented in 2000. I got to Bolivia about two and half weeks ago or so. I was very nervous about not being able to speak Spanish. I am still nervous, but after much practice, I have gained some confidence
So far, I have tagged along with Edith who is the current coordinator. She is good at her job, I think. That is my opinion. She is very reasonable. Like a robot. Unlike our current breed of robots, she has a heart. She is able to process decisions in a very efficient manner, but also remembers people's names and birthdays and to sometimes have feelings. She never stops working, like the Energizer(TM) bunny robot, so that she is exhausted when she gets home at 9 at night. Then she writes emails to all the people in the United States letting them know how the clinic is doing.
There were two other volunteers here. They're gone now. I don't remember their names. I think one was named after a cup of coffee and the other after a Simpson's character, but I have already erased them from my memory as to not "feel" sad.
I went to Saimipata, a nice town two hours outside of Santa Cruz that has a lot of history involving Incans and a lot of conspiracy theories about aliens. It's very pretty and cold. There there is a parrot that can say "Hola" (which is some sort of Spanish I assume) and can cry like a "baby" (which is some sort of human I assume). I went with Edith, Javier, Daniel, and Nuna. They were fun. I practiced Spanish by taking the phrases I already knew and inserting new vocabulary words into them like a game of MadLibs(tm):
"Cuantos anos tienes?" was replaced with "Cuantos moleculas/muertos/miedos tienes?"
So instead of asking people how many years they had, I asked them how many molecules/dead/fears they had. I was also taught how to say, "Que te hago un hijo?" which means "So why doesn't that person make you a child?".
I tengo hambre a lot right now, so I'm going to go. This was getting long anyways.
[End Mikey's First Blog]