Press Reports
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A Letter from Bolivia..6
2018-05-10
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Peace of the Lord be with you.
I have been keeping up with news from Korea through online news outlets. The Inter-Korean Summit has set the Korean Peninsula on its first steps toward peace! Living abroad, I find myself feeling all the more how wonderful and precious my homeland truly is. No matter how many times I hear it, the news of the Inter-Korean Summit from Korea is always welcome.
Okinawa 2 is a rural village, while Okinawa 1 is more of a town — roughly equivalent to what would be called an "eup" (township) in Korea. Perhaps because I was coming from the quiet of Okinawa 2, the sheer number of people, cars, and motorcycles here makes it feel all the more overwhelming. Although I had visited frequently, it seems I still need some time to adjust to life here.
Thankfully, she is now recovering, though with some scarring remaining. A disease I had only ever read about in books is still tormenting many children here in Bolivia. It is contagious, yet there is no real way to isolate anyone. For Bolivia's poor families, who all live together in a single room, the only option is to take medicine and overcome it together.
I struggled with allergic reactions and eventually had to go to the hospital for an injection before my condition improved. It has already been two years, and the insects are still as difficult as ever. When the priests return from their mission Masses at outstations, they come back bitten all over their bodies, swollen up like embossed tissue paper, and have a terrible time of it.
And yet, for some reason I cannot quite explain, I still find myself loving Bolivia. Korea must be in the midst of its beautiful spring, with flowers blooming everywhere! Santa Cruz is still in the grip of summer heat and very hot. When the Antarctic wind blows it cools down a little — I find myself wondering when that wind will come.
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