So on that Saturday, we had Luz Del Mundo, and it was the last day for a few of the volunteers, and the busiest of the days we do there. The weather was really really nice, maybe a bit too hot, and I took the girls to the place we play football,and weplayed some football, basketball, and all kinds of games theylike to play. Then went back to Gabriella's and some little kids started to ask to be picked up. Me, Julian and Roly, the guy volunteers would pick them up and swing themabout and make jokes about them being 'monos' (monkeys), and more and more of them started asking for a turn, and at times I had like 6 kids grabbing onto my arms, legs, neck etc. Funny but in the heat absolutely knackering. Anyway, then Gabriella fed us all an amazing amount of food. She had bought 8 kilos of rice, plus the meat and vegetables and it wasn't even enough! Everyone takes their time a bit more to leave on Saturdays as the kids don't have to get to school, so we hung around til around halfone, then headed back to the hostel. The French couple, Julian and Olivia uinvited us all round to their apartment that evening for some food and drinks. We went back to the hostel and I crashed out in front of a few hours of Euro 2008 footy. That evening, the 5 of us volunteers at Jodanga headed round to their flat at about 8pm, with 3 of the 6 bottles of wine we'd bough, because we left 3 of them on the counter in the shop! We arrived pretty hungry already, and so drank slowly because we all had empty stomachs. However, it turned out that the guy cooking the asado (barbeque) - an Argentine man - wasn't even there yet. We waited for him, then waited for him to prepare the meat, then waited for him to prepare the barbeque, AND THEN waited for him to cook the meat which took more than2 hours! We ended up eating at about midnight, absolutely starving and quite drunk by this point, and didn't make it out to the club wplanned on going to because we were all to stuffed. Instead we went to karaoke which was pretty fun then headed back to the hostel.

Woke up late the next day, watched some football and then a load of us from the hostel headed into town for some lunch. We went to a snack place and I had some wrap which wasn't very good at all so loads of people gave me some of their food - quality! Then went back to the hostel, watched more football, ate the leftovers from my cooking on Friday night, and did not much else.

On Monday, went to Luz del Mundo again, only a few of us there and I got really infuriated with the girls, some of whom refused to play after demading we played basketball. Didn't go out with the boys, instead spent most of my time drawing Winnie the Pooh outlines for the girls to paint. I spent ages doing that for them and then all wrote "for Olivia" on them and gave them to her. I didn't get any. Then later that day I phoned upthis other charity/children's home in SantaCruz and arranged to meet them at 8am (?!?!!) the next day, and then phoned the couple me and Hannah had met in Samaipate, who then invited me round the next afternoon. So I had a packed day off from Luz Del Mundo, or so I thought... Also that evening, there was a huge debate in the hostel, which was everyone against this one guy from Ireland, who was saying that the volunteer work which "people like me and Roly" do is pointless because we're not making a difference on a large scale and we may as well not bother and the government should do something big instead. We argued that it was making, however small, differences to these kids lives, having somewhere to go rather than hanging round on the streets, and is also really enjoyable for us. He wasn't having it though and perisisted that we were doing almost redundant work. Stayed up too late for my early start the next day, trying to argue my point.

Woke up at 7am the next day and seriously considered just going back to sleep, but decided this woman was making the effort to come and meet me so I got myself up and into a taxi to where I was meant to meet her. (I realise 7 isn't that early, it just felt it). So then I waited at the supermarket where we were meeting for 45 minutes before they turned up in a huge, but empty minibus. They told me the home was 2 hours drive away, and then that we weren't going there. So, I thought, was this a complete waste of time? Turns out it was, because, having told her I wanted to play football with the kids, she took me to a field where a team of 18-21 year olds trained. It was cool to watch, and theywere really good, but it was freezing, and we just stood and watched for about 20 minutes and then they drove me back and dropped me off at the supermarket because they had to get to a meeting. So yes. It was a complete waste of time. I went back to bed at the hostel, then watched both Euro matches, and then headed over to Beatriz and Julio's - the Bolivan couple. I took a box of chocolates for which they were extremely grateful, and they gave me some snacks and drinks and we sat around and talkedabout all kinds of stuff - me in Spanish and Beatriz in English, as we decided that was the best way for us to learn. Anyway then the nephew came home, who was living there while he studied in Santa Cruz, and he'd studied in Floridafor 5 years, so spoke perfect English. We sat around and Beatriz played guitar and then tried to teach me some simple songs, and Luis, the nephew, who was also football mad, invited me out with his mates on the Saturday night and to play football with them on Sunday AND to a trial for a semi pro team on Thursday! I told him I didn't have boots and he offered me a pair of his. Then he showed me somewhere good to get something to eat, before waiting with me in the rain for the bus. Really really friendly guy, I shall email him now about Thursday.

The next day, Wednesday and today, I went to LDM alone and was one of only 3 volunteers there, along with the French couple, who had baked a cake for everyone. Anyway it was weird being one of such few people there as Ihadmuch more resposibility. It was cool though, because the rain meant noone wanted to go and play football so we just sat inside, nice and calmly, drawing, eating cake, helping each other with homework, and I really enjoyed the calm atmosphere. Also, the kids had to long divisio, which I'd worryingly forgotton how to do and so one of the kids taught me in Spanish how to do it. A really really nice day there. After that I headed to the market for lunch and then back to the hostel for anoither spanish lesson, some more football watching and then this. So tomorrow I shall go and try out for a semi pro Bolivian football team - a sentence I never thought I'd say.