¡Hola!

There have been so many things going over the last few weeks leading up to my leaving Cochabamba, including the departure of so many important people and good friends, not least Sarah of course, but also a string of very good friends, such as Mirka, Lene, Martin, Hannah, Julia, Josh, Agur, Bríd, Adrienne and John Loveday.Of course, I am myself leaving behind some very, very good friends in Cochabamba who I am already missing so much: Devan, Alan and Erik; you guys have been so f#cking cool and I am not gonna let us never see each other again; Gary, Elizabeth, Sarah Swan (Swanny, The Swanster), Mariana, Oscar, Steph, Karolina, Maran, Laura, Rachel, Meredith, Eric, Esmerelda, Erika, Brenna, the guys from La Marka and Mamá Africa and all of the new people at the Sucre house whom I only got to know recently, it was a absolute pleasure to have known you all, and you are all welcome to crash at mine any time, wherever and whenever that might be in the world.It really has been despedida season, and I have partied my arse off continuously for the last month or so - it has been so much fun!

It all started back with St.Paddy's day at Na Cunna, and the Disco party at the Bolivar house - a barmy eclectic mix of costumes, music and anonymous Brasilian thieves :)Oh, and of course, those tight-fitting gold spandex tights, how could I forget?

But, the winning party for costumes, and for award-winning effort all round, was the Circus party at the main house (aka Sarah, Bríd, Julia and Hannah's despedida).This was a seriously big party, featuring a full acrobatics team (the CEDESOL gang), a fortune teller, a carnaval bear, a camp gorilla, lions, choletas, and a fire show from our very own genius talent, Maran.With the exception of witnessing Josh in a pink leotard with socks down his crotch, which I have tried in vain to blank from my memory, that night was iconic!

Of course though, the recent winner in everbody's hearts was the despedida party for Sustainable Bolivia's rock, John Loveday, our very own antipodean giant and extremely good friend, Josh, and the two people who I have had the greatest honour to meet and live with, Lene and Martin.This barbeque slash duck-fest slash American college party slash disco slash Tinku extravaganza slash all-nighter at La Marka was probably unrivalled in all my time in Cochabamba.Everyone had such a wicked night.It was humbling to watch John with his Tinku buddies - who had grown so close - say goodbye to each other, and John, who had just three days earlier been simultaneously suffering from typhoid, salmonella, amoebas and bacteria, put everyone to shame by staying up with the best of us until silly-o'clock in the morning without a drop of alcohol in his system - a quite super-human effort.Mariana and I also danced so much on the podium that night that we were both still suffering from pains in our ribs and backs four days later.

The final weeks at my school were awesome too.I had the kids make movies for their final exams, some of which were inspired, and I have kept them all on my laptop as a fitting momento of just how awesome those kids were.It's so weird to have gotten to know this group of 100 Bolivian kids so well, only to probably never see them ever again.I wish them all the best of luck!There are a few teachers there too that I will never forget, not least my dear friend and confidant, the most unlikely 62-year-old, socialist, atheist, super-bright Texan I've ever met, Fred Staff.

My despedida was a tribute to the great friends I have met in Cochabamba, who put together a massive barbeque on the roof of the Sucre house for me, before we all went out for one last dance at La Marka, a party that left me in such a mess that I couldn't even make it to my senior's graduation the next night - sorry about that guys.

For all of the above, and all the other moments I have missed, thank you so much!I will never forget you guys.Nos vemos amigos.

R

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