The excitingest news that I have is that WE REACHED OUR GOAL! I woke up this morning, went upstairs to eat breakfast, and was greeted with "Felicidades!" from Lupe, the wonderful woman I'm living with and a former student of SIT, the study abroad program I did 3 years ago. Our Kickstarter was successful with more than 2 days to go. Of course, our work is only just beginning. But this is a huge step for us. And it means at least my flight here won't be paid for out of pocket.
Check out our KICKSTARTER
Thank you so so much to everyone who contributed in any way. I am humbled by the incredible support we received. I honestly wasn't sure it was possible to raise $20,000 in a month but I'm so glad I was wrong.
The other big news is that yesterday we learned that The Little Prince of the Andes was accepted for fiscal sponsorship from the San Francisco Film Society! This will help us with fundraising, grants, and all of the little things that you need to keep track of while making a film. It will also be helpful once the film is completed. We are making such incredible progress on this project.
Tonight, Ismael is screening his life's work film for a group of very important Bolivians (VIBs?). It's about decolonization of oneself, a concept that's difficult to explain. Basically, the parts of the world that have been colonized have had foreign and often repressive ways of living, ways of seeing the world, and ways of being forced on them. This affects society and culture but also personal wellbeing. These cultures now need to find a way to decolonize themselves and return to their natural ways of life.
After the screening there is a discussion that I am helping to film. It should be very interesting.
Other cool things that happened this week: I made some new Cochabambino friends who I hope to return to see, I caught up with my SIT academic adviser Heidi who wants me and Tupac to come back to talk to the students next semester, I went for a nice run around a beautiful park nearby, I ate some really good food, I visited Casablanca (one of the restaurants I frequented in 2010) and drank half a bottle of wine, and today I had lunch in a place called Angostura on a little lake with Swan peddle boats and weird things floating in the water. (I ate a whole trout which is a very difficult thing for me and requires a lot of concentration to avoid the bones).
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| Lago del Eden, Angostura, Cochabamba, Bolivia |
To be completely honest, I'm already looking for reasons to move back to Cochabamba for a while once I'm done with this project. I don't think I can stay away for another three years (sorry Mom and Dad).
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