Leaving Cochabamba!

Hey guys,
Tomorrow we leave for Malcorancha, Bolivia, a little (and I mean LITTLE) town 45 minutes outside of Cochabamba to spend a week doing our first volunteer project, so this is the last post I´ll be able to make for awhile. But here´s how our last couple days in Cochabamba went...
Yesterday we had our last spanish classes in the morning (and yes, I´m still horrible, but at least can be polite about it), and then headed to the last Carnaval parade in the afternoon. There were dance teams from all over Bolivia with amazing costumes, dancing, and all of their own live music- it was unlike anything I´ve ever seen. People were selling food all over the place- everything from basic soda, candy, and ice cream, to loafs of bread, things wrapped in corn husks, and interesting kinds of meat... There was, of course, also a lot more foam and water balloon throwing, which we´re all pretty used to by now. Here´s the craziest part: about 45 minutes after we sat down in our bleacher seats the president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, joined us across the way and sat there for over two hours! After we spent all last week talking about him with our host families, watching a movie about his first campaign, and discussing him among ourselves, it was crazy to actually see him in person! He was dancing, laughing, taking pictures with locals, and having a great time! Though when one of my teammates tried to go take a picture with him one of his security guards held him back and said "No gringos", which was too bad, but we all got a kick out of it anyways.
Today we went to the huge central market (easily over a sqaure mile) and all went a little crazy buying locally made purses, clothing, and other fun trinkets. Then we headed up to see the gigantic statue of Jesus that overlooks the city before a late lunch. Apparently the Cochabamba Jesus is wider than the other famous one in Brazil, but not as tall. And man do his eyes look creepy when they´re that big...
So tomorrow we head out to do some hard physical labor for a week, helping to build a local high school and staying with another home stay family. Apparently the chance of these host families speaking any English at all is slim to none... So wish me luck on my charades-playing abilities!
Love to all,
Burns