Today we went white water rafting on the Urubamba river (sacred Incan river) and it was awesommme. We also got an awesome lunch after and got to see some Ican ruins on the way back to Cusco. Cusco is an awesome city, extremely beautiful, but it has a lot of tourists which is a downside.
Tomorrow we head to Machu Picchu. I am very excited! We have a three day "trek" visiting the town of Aguas Calientes, Santa Maria, and Santa Theresa. After Machu Picchu we go to Copacabana, a city on the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca, and spend a day there. For de-orientation we are going to Isla Del Sol, the birth place of the Incas. Once that is over it is time to return to La Paz for one day and return home...already! It doesn´t seem like it has been three months at all and I have really enjoyed my time here in Boliva and Peru and already can´t wait to return!
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Parque De Papas
For the past couple of days I lived with a family in an ecotourism park called Parque de las Papas (Potato Park...its a lot cooler than it sounds). I lived with Anne and Molly and our homestay family was awesome. We did a lot of activities with our dad Ciprian such as work in the field, play soccer, and go on tours or walks around the community. On Thanksgiving we planted trees for the community then had a Turkey Bowl Futbol game that was tons of fun. After we all dressed up in the traditional dress and had a big fiesta with the whole community. We danced, shared thanks, and had a nice big 3 course meal. It was defiantly a different Thanksgiving but one I will always remember.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
November 22 Update
I just want to apologize on how sorry I am for being so behind on my blog! I have been so busy and been having so much fun that it has been hard to keep up. Recently I stayed in a Afro-Bolivian homestay family in the Yungas and it was an awesome experience. I helped my mom pick coca leaves in the morning, under the scorching hot sun, and played with my adorable 7 year old brother named Henry. It was cool to live with the afrobolivians becuase they have adapted to much of the Bolivian culture but have their own rhythm. Sophia and I were together and stayed at the house for 4 nights. The last night they taught us their traditional african Saya dance that was just tons of fun. Their music really gets you going! Anyway, I had a grea time in Tocana and it was probably one of my favorite homestays.
PERU!
Tomorrow I head to Peru and this is my schedule:
-Homestay in Parque de las Papas for 4 nights. We will learn about papas (potatoes), textiles, trek, and get to know another family.
-White water raft for one day near Cusco
-"Trek" to Maccu Picchu!
-Isla del Sol for orientation
-La Paz Dec 7
-Home Dec 8
That is my schedule and I am going to work on updating my blog but it will be hard. I am really sorry and want to update it but it might not be until I arrive home until I can thoroughly finish it. For now, I have been having so much fun and I can`t believe there is only 3ish weeks left...crazy! I will leave you with some of my highlights the past couple of weeks:
1. Being attacked by and alligator during our night safari in the Pampas (everyone was safe it just rammed our boat)
2. Seeing an anocanda
3. Having monkeys come within feet of us! I love monkeys.
4. Homestay at Tocana but in particular going down to the river with some of the local boys. At one point on the way down they grabbed old plastic bottles better known as trash and rode down the rocky slope on them... rock sledding. They didn´t let me do it though haha. Also: climbing trees and picking the mangos from them, talking with my host mom, and dancing in the Saya
5. Fishing for Piranas
6. Discoteca Saturday night in La Paz. We got to see a popular local rock band it was so much fun!
7. Jumping on a trampoline during a fair in El Ciebo with Sophia, Helen, Kate, and Anne. It was absolutely hilarious and I hadn´t done it for a long time.
8. Seeing the El Ciebo chocolate factory and eating a lot of souvenir chocolate after.
That is all I can think of now but I will be sure to add more....there are too many highlights that I can´t think of them on the top of my head.
Paz y Amor
Natalie
PERU!
Tomorrow I head to Peru and this is my schedule:
-Homestay in Parque de las Papas for 4 nights. We will learn about papas (potatoes), textiles, trek, and get to know another family.
-White water raft for one day near Cusco
-"Trek" to Maccu Picchu!
-Isla del Sol for orientation
-La Paz Dec 7
-Home Dec 8
That is my schedule and I am going to work on updating my blog but it will be hard. I am really sorry and want to update it but it might not be until I arrive home until I can thoroughly finish it. For now, I have been having so much fun and I can`t believe there is only 3ish weeks left...crazy! I will leave you with some of my highlights the past couple of weeks:
1. Being attacked by and alligator during our night safari in the Pampas (everyone was safe it just rammed our boat)
2. Seeing an anocanda
3. Having monkeys come within feet of us! I love monkeys.
4. Homestay at Tocana but in particular going down to the river with some of the local boys. At one point on the way down they grabbed old plastic bottles better known as trash and rode down the rocky slope on them... rock sledding. They didn´t let me do it though haha. Also: climbing trees and picking the mangos from them, talking with my host mom, and dancing in the Saya
5. Fishing for Piranas
6. Discoteca Saturday night in La Paz. We got to see a popular local rock band it was so much fun!
7. Jumping on a trampoline during a fair in El Ciebo with Sophia, Helen, Kate, and Anne. It was absolutely hilarious and I hadn´t done it for a long time.
8. Seeing the El Ciebo chocolate factory and eating a lot of souvenir chocolate after.
That is all I can think of now but I will be sure to add more....there are too many highlights that I can´t think of them on the top of my head.
Paz y Amor
Natalie
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Day 57: Nov 1
-Woke up, packed, and had breakfast
-Piled into the back of a 4x4 Jeep with John, Crister, and Chris. We sat sideways on a long, bumpy, rocky car ride. We had to drive a total of 7 hours to Guinay, the town where we were going to catch a boat to Rurre.
-Piled into the back of a 4x4 Jeep with John, Crister, and Chris. We sat sideways on a long, bumpy, rocky car ride. We had to drive a total of 7 hours to Guinay, the town where we were going to catch a boat to Rurre.
Day 53 (Oct 29) & Day 55 (Oct 31 Halloween!)
Trek Sumup
The trek was really fun and it was cool to start in one type of landscape and end up in another. For the most part the trek was amazing and absolutely gorgeous but at times it was very difficult. Towards the end of the trip we had to wear our big backpacks and have the 95 degree sun beating down on our heads. Since we were in the jungle there were also a lot of annoying bugs and mosquitos. Luckily, all the positives strongly outwayed the negatives.
The first day was all at a slight downhill and the weather was great--sunny but not too hot. We ate lunch near a river and once we reached our campsite we got to swim. We set up our tents near these old abandoned huts and other pre-incan ruins.
2nd day: I was the leader and had a pretty hard hike...I think the hardest. The landscape changed a lot to jungle. We had to carry our big backpacks for half the day and it was just sooo hot. We arrived to the campsite and swam--the water was amazing. The campsite was pretty buggy and muggy. We ate dinner pretty late and decided that we were going to wake up really early in the morning to avoid the hot afternoon sun.
3rd day HALLOWEEN! We woke up really early and left the campsite at 6:45. Crister wore a witch hat in honor of Halloween. The morning was great becuase it was so cool. We passed awesome waterfalls and the valley was just gorgeous. We mainly walked higher up on the edge of the valley overlooking the river below; there were also huge waterfalls on the other side of the valley that we could see pour down. At one point in the day Crister and I got lost becuase we stopped to get water and when we were finished the group was way far ahead and didnt wait. There were so many different paths to take that we waited for Maro and Chris to come back and get us. After that we had a miserable lunch under the scorching hot sun. The rest of the afternoon was really pretty but supppper hot. We finally made it to a swimming hole near the town Chusi where we stayed that night. I was so happy to see water! We had dinner in the town and also had a woman´s game of soccer. All of us girls played the local woman on the little cement soccer field. It was soo much fun and reminded me a lot of my Costa Rica trip. We, of course, won 4-2. It was a blast. For Halloween we got costumes and candy and did tent trick-or-treating. Each of us went to each other´s tents and got candy it was hillarious...it only lasted about 10 min because there were 4 tents but it was still really fun. Everyone had pretty good costumes for what we could do with them. I was a mystical creature...it is an inside joke with the group. After the trick or treating we made a bonfire and told scary stories and ate our candy. A few of us stayed up after that and talked and also teepeed the instructors tent haha. It was an awesome Halloween in a verrry different way. I don´t think there will be another Halloween where I am treking in the jungle of Bolivia, play soccer with the local woman, and TENT trick or treat. I had so much fun and it was defiantly a Halloween to remember!
The trek was really fun and it was cool to start in one type of landscape and end up in another. For the most part the trek was amazing and absolutely gorgeous but at times it was very difficult. Towards the end of the trip we had to wear our big backpacks and have the 95 degree sun beating down on our heads. Since we were in the jungle there were also a lot of annoying bugs and mosquitos. Luckily, all the positives strongly outwayed the negatives.
The first day was all at a slight downhill and the weather was great--sunny but not too hot. We ate lunch near a river and once we reached our campsite we got to swim. We set up our tents near these old abandoned huts and other pre-incan ruins.
2nd day: I was the leader and had a pretty hard hike...I think the hardest. The landscape changed a lot to jungle. We had to carry our big backpacks for half the day and it was just sooo hot. We arrived to the campsite and swam--the water was amazing. The campsite was pretty buggy and muggy. We ate dinner pretty late and decided that we were going to wake up really early in the morning to avoid the hot afternoon sun.
3rd day HALLOWEEN! We woke up really early and left the campsite at 6:45. Crister wore a witch hat in honor of Halloween. The morning was great becuase it was so cool. We passed awesome waterfalls and the valley was just gorgeous. We mainly walked higher up on the edge of the valley overlooking the river below; there were also huge waterfalls on the other side of the valley that we could see pour down. At one point in the day Crister and I got lost becuase we stopped to get water and when we were finished the group was way far ahead and didnt wait. There were so many different paths to take that we waited for Maro and Chris to come back and get us. After that we had a miserable lunch under the scorching hot sun. The rest of the afternoon was really pretty but supppper hot. We finally made it to a swimming hole near the town Chusi where we stayed that night. I was so happy to see water! We had dinner in the town and also had a woman´s game of soccer. All of us girls played the local woman on the little cement soccer field. It was soo much fun and reminded me a lot of my Costa Rica trip. We, of course, won 4-2. It was a blast. For Halloween we got costumes and candy and did tent trick-or-treating. Each of us went to each other´s tents and got candy it was hillarious...it only lasted about 10 min because there were 4 tents but it was still really fun. Everyone had pretty good costumes for what we could do with them. I was a mystical creature...it is an inside joke with the group. After the trick or treating we made a bonfire and told scary stories and ate our candy. A few of us stayed up after that and talked and also teepeed the instructors tent haha. It was an awesome Halloween in a verrry different way. I don´t think there will be another Halloween where I am treking in the jungle of Bolivia, play soccer with the local woman, and TENT trick or treat. I had so much fun and it was defiantly a Halloween to remember!
Day 52 Oct 28
-Woke up not feeling so well and packed
-Had to say goodbye to everyone in Tutu that was really sad. Saying goodbye to Johnny, the boy who I went to the hospital with becuase he cut his hand, was probably the hardest...and his adorable little brother. I didn´t really like my family that much so it wasn´t that hard to say bye but my sister Llovana was crying.
-Cleaned the program house and hopped into the vans
-Rode in 4x4´s up a mountain a little under 17,000ft. I felt sick from earlier and from the car ride so once we started hiking I had no energy and my stomach didn´t feel good. As we started to descend I felt better. We hiked through these rocky bowls and then up and down a pass. On the way down you could "rock ski" because it was easy to slide/run. It was really fun! The landscape was mountains similar to Apolobamba. It is cool though becuase we started way up in the mountains in a totally different ecosystem and then throughout the trek slowly descended into the jungle
-that night we camped at the base of Mount Illampu. It was gorgeous! There was also an aqua blue stream running right through our campsite. We made dinner and played some group games.
-Cards and then bed
-Had to say goodbye to everyone in Tutu that was really sad. Saying goodbye to Johnny, the boy who I went to the hospital with becuase he cut his hand, was probably the hardest...and his adorable little brother. I didn´t really like my family that much so it wasn´t that hard to say bye but my sister Llovana was crying.
-Cleaned the program house and hopped into the vans
-Rode in 4x4´s up a mountain a little under 17,000ft. I felt sick from earlier and from the car ride so once we started hiking I had no energy and my stomach didn´t feel good. As we started to descend I felt better. We hiked through these rocky bowls and then up and down a pass. On the way down you could "rock ski" because it was easy to slide/run. It was really fun! The landscape was mountains similar to Apolobamba. It is cool though becuase we started way up in the mountains in a totally different ecosystem and then throughout the trek slowly descended into the jungle
-that night we camped at the base of Mount Illampu. It was gorgeous! There was also an aqua blue stream running right through our campsite. We made dinner and played some group games.
-Cards and then bed
Day 51: Oct 27
I woke up late after my huge scorpion scare and went straight to the school in Tutu to teach. Todays lesson: how to cultivate potatos...today they taught me a little more than I taught them
-Went to the program house and worked on projects. We painted both bathrooms, planted flowers, fixed the chicken coop, and painted this sweeet dragon on the wall.
-Quickly went home for lunch. On the way to my house I helped this cholita carry her bag. I felt really bad for her becuase she was like 60 maybe and had to walk 5 hours in the HOT sun with all of her groceries. I really wanted to get her a taxi but I didnt have money on me and I also didnt see a cab pass by. I really hope she made it home ok!!
-Returned to the program house and finished projects. We split into groups and got supplies for our trek.
-Group reflection meeting around the bonfire.... a great way to close the time at Sorata. 3 weeks flew by!
-Ran into town to get candy and my costume for Halloween!
-Ate dinner at home and played with the kids for the last time : (
-Chilled with Becky and Chris then BED!
-Went to the program house and worked on projects. We painted both bathrooms, planted flowers, fixed the chicken coop, and painted this sweeet dragon on the wall.
-Quickly went home for lunch. On the way to my house I helped this cholita carry her bag. I felt really bad for her becuase she was like 60 maybe and had to walk 5 hours in the HOT sun with all of her groceries. I really wanted to get her a taxi but I didnt have money on me and I also didnt see a cab pass by. I really hope she made it home ok!!
-Returned to the program house and finished projects. We split into groups and got supplies for our trek.
-Group reflection meeting around the bonfire.... a great way to close the time at Sorata. 3 weeks flew by!
-Ran into town to get candy and my costume for Halloween!
-Ate dinner at home and played with the kids for the last time : (
-Chilled with Becky and Chris then BED!
Update
Sorry I am so behind!! I am so busy and having so much fun that is hard to update all the time. I am doing my best but I just wanted to let you all know what I am up to right now. I am in a town called Rurrenabaque and it is in the low lands so basically I am in the jungle. Rurre, as they call it, is right on the river and is gorgeous. My group and I are working on a service project with the local health clinic. We have been making water filters and tomorrow we will be delivering them to a town 30 min down the river. We got to Rurre by boat on a two day boat trip (I just put some photos up on Facebook of it). The boat trip was amazing---we chilled on a boat, stopped and did treks to waterfalls and swam in them, and we also camped on a beach. The night we camped actually was really nice at first but then there was an intense thunderstorm with lightning flashing every second...it was awesome. I also got a really sweet stripped burn on my stomach that hurt for a couple days. Anyway, everything is awesome and I can´t believe there is only ONE month left! My time here has really flown by and I hate the thought of leaving. I will do my best to update the blog but I won´t have much access these next couple of weeks--sorry!! Hope all is well with you and I will update you ASAP! Chao for now!! : )
Day 50: Oct 26
-Observed a second grade class in downtown Sorata. It was really cool to see the difference between the rural and urban school. The school in Tutu is wayyyy more informal and the teacher doesn´t have as much control. In Sorata the teacher was strict and homework was actually checked...you actually couldn´t go to recess if you didn´t do it.
-Made pizza with Chris at the program house
-Painted the school in Tutuacaja with everyone (we painted it yellow stripes...)
-Played with the kids in the Cancha with our new tshirts
-Becky Chris and I went back to the program house and made banana bread...YUM. We also did more painting and touching up of the walls at the program house.
-Internet with Chris and cabbed it home
-Played with the kids under the light in the street when I got home. They were playing with tires and rope it was funny. I gave them cookies and then went to bed...but that wasn´t the end of my day!! I actually had one of the scariest nights everr...
I was stung by a scorpion FOUR times! This is what happened:
I felt a bite or a sting on the back of my knee and I ripped something off and threw it to the wall. I had no idea what it was but checked around my bed and didn´t see anything. A couple minutes later I moved my arm from under my jacket that I used for my pillow and I felt the same sting on my arm. "WHAT THE HECK!" I yelled. It felt like another wasp sting. I looked around more and still didn´t see anything. Finally after the second time I shook my jacket I felt another, but lighter, sting on my finger and cheek. That was it...what could it have been. Obviously something is in my bed but I had NO idea what it was going to be. I turned on the light to find a scorpion crawling right in the middle of my bed. "Oh. My. GOD. I am going to die!!" Is the first thing that ran through my brain. Scorpions can be deathly poisonous so I ran into Becky and Chris´ room asking what I should do. I fell on the way to Chris´room too haha because it was really muddy. Anyway, I got my mom and she went into my room and killed the scorpion (after I took a picture) and told me it wasn´t poisonous. I called the instructors to make sure and they called a biologists friend who told me the same. Thank god I didn´t die. It was so scary but also hilarious. What a night!
-Made pizza with Chris at the program house
-Painted the school in Tutuacaja with everyone (we painted it yellow stripes...)
-Played with the kids in the Cancha with our new tshirts
-Becky Chris and I went back to the program house and made banana bread...YUM. We also did more painting and touching up of the walls at the program house.
-Internet with Chris and cabbed it home
-Played with the kids under the light in the street when I got home. They were playing with tires and rope it was funny. I gave them cookies and then went to bed...but that wasn´t the end of my day!! I actually had one of the scariest nights everr...
I was stung by a scorpion FOUR times! This is what happened:
I felt a bite or a sting on the back of my knee and I ripped something off and threw it to the wall. I had no idea what it was but checked around my bed and didn´t see anything. A couple minutes later I moved my arm from under my jacket that I used for my pillow and I felt the same sting on my arm. "WHAT THE HECK!" I yelled. It felt like another wasp sting. I looked around more and still didn´t see anything. Finally after the second time I shook my jacket I felt another, but lighter, sting on my finger and cheek. That was it...what could it have been. Obviously something is in my bed but I had NO idea what it was going to be. I turned on the light to find a scorpion crawling right in the middle of my bed. "Oh. My. GOD. I am going to die!!" Is the first thing that ran through my brain. Scorpions can be deathly poisonous so I ran into Becky and Chris´ room asking what I should do. I fell on the way to Chris´room too haha because it was really muddy. Anyway, I got my mom and she went into my room and killed the scorpion (after I took a picture) and told me it wasn´t poisonous. I called the instructors to make sure and they called a biologists friend who told me the same. Thank god I didn´t die. It was so scary but also hilarious. What a night!
Day 49: Oct 25
I woke up and had the best morning yet! At 5:30 the Tutu gang climbed the local mountain. It was hard to climb at first because I was really tired and it was pretty steep but once I got to the top (after about an hour) it was AWESOME! The sun just rose as we reached the top and there was an incredible view of the valley: Sorata, the river, Mount Illampu and the surrounding trees and mountains. I felt great and the morning was fantastic. We all climbed to one part of the mountain but then the boys left, Sam and Chris, and Annie Becky and I climbed to another part of the mountain and we had an incredible view. We sat, talked and did a little meditation. I was just so happy and felt so alive! The walk down the mountain was priceless and defiantly an adventure. We walked through prickly bush forests, in between trees, down slippery rocks, through giant pigs...it was hilarious. I fell various times after Becky would tell me to be careful. For some reason we just could not find the trail! Half the time we had no idea where we were but thats what made it great. I really enjoyed my early morning!
Me on the top of the mountainWhen I got back, I had breakfast with my family and then showered to get all the mud off. Becky, Chris and I journaled and then Becky and I decided to see if the party at Annie´s house from the night before was still going on. The music was still playing and people were still sitting, drinking, and passed out from the night before (it is a tradition to have a party for your house once the roof is complete; it is supposed to be a blessing). Anyway, we got to the house and started laughing because it was just a non stop party. Moms were passed out with their kids tugging on their sleeves, Cholitas were dancing, men passed out then woke up and started drinking again. I cant tell you how funny it was haha. The party-goers asked Becky and I to show them some American moves so we did. It was great.
We left the party and I went back to my house for lunch. After lunch we all piled into a car and went to the market. I was with my mom and Gina---we got some groceries and fruit juice. When we finished I bought more t-shirts for all the demanding parents of my community. I met my family in the Cancha after and watched a little soccer. Then I went to the program house for a little and made more tshirts. When I went home my family wasn´t there so I just relaxed and read my book. It started to thunderstorm so Chris and I went onto this one balcony and watched the lightning shoot through the sky--it was really cool! I saw the longest lightning bolt in my life. I went home after and learned that I had another sister! I had no idea. Her name is Lola and she is 18 and I guess was living in La Paz for a year with her boyfriend. Both her and her boyfriend were back but there was an argument going on over drinking. I don´t know exactly but in the middle of the night Lola and her boyfriend escaped as my mom put it. "Lola, se escapo!" It was hilarious when she said that. I had a quick dinner then went to the program house and all the girls watched a movie. Came back and went to bed! End of another awesomme day.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Sorata Sum Up: Day 29 (Oct 5)- Day 47 (Oct24)
My family:
Mom: Angelica
Dad: I don’t know his name because he works in the mines all week
Lurdes: 22 year-old sister who is awesome and my favorite in the family. She works a lot though so isn’t around so much unfortunately. She is a good dancer and gave the group and I a couple lessons.
Llovana: 19 year-old cousin. She is really nice but shy and spends a lot of time cooking and cleaning. I don’t really know much background on her.
Rosemary: 15 year-old sister. She is kind of quiet and I think she has a hearing disability. You have to talk really loud in order for her to hear you. She might have some other social issues because she stares a lot and is kind of odd. In all she is nice though.
Juan Carlos: 14 year old brother. He is obnoxious and very rude to his mom (I guess like all 14 year old boys). He yells a lot and is not that fun to be around. He is nice to me though and we arm wrestle every once and a while haha
Gina: 13 years old sister and I really don’t like her that much. She is very rude and always asks for gifts and doesn’t have a nice personality. I try to get along with her but it is hard to. She also always says my name… “Nataliaaa” over and over again and I can’t stand it. She also cheats in every game we play.
Jose: 9 year old brother. I like Jose and he is fun to play with but sometimes is hard to handle. He also yells A LOT in the morning and always wakes me up at 6:00am. I can’t stand that---they all yell to each other. He always wants to play cards but constantly cheats as well, which I cant stand.
In all I don’t really like my family but luckily I love my town.
Tutuacaja
Tutu is the town I live in and I love it. The town is slightly outside Sorata and is known as the “campo” or rural part. It is about a 20 min walk from the program house and 30 min from the main plaza of Sorata. Chris, Sam, Annie, Becky and I live there and the rest of the group lives in Soarata near the Plaza. What I love about Tutu is that all the kids are always out playing and the landscape is just gorgeous. I have a perfect view of Illampu and the other surrounding mountains. It is hard to describe but it is just so pretty. Almost every night or day we play in the cancha (soccer field). When the kids and I want to play in the cancha we say… “A LA CANCHA!” which means “to the field!” Everyday I came home from classes they would always say that to me. I ended up actually creating a after school “sports program” for the kids. Sorata and the schools there have more organized teams and activities so I thought I would organize our own in Tutu. I made t-shirts that say Tutuacaja Deportes on the front and on the back it says Bolivar (a popular Bolivian soccer team). Around 2:00 every day we would all gather in the cancha and play different games. I taught them some of my favorite but we would always end with soccer and snacks. We actually worked on skills and did different drills, which I was so siked about.
Independent Study Project/Working in the schools
For my ISP I decided to work in two different schools. I first worked in the local campo school in Tutu that had 101st-3rd graders. The second week I worked in a school in the city of Sorata and taught English to 20 7th-8th graders. It was SO much fun! I taught English to both ages but the older grades were fun because I taught them songs like Mary Had A Little Lamb and Twinkle Twinkle. It was also amazing to see the difference between the two schools. The school in Tutu was a lot more disorganized and to volunteer there all I had to do was walk in. In order to volunteer in the city school I had to talk to the principal and teachers and set up exact times a week before. Both schools were a great experience and I hope to volunteer in more schools in different towns. In addition to working in the school in Tutu I set up that after school program and made the t-shirts. Every day I had a great time playing with the kids and was so glad it worked out!
Spanish Classes
I loved my Spanish class! I was with Emily and Chris and had an awesome teacher named Chela. We met four hours each day but I never really got bored. We reviewed grammar but also just talked about different things. The four of us got really close and it was so sad saying by to Chela! I was really happy about my Spanish class and learned a lot.
Program House
The group spent a good amount of time in the program house when we weren’t with our families. We worked on different projects around the house and had group meetings here. Every once and a while we would have movie nights or other activities. IT is also a great place to just come and relax when I got sick of my family or work on things. I am going to miss the program house—it is so pretty!
Café Illampu
Café Illampu was only open during the first week we were here but the people in Tutu would always go and eat here on the way to classes. It had delicious fruit drinks and amazing bread. A Swiss man who was a previous baker owns it and my sister Lurdes worked there so I would always get free stuff, which was awesome. We loved going there and sad it closed for the season! One day there was also two circus clowns to perform for the kids. It was absolutely hilarious!
River/Cave
A big river runs down the side of Sorata and is just below the gorgeous mountain of Illampu. One day a couple of us hiked down the river and “swam” or dipped in. It was so pretty because Illampu was in the background and it was a gorgeous day. Another day Chris, his siblings and I went to the San Pedro cave. It is a huge cave that also has a crystal clear lake inside of it. The cave is 480m long and the lake is 400m long. It was awesome!
Aymara Ceremony
One afternoon the group got to experience another indigenous ceremony somewhat similar to the Quechua ceremony minus the sacrifice. It was really cool to see the difference between the two. I liked the concept of this ceremony better but it wasn’t as powerful I don’t think, maybe because it was miday. It was nice though because there was only one leader and he explained everything we were doing unlike the other leaders who just set everything up.
Food
I have been eating a lot of the same thing. My family isn’t that good at cooking and I usually have the same tasting thing every night whether it be soup, pasta or chicken. Every morning I usually have rice and eggs but sometimes they give me full out meals and there is no chance I can eat it. In those cases I usually tell them I will eat it for lunch,.
Mom: Angelica
Dad: I don’t know his name because he works in the mines all week
Lurdes: 22 year-old sister who is awesome and my favorite in the family. She works a lot though so isn’t around so much unfortunately. She is a good dancer and gave the group and I a couple lessons.
Llovana: 19 year-old cousin. She is really nice but shy and spends a lot of time cooking and cleaning. I don’t really know much background on her.
Rosemary: 15 year-old sister. She is kind of quiet and I think she has a hearing disability. You have to talk really loud in order for her to hear you. She might have some other social issues because she stares a lot and is kind of odd. In all she is nice though.
Juan Carlos: 14 year old brother. He is obnoxious and very rude to his mom (I guess like all 14 year old boys). He yells a lot and is not that fun to be around. He is nice to me though and we arm wrestle every once and a while haha
Gina: 13 years old sister and I really don’t like her that much. She is very rude and always asks for gifts and doesn’t have a nice personality. I try to get along with her but it is hard to. She also always says my name… “Nataliaaa” over and over again and I can’t stand it. She also cheats in every game we play.
Jose: 9 year old brother. I like Jose and he is fun to play with but sometimes is hard to handle. He also yells A LOT in the morning and always wakes me up at 6:00am. I can’t stand that---they all yell to each other. He always wants to play cards but constantly cheats as well, which I cant stand.
In all I don’t really like my family but luckily I love my town.
Tutuacaja
Tutu is the town I live in and I love it. The town is slightly outside Sorata and is known as the “campo” or rural part. It is about a 20 min walk from the program house and 30 min from the main plaza of Sorata. Chris, Sam, Annie, Becky and I live there and the rest of the group lives in Soarata near the Plaza. What I love about Tutu is that all the kids are always out playing and the landscape is just gorgeous. I have a perfect view of Illampu and the other surrounding mountains. It is hard to describe but it is just so pretty. Almost every night or day we play in the cancha (soccer field). When the kids and I want to play in the cancha we say… “A LA CANCHA!” which means “to the field!” Everyday I came home from classes they would always say that to me. I ended up actually creating a after school “sports program” for the kids. Sorata and the schools there have more organized teams and activities so I thought I would organize our own in Tutu. I made t-shirts that say Tutuacaja Deportes on the front and on the back it says Bolivar (a popular Bolivian soccer team). Around 2:00 every day we would all gather in the cancha and play different games. I taught them some of my favorite but we would always end with soccer and snacks. We actually worked on skills and did different drills, which I was so siked about.
Independent Study Project/Working in the schools
For my ISP I decided to work in two different schools. I first worked in the local campo school in Tutu that had 101st-3rd graders. The second week I worked in a school in the city of Sorata and taught English to 20 7th-8th graders. It was SO much fun! I taught English to both ages but the older grades were fun because I taught them songs like Mary Had A Little Lamb and Twinkle Twinkle. It was also amazing to see the difference between the two schools. The school in Tutu was a lot more disorganized and to volunteer there all I had to do was walk in. In order to volunteer in the city school I had to talk to the principal and teachers and set up exact times a week before. Both schools were a great experience and I hope to volunteer in more schools in different towns. In addition to working in the school in Tutu I set up that after school program and made the t-shirts. Every day I had a great time playing with the kids and was so glad it worked out!
Spanish Classes
I loved my Spanish class! I was with Emily and Chris and had an awesome teacher named Chela. We met four hours each day but I never really got bored. We reviewed grammar but also just talked about different things. The four of us got really close and it was so sad saying by to Chela! I was really happy about my Spanish class and learned a lot.
Program House
The group spent a good amount of time in the program house when we weren’t with our families. We worked on different projects around the house and had group meetings here. Every once and a while we would have movie nights or other activities. IT is also a great place to just come and relax when I got sick of my family or work on things. I am going to miss the program house—it is so pretty!
Café Illampu
Café Illampu was only open during the first week we were here but the people in Tutu would always go and eat here on the way to classes. It had delicious fruit drinks and amazing bread. A Swiss man who was a previous baker owns it and my sister Lurdes worked there so I would always get free stuff, which was awesome. We loved going there and sad it closed for the season! One day there was also two circus clowns to perform for the kids. It was absolutely hilarious!
River/Cave
A big river runs down the side of Sorata and is just below the gorgeous mountain of Illampu. One day a couple of us hiked down the river and “swam” or dipped in. It was so pretty because Illampu was in the background and it was a gorgeous day. Another day Chris, his siblings and I went to the San Pedro cave. It is a huge cave that also has a crystal clear lake inside of it. The cave is 480m long and the lake is 400m long. It was awesome!
Aymara Ceremony
One afternoon the group got to experience another indigenous ceremony somewhat similar to the Quechua ceremony minus the sacrifice. It was really cool to see the difference between the two. I liked the concept of this ceremony better but it wasn’t as powerful I don’t think, maybe because it was miday. It was nice though because there was only one leader and he explained everything we were doing unlike the other leaders who just set everything up.
Food
I have been eating a lot of the same thing. My family isn’t that good at cooking and I usually have the same tasting thing every night whether it be soup, pasta or chicken. Every morning I usually have rice and eggs but sometimes they give me full out meals and there is no chance I can eat it. In those cases I usually tell them I will eat it for lunch,.
Day 28: Oct 4
-Saltenas for breakfast. Yum.
-Internet
-3 hour bus ride from Sorata: stopped at Lake Titicaca for fresh trout for lunch
Sorata is a pretty city up on a valley and a gorgeous mountain called Illampu looks over it.-Arrived at program house (Molly fell into a ditch and broke her leg). The program house is a house that the program owns and the instructor’s stay here. The house is really pretty and surrounded by mountains, rivers, flowers, and trees and has a bonfire pit and a couple swings. We had a bonfire and roasted marshmallows—very pretty night under the stars. A couple of us decided to sleep outside in the yard
-Internet
-3 hour bus ride from Sorata: stopped at Lake Titicaca for fresh trout for lunch
Sorata is a pretty city up on a valley and a gorgeous mountain called Illampu looks over it.-Arrived at program house (Molly fell into a ditch and broke her leg). The program house is a house that the program owns and the instructor’s stay here. The house is really pretty and surrounded by mountains, rivers, flowers, and trees and has a bonfire pit and a couple swings. We had a bonfire and roasted marshmallows—very pretty night under the stars. A couple of us decided to sleep outside in the yard
Day 27: Oct 3 (La Paz)
We all spent the day in La Paz before Sorata. I did the typical La Paz things:
-Ate amazing saltenas
-Internet
-Shopped
-Dinner (fantastic), attempted to go to a casino, and discoteca!
-Ate amazing saltenas
-Internet
-Shopped
-Dinner (fantastic), attempted to go to a casino, and discoteca!
Day 26: October 2
I woke up early to pack. My siblings were getting ready to leave for school. As they were leaving I gave them some cookies. I tried giving Remedius a hug but she was so shy that she put her head down and scrunched her soldiers in. I said goodbye to Arturo and Ana but couldn’t find Hugo. He darted out of the kitchen trying to avoid me but I ran after him calling his name. I finally caught up to him to find tears running down his cheeks. I tried telling him it was going to be OK but he couldn’t really understand. Instead, I gave him a fist pound and started singing our goal song “olay, olay, olay, olay.” He gave me a smile and I told him to keep scoring. We pounded one more time before he turned around and started heading back up the street. It was so sad but at the same time I was glad to know I made an impact in his life and he had fun. I went back into the kitchen and had some soup and took pictures with my family. Helen then came to my door and it was time to say goodbye. I wanted to tell them how much I enjoyed my stay and how great they were but I knew they wouldn’t understand. Instead, I shook their hands and said thank you. There was so much more I wanted to say but couldn’t.
Helen and I met the rest of the group at the bottom of the hill and then split up according to bus rides. Not everyone could fit so one group was going to walk 2 hours to the bus station and go to the hot springs before and the other group was going to go straight to La Paz. I was in the group that walked and went to the hot springs. It was a very pretty day so I was happy walking and really glad that we were going to the hot springs because I hadn’t showered in a long time. We got to the hot springs after a nice 2 hour walk but they weren’t exactly what I expected…. or IT wasn’t exactly what I expected. We walked down to find a pool filled with hot green water. I didn’t really care at that point though because it was dirty and hadn’t had a warm shower in forever. We stayed at the hot spring for a while and then walked into town for lunch. The bus left at 4:00 and was awful. It was an 8-hour bus ride with people standing, hovering over me in the isles and I was so hot. I also lost my hat and walking stick : ( We FINALLY arrived in La Paz after a very long ride. All of us were really hungry so at like 1:00am we all went to Mega Burger and had a Bolivian fast food HAMburger…it was literally a hamburger because they put ham on it. There were hilarious 90’s music videos playing also it was great. Walked back around the corner and slept really well.
Helen and I met the rest of the group at the bottom of the hill and then split up according to bus rides. Not everyone could fit so one group was going to walk 2 hours to the bus station and go to the hot springs before and the other group was going to go straight to La Paz. I was in the group that walked and went to the hot springs. It was a very pretty day so I was happy walking and really glad that we were going to the hot springs because I hadn’t showered in a long time. We got to the hot springs after a nice 2 hour walk but they weren’t exactly what I expected…. or IT wasn’t exactly what I expected. We walked down to find a pool filled with hot green water. I didn’t really care at that point though because it was dirty and hadn’t had a warm shower in forever. We stayed at the hot spring for a while and then walked into town for lunch. The bus left at 4:00 and was awful. It was an 8-hour bus ride with people standing, hovering over me in the isles and I was so hot. I also lost my hat and walking stick : ( We FINALLY arrived in La Paz after a very long ride. All of us were really hungry so at like 1:00am we all went to Mega Burger and had a Bolivian fast food HAMburger…it was literally a hamburger because they put ham on it. There were hilarious 90’s music videos playing also it was great. Walked back around the corner and slept really well.
Day 25: October 1 (Kaata Day 2)
I slept really well last night on just straw and ship skin. I woke up around 8 and joined my family kitchen room. I was given coffee and popcorn kernel type things. I sat there with little conversation, slowly sipping my delicious coffee. When I put on my clothes this morning and stepped into the room, I felt out of place for the first time the whole trip. I was just so different. I don’t know why at this particular moment I first felt this way; maybe it was the language barrier or maybe the huge difference in lifestyle. Despite feeling a bit self-conscious from all the curious glares, I felt welcomed and happy to be there. After finishing my coffee I walked Hugo and Ana to school. They picked up friends along they way and together they giggled, probably at my clothes or how different I was. We walked down the gorgeous hill that overlooked the valley and rest of the town. In all different directions, you could see kids walking down towards the school. I ran into Becky and her sister as well. We finally got down to the school a little past 9:00 when school started but a bunch of the kids didn’t go in. Becky and I tried asking why they weren’t going in but we didn’t get much of a response—more of a cold shoulder. I decided to leave despite not entering the school; I wanted to get back to help my mom around the house.
When I got home I was served more soup and potatoes. My mom and Edwin were sitting in kitchen but my dad had left for the fields. After Edwin left, the only Spanish speaker, my mom and I sat in silence. I did the dishes once I finished eating and then sat reading outside my room. My mom then came outside and started to pile hay. I sat and watched her for a little until she called me over with a hand gesture. I stood behind her and without words she slowly instructed me how to disperse the straw. I attempted…we laughed. She then took my wrist and shook it back and forth showing me the proper movement. Nodding her head, she told me to try once more. Stroking back and forth, I followed her every movement. Soon enough we were working synchronized side by side. We shared smiles, but very little words. It is weird how close I felt to her even though we barely spoke. Once we were done with the straw, we headed for the kitchen. I attempted to peel potatoes but yet again I needed my mom’s help. She laughed and helped me through the process… I didn’t pick it up as easily as I did the straw! It took forever for me to peel just one but my mom could peel one in 10 seconds. We ended up making papas fritas, eggs, and rice and once my siblings returned from lunch we all ate together; it was delicious. I used to not like eggs but now I love them! After lunch we went to the store to get some cookies. When we got back we played some soccer in the plaza until the weather started to turn. It started to storm, so I went to my room and read as I listened to the raindrops hit the tin roof—so relaxing (I ended up falling asleep for a little). When I woke up I got some tea and popcorn. I had a group meeting then came back home and had soup for dinner and played chess with my siblings. They were SO good at chess!
Later that night around 9:00 we all gathered at the instructors house for a Quechua ceremony. We all sat around the edge of the room with two Kayawallas (traditional Quecha healers) in the middle. They were setting up seashells with different ornaments in them while smoking and drinking in between. It was really slow and boring at first but then we got to participate by putting more objects into the seashells; I added some llama fat. Once the seashells were filled the Kayawallas took a guinea pig out of a bag, held it up, and cut open its throat for a sacrifice. It was really graphic but I would later slay a pig and lamb so now it seems like nothing. The sacrifice was sad though because the guinea pig was squealing and squirming until the neck was snapped off.
The Kayawallas then ripped open the chest and you could still see the heart beating. They then examined the intestines in order to read our future. Like the other Kayawalla, they said that our trip will go as expected. Once the sacrifice was over we all got a shell and went outside and stood in a circle. Everyone was completely silent, waiting for the Kaywalla to come around and put his hands over our head while chanting a prayer. We were supposed to think of a good journey, home, and the Pacha Mamma as his hands were over our head. It was a very cool and powerful moment. After the Kayawalla’s started a fire next to the guinea pig grave. We dumped the contents of our shells into the fire and then took the pig blood in the cup and sprayed some into the fire. When we sprayed it into the fire we had to think of a good journey and thank Pacha Mama. Right after I sprayed blood into the fire, I went to the other side of the circle and sprayed some blood towards the mountains thinking of home and a safe journey. We had one last circle then ended the ceremony. It was a very cool experience and I felt so alive afterwards.
When I got home I was served more soup and potatoes. My mom and Edwin were sitting in kitchen but my dad had left for the fields. After Edwin left, the only Spanish speaker, my mom and I sat in silence. I did the dishes once I finished eating and then sat reading outside my room. My mom then came outside and started to pile hay. I sat and watched her for a little until she called me over with a hand gesture. I stood behind her and without words she slowly instructed me how to disperse the straw. I attempted…we laughed. She then took my wrist and shook it back and forth showing me the proper movement. Nodding her head, she told me to try once more. Stroking back and forth, I followed her every movement. Soon enough we were working synchronized side by side. We shared smiles, but very little words. It is weird how close I felt to her even though we barely spoke. Once we were done with the straw, we headed for the kitchen. I attempted to peel potatoes but yet again I needed my mom’s help. She laughed and helped me through the process… I didn’t pick it up as easily as I did the straw! It took forever for me to peel just one but my mom could peel one in 10 seconds. We ended up making papas fritas, eggs, and rice and once my siblings returned from lunch we all ate together; it was delicious. I used to not like eggs but now I love them! After lunch we went to the store to get some cookies. When we got back we played some soccer in the plaza until the weather started to turn. It started to storm, so I went to my room and read as I listened to the raindrops hit the tin roof—so relaxing (I ended up falling asleep for a little). When I woke up I got some tea and popcorn. I had a group meeting then came back home and had soup for dinner and played chess with my siblings. They were SO good at chess!
Later that night around 9:00 we all gathered at the instructors house for a Quechua ceremony. We all sat around the edge of the room with two Kayawallas (traditional Quecha healers) in the middle. They were setting up seashells with different ornaments in them while smoking and drinking in between. It was really slow and boring at first but then we got to participate by putting more objects into the seashells; I added some llama fat. Once the seashells were filled the Kayawallas took a guinea pig out of a bag, held it up, and cut open its throat for a sacrifice. It was really graphic but I would later slay a pig and lamb so now it seems like nothing. The sacrifice was sad though because the guinea pig was squealing and squirming until the neck was snapped off.
The Kayawallas then ripped open the chest and you could still see the heart beating. They then examined the intestines in order to read our future. Like the other Kayawalla, they said that our trip will go as expected. Once the sacrifice was over we all got a shell and went outside and stood in a circle. Everyone was completely silent, waiting for the Kaywalla to come around and put his hands over our head while chanting a prayer. We were supposed to think of a good journey, home, and the Pacha Mamma as his hands were over our head. It was a very cool and powerful moment. After the Kayawalla’s started a fire next to the guinea pig grave. We dumped the contents of our shells into the fire and then took the pig blood in the cup and sprayed some into the fire. When we sprayed it into the fire we had to think of a good journey and thank Pacha Mama. Right after I sprayed blood into the fire, I went to the other side of the circle and sprayed some blood towards the mountains thinking of home and a safe journey. We had one last circle then ended the ceremony. It was a very cool experience and I felt so alive afterwards.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Day 24: Sep 30 (Kaata Day 1)
Woke up and packed-Breakfast, health check in, group meeting about Apolobamba trek (reflections, review etc.)-We were going to a Quechuan town called Kaata and it was across the valley so we had to walk 1 hour down and 1 hour back up the valley. If a bird traveled there it would only take 20 minute but we had to go up and back down. The hike was really pretty though and we had lunch by a river.-Arrived in Kaata and got our host families. I loved my Kaata host family. I had a 20-year-old brother Edwin, Mom and Dad, 15-year-old brother, 13-year-old sister, 11-year-old sister, and an 8-year-old brother. The family was sooo cute and so shy at first. I first got into the house and the parents weren’t there. I set my bag down on the “bed” in a little adobe hut. The “kitchen,” or clay fire hole, was in the same room and I soon started to hear little squeaks. I looked around to find guinea pigs running all over the floor, kittens lying next to their mom, and skeletons of burned animals hanging from the ceilings. I was so shocked and at first grossed out. I wrote in my diary “I am sitting in my home stay room and it is far from what I expected. Guinea pigs are running around, cats are huddled in the corner guarding their kittens, and my 13 year-old-sister is cooking dinner in a tiny pot over a stone fire. Communication is limited to the fact Spanish is both our second language. My host brother is outside making a table and the rest of my family is MIA—and I can’t figure out where they are. Skeletons of some animals are hanging above the fire and poo sits near the stone. Squeals of the guinea pigs are below and all around me. The air is full of some. The bed is just wood, straw, and some blankets. I feel gross but at the same time I feel safe and welcomed. I hate cats and I hate guinea pigs but I don’t seem to mind it. The smiles of hospitality from my family over write everything else. It is an experience that is for sure.” It was so different from anything I’ve seen. I was distracted from it all though by the hospitality and kindness of my family. Soon it didn’t even bother me. Edwin, my 20-year-old brother, was the only one who could really speak Spanish—everyone else spoke only Quechuan. The rest of my family came home and poured into the room I was sitting in. We all sat around and had some homemade bread and tea. Communicating was extremely hard because we both didn’t speak Spanish very well. They talked among themselves and every once and a while I heard gringo so I knew they were talking about me. We sat in the room, radio on, animals chirping, and pan frying for a little longer before we decided to go outside. We kicked the ball around when more kids showed up at our door. We went to the “plaza” to play. Kids from ages 7-20 played in the fog under these two street lights. There were pile of rocks for the goals, poo on the field, smiles on every ones faces, and, of course, the radio blasting the same songs. I had so much fun. I especially liked this home stay because we were only there second stay, so they were so interested in me. They were all really shy but eventually started to warm up and giggle a lot. After soccer we came back into that main room and had some soup and potatoes for dinner. I ate my first bowl and was really content and then my mom filled it up again…omg so much soup! I sat there for a while until my dad picked up my backpack and showed me to another “room.” He pushed some potatoes and clothes out of the way revealing a straw platform. He set my backpack down and put sheep skin over the straw and then patted it gesturing to me to sit. At that point I realized I wouldn’t be sleeping with the animals but instead heaps of potatoes. I pretty much slept in their storage room but didn’t mind it at all. I got my sleeping bag out and fell right to sleep. I was so happy and excited for the next day of my home stay.
Day 23: Sept 29
Woke up and it was COLD!! Had scrambled eggs for breakfast then started hiking in the fog. We started the hike uphill and it was just so hard, especially doing it first thing in the morning. Finally we made it to the last pass and took our final “pass” picture. We headed down for 2 hours; the weather was only decent (foggy and misty). We walked down and out of the clouds passing waterfalls, creeks, and made our way into stone made villages. In one of the villages we stopped and had lunch and a local indigenous woman showed us some of her textiles. I bought a bracelet that says “recuerdo” or remember. After lunch we crossed a pretty creek and started to leave the tiny village. He heated debate started between some group members about development in Bolivia and US involvement. IT was foggy the rest of the hike and there wasn’t much to see. 2 hours had passed until we reached another town. We started to walk into the center and it seemed like a ghost town due to the fog. Also, no one was really out walking because it was a farming community so everyone was still on their fields. We visited the newly built hospital that was a mix of the indigenous and western practices. We talked with a Kayawalla, an indigenous doctor who uses medicinal plants, as well as western doctor. It was really cool because we got to learn more about medicinal plants (pretty sure they used dandelions for like stomach aches haha). When the tour was done we walked 20 minutes to a lodge where we spent the night. I was the cook and made some tomato soup with Molly and Sam. The Kayawalla ate dinner with us and answered some of our questions. Also, he read coca leaves for us that are similar to fortune telling but a lot cooler and “religious.” He said that our trip will go really well and there “won’t be any surprises.” Anne later did her Shatakwa and it was interesting—she is soo artistic and talented! She played songs on the guitar that she made, read slam poetry, and also sang a classical French song that was really pretty. When we were about to go to bed Chris and Sam barged into the room claiming they were about to have a water chugging contest. It was the funniest thing I had ever seen. Chris won by a long shot but Sam’s face was absolutely priceless. After that we finally got to go to bed.
Day 22: Sept 28
Woke up and had oatmeal. Emily didn’t feel well the night before and puked a couple times so when we started to hike I helped set a slow pace. I knew how it felt feeling sick hiking a mountain. We passed some mining towns on trek up to the pass. We also heard more ice cracking on the glaciers, which was cool. We got to the top and had to traverse down for two hours. The traverse was really cool and reminded me of a ski run at Snowbird (a ski resort). It was rocky and zigzagged down. Some people said it reminded them of Mordor, from Lord Of The Rings because it was foggy out, rocks were sliding, and it was just very eerie. After two hours of the misty, foggy hike down we had lunch. After lunch we hiked back up the other side of the valley for 2 hours. We made it to our campsite and there was poo literally EVERYWHERE. We had to move poo out of the way in order to find a spot for our tents. Again, we played cards until dinner. Dinner that night was veggies and wheat. Chris, John, Sophia and I made popcorn after dinner and played more cards. I didn’t sleep so well that night because it was pretty cold and rainy.
Day 21: 9/27 (Apolobamba Day 3)
I had a really good breakfast this morning thanks to Emily and Molly who love cooking. I had home fries, oatmeal with banana, and scrambled eggs. We packed up and had our group meeting. Today I my job was the lover that meant I had to make sure everyone was in high spirits and if not, I gave them a hug. We started hiking and the terrain was very steep—so hard to do in the morning! The weather was really nice in the morning also; sun was out and a good temperature. As we kept walking the sun turned into clouds and it slowly started to snow. Luckily, it wasn’t that cold. We went through bofidal, a type of terrain that somewhat resembles a marsh, and it was gorgeous. It was all green with some flowers and puddles full of water. The snow and fog cleared up literally right as we go to a huge glacier and it’s lake in front of it. The water was a spectacular aqua color and the snow capped mountain sat right behind it. It was the perfect place to have lunch! We sat down for lunch right next to the lake and had our typical Salome, peanut butter, avocado, tuna, mustard and crackers. We took a group picture then headed up the 16,000 ft pass that was the highest one we went up. I felt great! After Tunari, which was 17,000ft, I was so scared I was going to get sick again at that elevation. Instead, I cruised right up it and did so well! I was so happy. It was funny though because it didn’t snow while we were eating lunch but right when we started hiking again the snow picked up. It was steep climb and once we reached the top the snow stopped. The view was really pretty; you could see both sides. There were a lot of snow capped mountains and Bofidals. We chilled at the top for a while and had some snacks then headed back down. Unfortunately, Sophia wasn’t feeling that well so I walked slowly with her down. We got to the campsite after about 1 hour downhill. The site was pretty with the glaciers right next to us (you could hear the ice cracking). It was really cold at this point so Chris and I quickly set up a tent for Sophia to get in because she still felt crummy. I also help set up this other tent that was the biggest pain in the butt. You had to make sure the rain cover didn’t hit the inner net layer because then it was useless and rain would pour in. We couldn’t get them to not hit and the tent got really wet…I ended up having to sleep in it and dry it out. So annoying. We played cards (a huge game of kemps=really fun), and drank hot chocolate until dinner. Dinner was spaghetti carbanara and it was really good; dessert was pudding. After dinner we played the Dream Game again. We played for a while until I found out that I was making up the dream the whole time---it was all a trick! It was really funny though. We also had the best popcorn that Maro and I made.
Woke up and packed-Breakfast, health check in, group meeting about Apolobamba trek (reflections, review etc.)-We were going to a Quechuan town called Kaata and it was across the valley so we had to walk 1 hour down and 1 hour back up the valley. If a bird traveled there it would only take 20 minute but we had to go up and back down. The hike was really pretty though and we had lunch by a river.-Arrived in Kaata and got our host families. I loved my Kaata host family. I had a 20-year-old brother Edwin, Mom and Dad, 15-year-old brother, 13-year-old sister, 11-year-old sister, and an 8-year-old brother. The family was sooo cute and so shy at first. I first got into the house and the parents weren’t there. I set my bag down on the “bed” in a little adobe hut. The “kitchen,” or clay fire hole, was in the same room and I soon started to hear little squeaks. I looked around to find guinea pigs running all over the floor, kittens lying next to their mom, and skeletons of burned animals hanging from the ceilings. I was so shocked and at first grossed out. I wrote in my diary “I am sitting in my home stay room and it is far from what I expected. Guinea pigs are running around, cats are huddled in the corner guarding their kittens, and my 13 year-old-sister is cooking dinner in a tiny pot over a stone fire. Communication is limited to the fact Spanish is both our second language. My host brother is outside making a table and the rest of my family is MIA—and I can’t figure out where they are. Skeletons of some animals are hanging above the fire and poo sits near the stone. Squeals of the guinea pigs are below and all around me. The air is full of some. The bed is just wood, straw, and some blankets. I feel gross but at the same time I feel safe and welcomed. I hate cats and I hate guinea pigs but I don’t seem to mind it. The smiles of hospitality from my family over write everything else. It is an experience that is for sure.” It was so different from anything I’ve seen. I was distracted from it all though by the hospitality and kindness of my family. Soon it didn’t even bother me. Edwin, my 20-year-old brother, was the only one who could really speak Spanish—everyone else spoke only Quechuan. The rest of my family came home and poured into the room I was sitting in. We all sat around and had some homemade bread and tea. Communicating was extremely hard because we both didn’t speak Spanish very well. They talked among themselves and every once and a while I heard gringo so I knew they were talking about me. We sat in the room, radio on, animals chirping, and pan frying for a little longer before we decided to go outside. We kicked the ball around when more kids showed up at our door. We went to the “plaza” to play. Kids from ages 7-20 played in the fog under these two street lights. There were pile of rocks for the goals, poo on the field, smiles on every ones faces, and, of course, the radio blasting the same songs. I had so much fun. I especially liked this home stay because we were only there second stay, so they were so interested in me. They were all really shy but eventually started to warm up and giggle a lot. After soccer we came back into that main room and had some soup and potatoes for dinner. I ate my first bowl and was really content and then my mom filled it up again…omg so much soup! I sat there for a while until my dad picked up my backpack and showed me to another “room.” He pushed some potatoes and clothes out of the way revealing a straw platform. He set my backpack down and put sheep skin over the straw and then patted it gesturing to me to sit. At that point I realized I wouldn’t be sleeping with the animals but instead heaps of potatoes. I pretty much slept in their storage room but didn’t mind it at all. I got my sleeping bag out and fell right to sleep. I was so happy and excited for the next day of my home stay.
Day 23: Sept 29
Woke up and it was COLD!! Had scrambled eggs for breakfast then started hiking in the fog. We started the hike uphill and it was just so hard, especially doing it first thing in the morning. Finally we made it to the last pass and took our final “pass” picture. We headed down for 2 hours; the weather was only decent (foggy and misty). We walked down and out of the clouds passing waterfalls, creeks, and made our way into stone made villages. In one of the villages we stopped and had lunch and a local indigenous woman showed us some of her textiles. I bought a bracelet that says “recuerdo” or remember. After lunch we crossed a pretty creek and started to leave the tiny village. He heated debate started between some group members about development in Bolivia and US involvement. IT was foggy the rest of the hike and there wasn’t much to see. 2 hours had passed until we reached another town. We started to walk into the center and it seemed like a ghost town due to the fog. Also, no one was really out walking because it was a farming community so everyone was still on their fields. We visited the newly built hospital that was a mix of the indigenous and western practices. We talked with a Kayawalla, an indigenous doctor who uses medicinal plants, as well as western doctor. It was really cool because we got to learn more about medicinal plants (pretty sure they used dandelions for like stomach aches haha). When the tour was done we walked 20 minutes to a lodge where we spent the night. I was the cook and made some tomato soup with Molly and Sam. The Kayawalla ate dinner with us and answered some of our questions. Also, he read coca leaves for us that are similar to fortune telling but a lot cooler and “religious.” He said that our trip will go really well and there “won’t be any surprises.” Anne later did her Shatakwa and it was interesting—she is soo artistic and talented! She played songs on the guitar that she made, read slam poetry, and also sang a classical French song that was really pretty. When we were about to go to bed Chris and Sam barged into the room claiming they were about to have a water chugging contest. It was the funniest thing I had ever seen. Chris won by a long shot but Sam’s face was absolutely priceless. After that we finally got to go to bed.
Day 22: Sept 28
Woke up and had oatmeal. Emily didn’t feel well the night before and puked a couple times so when we started to hike I helped set a slow pace. I knew how it felt feeling sick hiking a mountain. We passed some mining towns on trek up to the pass. We also heard more ice cracking on the glaciers, which was cool. We got to the top and had to traverse down for two hours. The traverse was really cool and reminded me of a ski run at Snowbird (a ski resort). It was rocky and zigzagged down. Some people said it reminded them of Mordor, from Lord Of The Rings because it was foggy out, rocks were sliding, and it was just very eerie. After two hours of the misty, foggy hike down we had lunch. After lunch we hiked back up the other side of the valley for 2 hours. We made it to our campsite and there was poo literally EVERYWHERE. We had to move poo out of the way in order to find a spot for our tents. Again, we played cards until dinner. Dinner that night was veggies and wheat. Chris, John, Sophia and I made popcorn after dinner and played more cards. I didn’t sleep so well that night because it was pretty cold and rainy.
Day 21: 9/27 (Apolobamba Day 3)
I had a really good breakfast this morning thanks to Emily and Molly who love cooking. I had home fries, oatmeal with banana, and scrambled eggs. We packed up and had our group meeting. Today I my job was the lover that meant I had to make sure everyone was in high spirits and if not, I gave them a hug. We started hiking and the terrain was very steep—so hard to do in the morning! The weather was really nice in the morning also; sun was out and a good temperature. As we kept walking the sun turned into clouds and it slowly started to snow. Luckily, it wasn’t that cold. We went through bofidal, a type of terrain that somewhat resembles a marsh, and it was gorgeous. It was all green with some flowers and puddles full of water. The snow and fog cleared up literally right as we go to a huge glacier and it’s lake in front of it. The water was a spectacular aqua color and the snow capped mountain sat right behind it. It was the perfect place to have lunch! We sat down for lunch right next to the lake and had our typical Salome, peanut butter, avocado, tuna, mustard and crackers. We took a group picture then headed up the 16,000 ft pass that was the highest one we went up. I felt great! After Tunari, which was 17,000ft, I was so scared I was going to get sick again at that elevation. Instead, I cruised right up it and did so well! I was so happy. It was funny though because it didn’t snow while we were eating lunch but right when we started hiking again the snow picked up. It was steep climb and once we reached the top the snow stopped. The view was really pretty; you could see both sides. There were a lot of snow capped mountains and Bofidals. We chilled at the top for a while and had some snacks then headed back down. Unfortunately, Sophia wasn’t feeling that well so I walked slowly with her down. We got to the campsite after about 1 hour downhill. The site was pretty with the glaciers right next to us (you could hear the ice cracking). It was really cold at this point so Chris and I quickly set up a tent for Sophia to get in because she still felt crummy. I also help set up this other tent that was the biggest pain in the butt. You had to make sure the rain cover didn’t hit the inner net layer because then it was useless and rain would pour in. We couldn’t get them to not hit and the tent got really wet…I ended up having to sleep in it and dry it out. So annoying. We played cards (a huge game of kemps=really fun), and drank hot chocolate until dinner. Dinner was spaghetti carbanara and it was really good; dessert was pudding. After dinner we played the Dream Game again. We played for a while until I found out that I was making up the dream the whole time---it was all a trick! It was really funny though. We also had the best popcorn that Maro and I made.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Quick Update!
Sorata
Hi Everyone! Sorry about the delayed updates. I have a lot to write but live so far away/the internet is slow and expensive. Right now I am in Sorata living with a homestay family. I am also taking 4 hours of Spanish classes 5 days a week, volunteering in two schools, and am taking a Andes history course. The group was split into two different towns of Sorata. Chris, Annie, Sam, Becky and I are in the more rural town of Tutuacaha. We live about 45 minutes away from the main plaza of Sorata and about 30 min away from the Program House (a house that Dragons owns, the instructors sleep in, and where our spanish classes are held). It definatly is a great workout walking back and forth, up and down hills, every day. My home stay family is good. I have: a mom Angelica, a dad who is always working in the mines, a 22 year old sister Lurdes, 19 year old cousin Llovana, 15 year old sister Rosemary, 14 year old brother Juan Carlos, 13 year old sister Gina, 9 year old brother Jose, and a 1 year old cousin Nardi. It is definatly a full house but it is really fun! Since I live in a small rural community just outside the main city of Sorata, I am very close to my other group members and also know mainly all the kids in the community. In the afternoon we enjoy playing in the cancha, or soccer field. It is funny because most of the town is related (there are like 15 families). Also, there is only 1 public bathroom but luckily it is close to my house. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know I am having a great time in Sorata and I will continue to update you as best I can. Chao!
Hi Everyone! Sorry about the delayed updates. I have a lot to write but live so far away/the internet is slow and expensive. Right now I am in Sorata living with a homestay family. I am also taking 4 hours of Spanish classes 5 days a week, volunteering in two schools, and am taking a Andes history course. The group was split into two different towns of Sorata. Chris, Annie, Sam, Becky and I are in the more rural town of Tutuacaha. We live about 45 minutes away from the main plaza of Sorata and about 30 min away from the Program House (a house that Dragons owns, the instructors sleep in, and where our spanish classes are held). It definatly is a great workout walking back and forth, up and down hills, every day. My home stay family is good. I have: a mom Angelica, a dad who is always working in the mines, a 22 year old sister Lurdes, 19 year old cousin Llovana, 15 year old sister Rosemary, 14 year old brother Juan Carlos, 13 year old sister Gina, 9 year old brother Jose, and a 1 year old cousin Nardi. It is definatly a full house but it is really fun! Since I live in a small rural community just outside the main city of Sorata, I am very close to my other group members and also know mainly all the kids in the community. In the afternoon we enjoy playing in the cancha, or soccer field. It is funny because most of the town is related (there are like 15 families). Also, there is only 1 public bathroom but luckily it is close to my house. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know I am having a great time in Sorata and I will continue to update you as best I can. Chao!
Day 20 Sep 26 (Apolobamba day 2)
Woke up to cook; it was really cold! Becky, Annie and I made oatmeal with bananas, and a fruit salad. I packed up the tent and my backpack and had a group meeting before we started hiking again. During the meetings we usually stretch and go over roles for the day. It was a gorgeous sunny day and started to warm up. We started the trek up the first pass leaving the big snow capped mountains behind us. After about an hour we made it to the top. Crister, Chris and I hiked up the mountain a little more to get a better view of the glaciers and lake ahead of us. When we got back down our guide gave us some history on the mountain and trail we were on. A lot of Incas traveled back and forth on the path in order to trade with different towns. There was also a big rock pile on the pass that our guide said was a tributary to Pacha Mama for good travels had had been there for many years. We started to trek down: going down isn’t as much fun as you would think. My shoes slid and my knees bothered me a little. Luckily, the view was gorgeous. Below us was a valley with a crystal blue snaking river. Once we got to the bottom we had a water break near the river; llamas surrounded us. We trekked for about 2 more hours until we got to a town and had lunch. Right when we sat down for lunch it started raining/hailing; it was so cold. I had a peanut butter and banana sandwich and a Salome, cheese, mustard, and avocado sandwich. After lunch it was still pretty cold and rainy. We hiked for another 3 hours before we came to our campsite. I set up the tent and cooked quinua soup for dinner with Becky, Maro and Annie’s help. After dinner we went over roles for tomorrow and played this game where the group set up a fantasy dream for me and I had to ask yes or no questions to figure it out. My dream was really funny. After Helen gave us amazing chocolate for dessert. Bed.
Day 19: Sep 25 (Apolobamba day 1)
I woke up and packed for the trip. We had pancakes for breakfast that was a real treat! It was the first time I had pancakes, so it tasted really good. I went to the little town/plaza with Sophia and bought this sweet leather Chicago Bulls hat. I laughed so hard that they had it in the middle of no-where Bolivia. Best purchase so far probably haha. When I got back we made roles for the trek and packed our bags on the mules. The group did some pre-trek activities then set off on the trail. It was a very pretty day—nothing but blue skies. We hiked up a road for a while and I did really well: SO much better than Tunari. I was previously soooo nervous for the trek because I didn’t want a Tunari round 2. After hiking and talking for a while, we stopped at a waterfall for lunch. My camera started to revive itself a little so I got a few pictures. We did skits for Leave No Trace, which is a concept where we do our best to, well, leave no trace. After lunch we hiked up a trail for 30 minutes until we reached our campsite. It got really cold once we got there. The site and hike was very pretty. The campsite was in a small valley between mountains and beyond I could see the mountain glaciers. We pitched tents and played cards for a while. Dinner was good: Anne and Emily prepared it. We had Mac n cheese and vegetable stir-fry and for dessert we had apple crisp. After dinner, we chilled outside and listened to guitar, told stories etc. Crister then did what he calls a Shatakwa. It is basically your life story but you can also add other things like songs, guitar playing, skits etc. Crister played a song his dad wrote then told us about his very interesting and action packed life. He traveled a lot all his life to places like Australia and a lot of South America. After the Shatakwa it was time for bed! The tent was a lot more comfortable than I thought and I slept well.
Day 18: Sep 24
Travel Day
I woke up/packed. I had one last bread breakfast with really good guava jam. I said goodbye to Don Tomas who was a great host. The group had to carry their backpacks on the dirt road to catch the bus on the big road. While we waited we played cards with Cholitas (traditional dressed women) and talked about Peru possibilities. The bus came and we rode it for a long 8 hours. THE same Bolivian music played over and over again for 8 hours. By the end I could fiddle along with it. We got to the town of Pelechuco. It was a cute mountain town in a small, narrow valley; it was a little eerie because of the fog. Chris, Sophia, and I got some food for the hike at the local tiendas then went to the hostal. The hostal was a cute little building next to the river. I was in a room with all the girls except Annie and Emily. My bed was right next to the window with river so it was pretty and relaxing to hear. We all ate dinner together in the dining room of the hostal. After dinner Sam and I got some candy and shared it with the sons of the hostal owner. The girls had a pow wow in Maro’s room; we braided hair and gossiped : ) I then went to bed to the sound of the river. End of day 18.
Day 17: Sep 23
Santiago De Okola Day 3
I woke up at 4:00 in the morning to go fishing! It was amazing. I went with Sophia and Emily. We bundled up with all the layers we had and walked down to the beach. The stars were out and crystal clear. It was absolutely gorgeous. We waited for Molly’s dad, Juan Cayo, for about 15 minutes on the beach until he came. He told us we would have to walk in the water but none of us had waterproof shoes. We didn’t know what to do because after walking all the way to the beach in the cold at 4 in the morning we didn’t want to let 10 feet of water get in our way. We stood by the edge of the water until Juan Cayo gestured Emily to get on his back. Emily who I like 6 feet tall was puzzled. She didn’t know how she was going to fit on the back of a 5 ft man. Juan Cayo threw Emily on his back and plopped her on the boat; Sophia and I followed. With the four of us in the boat, Juan Cayo slowly paddled us out. I felt so bad because there was so much extra wait on the boat. His little 60-year-old body rocked back and forth with a lot of resistance against the water. The sound of the paddles hitting the water, the birds crowing, and the waves collapsing against the sand was truly magical. The profile of the mountains against the deep blue sky was gorgeous. The stars shooting through the sky left a purple tail and were the best I’ve ever seen. The morning was truly indescribable. Serene and peaceful. We stopped from booey to booey pulling fish up from the nets. The stars slowly started to fade and the sun started to rise behind the mountains. Juan Cayo rowed us back in and inch-by-inch the sky grew lighter and hints of orange and pink sprayed out from the peaks of the mountain. When we finally arrived at the beach, we were all freezing. The sun still wasn’t all the way up so Sophia, Annie and I rushed to the top of the Dragons’ Head (the smaller part of the Sleeping Dragon mountain). We had a photo shoot at the top and watched the sunrise. It was GORGEOUS! When we got down, I saw Juan Cayo and his wife wheeling the fish from the beach. I went over and offered to wheel it for him; it was heavy!! I wheeled it all the way to his house that was pretty far. After I finished that I saw Don Tomas with some water buckets and helped him fill them up and bring them home. By this time it was around 8:00 and I had to be ready for activities at 9:00. I got home and slept for a little then had some bread for breakfast. I then headed to the beach for the group activities. The first 5 minutes we reflected then talked about Lake Titicaca. After we split up in teams and collected trash along the beach. You wouldn’t believe how much we picked up. Unfortunately, a lot of the trash comes from across the lake in a touristy town of Copacabana. Once all the trash was picked up we took a dip in the cold lake. We all rushed in, it was really fun. The day was going SOOO well and I was having so much fun until Becky broke my camera… :( it was an accident but she accidentally left my camera lens open in the sand and it jammed up. It was a damper in my day… Luckily lunch was next so I ate my feelings away haha. We had a community lunch with really good meat and vegetables. I think the food is so good because they cook it in a real fire pit. I went home after lunch and rested a little bit before the group climbed the “Dragons Back” part of the mountain. It was a very fun and gorgeous climb. It was more free climbing than a trail and that made if fun. The view from the top was incredible. I could see the mountains far across the lake—as far as Peru. Both beaches left and right were gorgeous. I could also see the Cordillera Real, which are the big snow mountains. Each direction carried its own beauty. The hike down was just as enjoyable. We stopped in this cave that looked out over the mountain. Also, there were dogs that followed us the whole way up and they would always stop on top of a rock and look out onto the ocean; it was so cute! Before dinner the instructors, Emily and I chilled around the table and Crister played some guitar—it’s the best when he plays. Don Tomas served us dinner and I was surprised that we didn’t get any meat because there is usually always meat. I yet again had really good soup. After dinner we had a group bonfire at Anne and Becky’s house. We attempted to tell funny stories but they were funnier because they were soo bad. IN all the day was VERY good except the camera incident. Lake Titicaca was all that I hoped it would be!
I woke up at 4:00 in the morning to go fishing! It was amazing. I went with Sophia and Emily. We bundled up with all the layers we had and walked down to the beach. The stars were out and crystal clear. It was absolutely gorgeous. We waited for Molly’s dad, Juan Cayo, for about 15 minutes on the beach until he came. He told us we would have to walk in the water but none of us had waterproof shoes. We didn’t know what to do because after walking all the way to the beach in the cold at 4 in the morning we didn’t want to let 10 feet of water get in our way. We stood by the edge of the water until Juan Cayo gestured Emily to get on his back. Emily who I like 6 feet tall was puzzled. She didn’t know how she was going to fit on the back of a 5 ft man. Juan Cayo threw Emily on his back and plopped her on the boat; Sophia and I followed. With the four of us in the boat, Juan Cayo slowly paddled us out. I felt so bad because there was so much extra wait on the boat. His little 60-year-old body rocked back and forth with a lot of resistance against the water. The sound of the paddles hitting the water, the birds crowing, and the waves collapsing against the sand was truly magical. The profile of the mountains against the deep blue sky was gorgeous. The stars shooting through the sky left a purple tail and were the best I’ve ever seen. The morning was truly indescribable. Serene and peaceful. We stopped from booey to booey pulling fish up from the nets. The stars slowly started to fade and the sun started to rise behind the mountains. Juan Cayo rowed us back in and inch-by-inch the sky grew lighter and hints of orange and pink sprayed out from the peaks of the mountain. When we finally arrived at the beach, we were all freezing. The sun still wasn’t all the way up so Sophia, Annie and I rushed to the top of the Dragons’ Head (the smaller part of the Sleeping Dragon mountain). We had a photo shoot at the top and watched the sunrise. It was GORGEOUS! When we got down, I saw Juan Cayo and his wife wheeling the fish from the beach. I went over and offered to wheel it for him; it was heavy!! I wheeled it all the way to his house that was pretty far. After I finished that I saw Don Tomas with some water buckets and helped him fill them up and bring them home. By this time it was around 8:00 and I had to be ready for activities at 9:00. I got home and slept for a little then had some bread for breakfast. I then headed to the beach for the group activities. The first 5 minutes we reflected then talked about Lake Titicaca. After we split up in teams and collected trash along the beach. You wouldn’t believe how much we picked up. Unfortunately, a lot of the trash comes from across the lake in a touristy town of Copacabana. Once all the trash was picked up we took a dip in the cold lake. We all rushed in, it was really fun. The day was going SOOO well and I was having so much fun until Becky broke my camera… :( it was an accident but she accidentally left my camera lens open in the sand and it jammed up. It was a damper in my day… Luckily lunch was next so I ate my feelings away haha. We had a community lunch with really good meat and vegetables. I think the food is so good because they cook it in a real fire pit. I went home after lunch and rested a little bit before the group climbed the “Dragons Back” part of the mountain. It was a very fun and gorgeous climb. It was more free climbing than a trail and that made if fun. The view from the top was incredible. I could see the mountains far across the lake—as far as Peru. Both beaches left and right were gorgeous. I could also see the Cordillera Real, which are the big snow mountains. Each direction carried its own beauty. The hike down was just as enjoyable. We stopped in this cave that looked out over the mountain. Also, there were dogs that followed us the whole way up and they would always stop on top of a rock and look out onto the ocean; it was so cute! Before dinner the instructors, Emily and I chilled around the table and Crister played some guitar—it’s the best when he plays. Don Tomas served us dinner and I was surprised that we didn’t get any meat because there is usually always meat. I yet again had really good soup. After dinner we had a group bonfire at Anne and Becky’s house. We attempted to tell funny stories but they were funnier because they were soo bad. IN all the day was VERY good except the camera incident. Lake Titicaca was all that I hoped it would be!
Day 16: Sep 22
Santiago De Okola Day 2
I woke up feeling WAY better! My energy was still low but my stomach was feeling way better. I ate some bread and Don Tomas, who is a cute, old Quechuan man, made me this weird native drink that he believed would cure my stomach problems. He mixed some natural herbs to make this foggy looking tea. I had a big gulp but with a bad stomach it didn’t taste so good…Crister helped me finish the rest thank god. After breakfast we had a community tour. The tour was very pretty. The town is full of gardens, fields, and the lake brings everything to life. Locals talked to us about crops and other town myths. We went to the beach and our guide told us a myth about a pass between two rocks. She said that the locals believe if you go through it alone then you will see a ghost on the other side and have bad luck but if you go in a group then you might see a good ghost who will reveal your true love. After we learned about the school, cemetery, and medical clinic. During the whole tour I felt soo tired. I constantly had to sit in between stations. Luckily, lunch was next. I was nervous to eat but Don Tomas brought out a soup that resembled Mirani’s chicken noodle soup. I was SOO excited! It was exactly what I felt like. It hit the spot and I felt even better. I took a catnap under the sun before our afternoon activities.
The group split up for afternoon activities. I was in-group 1 and we first learned about medicinal plants. Our guide, Walter, brought us around the community and showed us different plants and explained their medicinal use. After the groups switched and we my group learned how about textiles. We watched a 70-year-old woman work on a quilt she was working on. We took turns learning how to weave. It was harder than it looked but it was really fun! The elderly woman said it would take 6 days to finish, which seemed incredible! She also said that she takes her animals up the mountain and back every day! Imagine a 70-year-old woman herding animals up a big mountain every single day. I couldn’t believe it. The work ethic is so different. All her kids, like many others, are in La Paz.
On the way back from the activities Maro and I took a picture of a woman sitting in the field but she made us pay her. I payed her 2 Bs but it was totally worth it. After we played volleyball and soccer at the school. We all taught Walter, our 15-year-old tour guide, some English. It was really funny watching him try to learn it. He used a lot of hand gestures when trying to pronunciation words. At dinner we taught him “Hey baby, I love you.” It was sooo funny. I had more yummy soup for dinner that made my stomach even better. The group stargazed a little after dinner but it was really cold out. Bed.
Day 15: Sep 21
Santiago De Okola Day 1
After not feeling well the night before and puking a couple times, I had to wake up early to pack for Lake Titicaca. I didn’t go to breakfast because I still wasn’t feeling so well. I called my parents and did some work on the computer instead. Around 9:00 we all loaded the bus for Santiago de Okola, Lake Titicaca. The bus ride was three hours and wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be because I wasn’t feeling well. The scenery was also gorgeous. We came up and over the hill to see the bright blue lake and the mountain they call the Sleeping Dragon because it looks like it is sleeping on its belly. When we finally arrived I wasn’t feeling well still. I had a stomachache and had very low energy. Once we got out of the bus we were greeted by the locals with handshakes and smiles. We were assigned home stay families; Emily and I were assigned the house closest to the instructors because we both felt bad. Emily had a lingering staff infection that made her throat and stomach soar. Both of us quickly went to our rooms and collapsed on our bed. We missed most of the afternoon activities that is unfortunate. A man named Steve from a company called La Paz On Foot was at Santiago de Okola. He works a lot with Dragons and his mission at Santiago de Okola was to promote ecotourism and biodiversity in the community. I caught the last big of the meeting he had with the group. He talked about what his company does and ways to interview the locals for our Independent Study Projects. After the meeting, Helen, my instructor, asked Emily and I if we wanted to go back to La Paz to see the doctor. Emily said yes just because her infection had been lingering for a long time and her antibiotics we upsetting her stomach. I was torn because the Apolobamba trek was coming up and I didn’t want to be sick for it. I was also nervous that I had an intestinal infection and if I did I would need antibiotics for it. After contemplating for a while I decided not to go back. I was looking forward to Lake Titicaca for SO long that I didn’t want to miss it. We were only going to be by the lake for 3 days.
I went back to my room and slept for the rest of the afternoon. I literally had NO energy; it was awful. Crister woke us up later in the evening and we moved to Don Tomas’ house where the instructors were staying. Steve led another meeting regarding projects in Bolivia in Don Tomas’ house but I slept through most of it. Emily and Helen left for La Paz after the meeting and I slept.
After not feeling well the night before and puking a couple times, I had to wake up early to pack for Lake Titicaca. I didn’t go to breakfast because I still wasn’t feeling so well. I called my parents and did some work on the computer instead. Around 9:00 we all loaded the bus for Santiago de Okola, Lake Titicaca. The bus ride was three hours and wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be because I wasn’t feeling well. The scenery was also gorgeous. We came up and over the hill to see the bright blue lake and the mountain they call the Sleeping Dragon because it looks like it is sleeping on its belly. When we finally arrived I wasn’t feeling well still. I had a stomachache and had very low energy. Once we got out of the bus we were greeted by the locals with handshakes and smiles. We were assigned home stay families; Emily and I were assigned the house closest to the instructors because we both felt bad. Emily had a lingering staff infection that made her throat and stomach soar. Both of us quickly went to our rooms and collapsed on our bed. We missed most of the afternoon activities that is unfortunate. A man named Steve from a company called La Paz On Foot was at Santiago de Okola. He works a lot with Dragons and his mission at Santiago de Okola was to promote ecotourism and biodiversity in the community. I caught the last big of the meeting he had with the group. He talked about what his company does and ways to interview the locals for our Independent Study Projects. After the meeting, Helen, my instructor, asked Emily and I if we wanted to go back to La Paz to see the doctor. Emily said yes just because her infection had been lingering for a long time and her antibiotics we upsetting her stomach. I was torn because the Apolobamba trek was coming up and I didn’t want to be sick for it. I was also nervous that I had an intestinal infection and if I did I would need antibiotics for it. After contemplating for a while I decided not to go back. I was looking forward to Lake Titicaca for SO long that I didn’t want to miss it. We were only going to be by the lake for 3 days.
I went back to my room and slept for the rest of the afternoon. I literally had NO energy; it was awful. Crister woke us up later in the evening and we moved to Don Tomas’ house where the instructors were staying. Steve led another meeting regarding projects in Bolivia in Don Tomas’ house but I slept through most of it. Emily and Helen left for La Paz after the meeting and I slept.
Background on Santiago De Okola
Santiago De Okola is a small community on the shore of Lake Titicaca. The town is currently working with an organization called La Paz On Foot run by an American named Steve (who is married to a Bolivian). The organization is trying to promote biodiversity and ecotourism in Santiago De Okola. The community is mainly an agricultural and fishing community; they keep all the food for themselves unless they need money. A lot of the youth is moving to La Paz, which is similar to a lot of youth all over Bolivia. Santiago De Okola is a Aymaran community; they speak little Spanish and most of the members are very shy. The houses are simple adobe houses with dirt floors and straw roofs.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Back To Civilization! 10/3
I MADE IT! The Apolabamba trek was awesome!! I am now in La Paz for one day before I go to Sorata for 3 weeks. There I will live with a homestay family, take spanish classes, and work on my independent study project which I think will be working with the local school. I have SO much to write about and am typing it on my instructors laptop and will upload it all sometime soon. I don´t have enough time today to do it all but it is coming soon! I just wanted to let you all know that I had a BLAST at Lake Titicacca, Apolobamba trek, and my homestay in a Quechua village of Caata. That is all for now but you will hear from me within the next couple of days!!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Day 14: Sep 20
I woke up this morning feeling homesick. I talked to my parents and that made it better. It was pretty much the first time I felt homesick so it was hard. Once the day started I was fine. For the first time in a while I took a really nice hot pressurized shower.
After our group went to these rock gardens in La Paz. They were really pretty! It is basically rock and sand that is shaped by the wind and rain to make these cool looking formations. Below in the picture you can see. It looks like a dripp sand castle you make at the beach.
Marolyn, one of my instructors who lives in La Paz, invited us to her house for lunch. We walked from the gardens to her house; it was only like 4 blocks. On the way we picked up some delicious chicken that was roasting under fire. We got to her house, or actually it was her mom´s house, there were little cousins running everywhere. One of the girls was really funny. We ate a DELICIOUS meal! The chicken was fabulous and we also had rice, amazing vegetables, carrots, fried bananas, and some other stuff. It was just SOOO good. It was one of my first legit meals in a while. When lunch was over we piled into a yellow public bus. It was definatly a squeeze, it is always funny when 15 gringos pile into a bus!
We got back into the main part of the city and got some yummy ice cream. Now I am here at the internet cafe writing this blog! Tonight we are going to have dinner with Chris´ dad who is in La Paz on business...what perfect timing! He is so nice to take us all out for dinner. After dinner we have to pack for Lake Titicacca and our hiking trip.
I am SUPER excited for Lake Titicacca but obviously nervous for the hike. We are carrying all our food and gear on mules and are cooking our own food...which will be fun. We are hiking to about the same height mountain, 17,000 feet, but we won´t do it as fast. I am hoping that I will be better acclimated to the alitiude. Fingers crossed! I won´t have great access to internet so you probably won´t hear from in until a couple days... 10 maybe. I hope all is good with you and wish me luck up on that mountain!
xoxo
Day 13: Sep 19
After arriving in La Paz at 6:00, we went to Hostal Austria to sleep until 9:00. I was feeling a little better but still a little tired. I hadn´t eaten for a while at this point. At 10:00 the group went to a little local restaurant across from Evo Morales´office. The plaza were the government stuff is, is very charming. I didn´t eat breakfast because everyone ordered Saltenas and they are very heavy: not good to have with an upset stomach!
We went back to the hostal for a meeting about the hiking trip coming up. I am nervous! I hope I don´t get sick again. We are cooking all of our food so the meeting was about what food to bring and how much of it. When the meeting was over Andrew, Sam, John, Kate and I went to a couple camping stores. I bought a hydration pack because I don´t want to get dehydrated again! That was THE worst thing ever. I also bought this really cool silver knife that has a flashlight in it. It almost looks like a switchblade which is illegal in the US haha. After the camp stores, we went and got pizza and this REALLY good place! I finally ate some margarita pizza and it was amazing. We ate pizza and watched some soccer that was on the TV in front of us. It was awesome.
We took a cab back and Chris, John, Helen and I went to the supermarket to get some food for the hiking trip. In total the cost of all the food was like 1,400 Bolivianos which is only like $200! That is amazing...food for 20 people for 6 days was only $200. In the US that is like how much groceries cost per week.
After the supermarket, John and I went to the internet. When we came back Anne asked if I wanted to come pick out a DVD to watch that night. There is a street right next to ours that is closed to all traffic because it is like a night market. You can find tons of things there. A couple stand were selling DVD´s, some of which were dubbed and bootlegged...or I should say most of them were. We bought A Night At the Roxbury and The Hangover. The Hangover ended up being in Spanish and a dubbed video--it was filmed in the theaters. We ordered more pizza and coke and had a chill night in the hostal and watched A Night At The Roxbury. It was very relaxing.
End of day 13!
We went back to the hostal for a meeting about the hiking trip coming up. I am nervous! I hope I don´t get sick again. We are cooking all of our food so the meeting was about what food to bring and how much of it. When the meeting was over Andrew, Sam, John, Kate and I went to a couple camping stores. I bought a hydration pack because I don´t want to get dehydrated again! That was THE worst thing ever. I also bought this really cool silver knife that has a flashlight in it. It almost looks like a switchblade which is illegal in the US haha. After the camp stores, we went and got pizza and this REALLY good place! I finally ate some margarita pizza and it was amazing. We ate pizza and watched some soccer that was on the TV in front of us. It was awesome.
We took a cab back and Chris, John, Helen and I went to the supermarket to get some food for the hiking trip. In total the cost of all the food was like 1,400 Bolivianos which is only like $200! That is amazing...food for 20 people for 6 days was only $200. In the US that is like how much groceries cost per week.
After the supermarket, John and I went to the internet. When we came back Anne asked if I wanted to come pick out a DVD to watch that night. There is a street right next to ours that is closed to all traffic because it is like a night market. You can find tons of things there. A couple stand were selling DVD´s, some of which were dubbed and bootlegged...or I should say most of them were. We bought A Night At the Roxbury and The Hangover. The Hangover ended up being in Spanish and a dubbed video--it was filmed in the theaters. We ordered more pizza and coke and had a chill night in the hostal and watched A Night At The Roxbury. It was very relaxing.
End of day 13!
My Group!
Here is a picture from one of the first days at the hostal in Quillacollo.
Top row, from left to right: Molly, Kate, Sam, Andrew, Emily, John, Chris, Becky
Bottom row, from left to right: Me, Anne, Annie, Sophia
Day 12: September 16
The day after Tunari wasn´t so great. I woke up still not feeling well and I also had to say by to my host mom who so lovingly put me to bed last night. Becky and I frantically packed and ate breakfast so we could meet at the instructors house at 10:00. We took a couple last pictures and gave our family BIG hugs before we left. It was SO sad saying bye. My host mom was crying : (
It was hard because I just spent a week getting to know this wonderful family and in reality I probably won´t see them again. Luckily, Charo and I are facebook friends!! Sadly, that is probably the only type of communication we will have between the two of us. I got on the bus and found out that my friend Andrew wasn´t feeling well also and was throwing up the night before. I sat next to him and tried to comfort him like he did for me the day before. I gave him a plastic bag just in case... a couple minutes later he missed the bag and threw up on me. EW! It was only on my leg though which is good. Our group plan for the day was: 1) hike up to the Cristo, which is a big statue of Jesus overlooking Cochabamba and 2) have a meeting in the botanic gardens. The instructors told Andrew and I we could sleep in a hostal instead. With no food or energy in me I gladly took the offer. All day Andrew and I slept in our own private hostal room feeling awfulll. The instructors checked up on us every hour. I wasn´t even really sad that I was missing the activites because I was feeling crumby. I was sad, however, that I was missing my last day in Cochabamba. I love that city!
8:30 came around and it was time to go to the bus station to go to La Paz. We were taking a 10:00 overnight bus to La Paz which was 7 hours. I wasn´t looking forward to it AT ALL. We luckily got the bus with bigger seats that reclined. I got a window seat! The bus wasn´t nearly as bad as I thought. Even though I had 24hrs of sleep already, I quickly passed out. We arrived in La Paz at 6:00am.
-End of boring and uneventful day 12
It was hard because I just spent a week getting to know this wonderful family and in reality I probably won´t see them again. Luckily, Charo and I are facebook friends!! Sadly, that is probably the only type of communication we will have between the two of us. I got on the bus and found out that my friend Andrew wasn´t feeling well also and was throwing up the night before. I sat next to him and tried to comfort him like he did for me the day before. I gave him a plastic bag just in case... a couple minutes later he missed the bag and threw up on me. EW! It was only on my leg though which is good. Our group plan for the day was: 1) hike up to the Cristo, which is a big statue of Jesus overlooking Cochabamba and 2) have a meeting in the botanic gardens. The instructors told Andrew and I we could sleep in a hostal instead. With no food or energy in me I gladly took the offer. All day Andrew and I slept in our own private hostal room feeling awfulll. The instructors checked up on us every hour. I wasn´t even really sad that I was missing the activites because I was feeling crumby. I was sad, however, that I was missing my last day in Cochabamba. I love that city!
8:30 came around and it was time to go to the bus station to go to La Paz. We were taking a 10:00 overnight bus to La Paz which was 7 hours. I wasn´t looking forward to it AT ALL. We luckily got the bus with bigger seats that reclined. I got a window seat! The bus wasn´t nearly as bad as I thought. Even though I had 24hrs of sleep already, I quickly passed out. We arrived in La Paz at 6:00am.
-End of boring and uneventful day 12
Above is a picture of my instructors at the Cristo. I wasn´t there but this picture was taken for me!
Day 11: Tunari
-Woke up at 5:45 and ate some breakfast
-Met at the school at 6:30 to get on the bus
-The bus ride to Mount Tunari was 2 hours. I was really energetic and the bus ride was really fun! It didn’t seem like 2 hours at all. I was also drinking a lot of coca tea because it is supposed to help with altitude sickness.
-We finally arrived to the point where we were going to start hiking. On the way up I really thought there wasn´t going to be mountain left to hike but I was VERY wrong. We got there and our guide pointed to this little tip way in the distance and told us we were going to hike up there. I had NOOOOO idea what I was in for. I was all pumped and ready to go!
-The views were unbelievable. It was so pretty. I was very surprised at how hard it was to climb only a couple feet. The altitude really gets you—there is like no oxygen and you get so winded.
-The group kept trekking on, stopping every once and a while to catch our breath. We took a snack break right above this gorgeous lake. At this point, I was feeling pretty good; I only had a little headache. Crister played guitar and we just chilled for a while. The view was spectacular.
-We still had probably another hour and a half to hike up the mountain. As we went farther up I started to feel even worse. We got to one point where I REALLY didn´t feel well. I started to feel nauseas. I let the group go up ahead of me because I felt like I had to throw up…seconds later I did. I really didn´t know how I was going to make it up the rest of the mountain. My legs felt weak, my head was pounding and my stomach was churning. I told myself I had to make it; I didn´t want to let myself or the group down. I took a big gulp of air and slowly started to follow in Crister´s footsteps with Andrew following behind me. We took a quick break when Maro came down and told us that we were only 2 minutes away from the top. I couldn’t believe it! Only a little more and I could rest for a little. I slowly moved my feet inch by inch up the mountain and FINALLY made it to the top. With absolutely no more energy I collapsed on the rocks. I opened my eyes to find a spectacular view of Cochabamba below. I somewhat successfully made it to the tallest peak in Cochabamba.
-I napped at the top while others ate lunch and sang songs. I was feeling so sick and tired. I have never pushed my body to such an extreme.
-It was time to go back down. I slowly stood up and quickly realized I had to throw up again. The group headed down while Crister, Chris, and John waited for me to finish throwing up. I had 2 hours of mountain to climb down and honestly I had NO idea how I was going to do it. I had nothing in me. All my food and liquid was gone. All that coca tea for nothing…when I think about it now it makes me SO nauseas.
-Little by little I went down the mountain. I looked back surprised I even made it up. Every once and a while I had to stop to catch my breath, throw up, or hold my head while it throbbed like no other. Crister and the rest kept telling me I could make it. I knew I had to go down because I hurt whether I was sitting or walking.
-After 2 TRECHEROUS hours of making my way down to the mountain, I made it to the bus. I thought it was over but I was terribly wrong.
-I got on the bus feeling so sick. I had 2 hours and 30min of rocky, windy road ahead of me. Right as the bus started down the mountain I threw up the little I had left in me. My head was in extreme pain. Helen sat next to me scratching my back telling me it was going to be ok. Honestly, I didn´t think it was going to be. On the mountain I thought I was going to have to be carried or lifted off the mountain. Now on the bus the only thing running threw my head was: “Oh my god, oh my god.” I wasn´t even crying because I was in so much pain.
-I threw up one more time on the bus and then just passed out with my head in my hands. I anxiously awaited our arrival back at home.
-We made it home, finally, and I could barely get off my seat. Helen and Becky walked me home to explain to my mom I wasn’t feeling well. I went straight to the bathroom to puke one more time. Right as I got out, Charo gave me a big hug. It was so nice to have a comforting hug. She told me everything was going to be ok and helped me get into my bed. She made me feel so much better! Thank god for moms!! Nelson, my dad, came into my room also to see how I was feeling. I unfortunately had to say bye to him that night as well.
-Once in my warm, comfortable bed, I quickly fell asleep. I really couldn´t believe I made it into my bed after all that misery. After a day of a hell, my bed was truly heaven.
-End of day 11
-Met at the school at 6:30 to get on the bus
-The bus ride to Mount Tunari was 2 hours. I was really energetic and the bus ride was really fun! It didn’t seem like 2 hours at all. I was also drinking a lot of coca tea because it is supposed to help with altitude sickness.
-We finally arrived to the point where we were going to start hiking. On the way up I really thought there wasn´t going to be mountain left to hike but I was VERY wrong. We got there and our guide pointed to this little tip way in the distance and told us we were going to hike up there. I had NOOOOO idea what I was in for. I was all pumped and ready to go!
-The views were unbelievable. It was so pretty. I was very surprised at how hard it was to climb only a couple feet. The altitude really gets you—there is like no oxygen and you get so winded.
-The group kept trekking on, stopping every once and a while to catch our breath. We took a snack break right above this gorgeous lake. At this point, I was feeling pretty good; I only had a little headache. Crister played guitar and we just chilled for a while. The view was spectacular.
-We still had probably another hour and a half to hike up the mountain. As we went farther up I started to feel even worse. We got to one point where I REALLY didn´t feel well. I started to feel nauseas. I let the group go up ahead of me because I felt like I had to throw up…seconds later I did. I really didn´t know how I was going to make it up the rest of the mountain. My legs felt weak, my head was pounding and my stomach was churning. I told myself I had to make it; I didn´t want to let myself or the group down. I took a big gulp of air and slowly started to follow in Crister´s footsteps with Andrew following behind me. We took a quick break when Maro came down and told us that we were only 2 minutes away from the top. I couldn’t believe it! Only a little more and I could rest for a little. I slowly moved my feet inch by inch up the mountain and FINALLY made it to the top. With absolutely no more energy I collapsed on the rocks. I opened my eyes to find a spectacular view of Cochabamba below. I somewhat successfully made it to the tallest peak in Cochabamba.
-I napped at the top while others ate lunch and sang songs. I was feeling so sick and tired. I have never pushed my body to such an extreme.
-It was time to go back down. I slowly stood up and quickly realized I had to throw up again. The group headed down while Crister, Chris, and John waited for me to finish throwing up. I had 2 hours of mountain to climb down and honestly I had NO idea how I was going to do it. I had nothing in me. All my food and liquid was gone. All that coca tea for nothing…when I think about it now it makes me SO nauseas.
-Little by little I went down the mountain. I looked back surprised I even made it up. Every once and a while I had to stop to catch my breath, throw up, or hold my head while it throbbed like no other. Crister and the rest kept telling me I could make it. I knew I had to go down because I hurt whether I was sitting or walking.
-After 2 TRECHEROUS hours of making my way down to the mountain, I made it to the bus. I thought it was over but I was terribly wrong.
-I got on the bus feeling so sick. I had 2 hours and 30min of rocky, windy road ahead of me. Right as the bus started down the mountain I threw up the little I had left in me. My head was in extreme pain. Helen sat next to me scratching my back telling me it was going to be ok. Honestly, I didn´t think it was going to be. On the mountain I thought I was going to have to be carried or lifted off the mountain. Now on the bus the only thing running threw my head was: “Oh my god, oh my god.” I wasn´t even crying because I was in so much pain.
-I threw up one more time on the bus and then just passed out with my head in my hands. I anxiously awaited our arrival back at home.
-We made it home, finally, and I could barely get off my seat. Helen and Becky walked me home to explain to my mom I wasn’t feeling well. I went straight to the bathroom to puke one more time. Right as I got out, Charo gave me a big hug. It was so nice to have a comforting hug. She told me everything was going to be ok and helped me get into my bed. She made me feel so much better! Thank god for moms!! Nelson, my dad, came into my room also to see how I was feeling. I unfortunately had to say bye to him that night as well.
-Once in my warm, comfortable bed, I quickly fell asleep. I really couldn´t believe I made it into my bed after all that misery. After a day of a hell, my bed was truly heaven.
-End of day 11
Day 10: Sep 15
-Breakfast and morning Spanish classes
-Laundry
-Lunch: potato puff thing filled with ground beef and stuff. It was really good; all the food is really good!
-The group packed into a van to go meet with a volunteer organization in downtown Cochabamba. The meeting was interesting; the people showed us a video and talked about Bolivia today. A lot of it was about the youth of Bolivia and how they conflict with older generations. It is interesting because Bolivia is such a changing country and there is such a difference in generations and how they view things.
-Becky and I got home and started cooking Stir Fry for the family! It was so fun actually cooking a meal. I think it was the first time I cooked a legit meal for 8 people. I think we did a good job for the first time! The cake we made looked amazing! It was a chocolate bunt cake with vanilla frosting and sprinkles. The Stir Fry was good too we just made a TON of it. We way overestimated the proportions. Anyway, I don’t know if the family liked it or not. They ate it obviously but I don’t know whether it was to be nice or because they actually liked it. I will never know! They were really nice about it and kept saying it was delicious; that made me feel good! Haha. What they really liked was the cake. I have to admit, it was a really pretty cake. I don’t think I’ve made such a good one. There was a lot of Stir Fry leftover though because we made way too much. We just saved it for leftovers.
-After dinner we had a family photo shoot. We took a bunch of pictures with each other that was fun. All the pictures are so cute! Nelson also took a video of Becky and me saying how much we liked Cochabamba and staying with the family.
-Becky, Nelson, Charo, Chris, Crister and I all went to the park to watch some futbol. Eventually, Chris, Crister and I got to play which was really fun. I love playing in that park under the lights! There is nothing I love more. Crister and I played in a really long game. We were only supposed to play to 8 but it was win by 2 so it took forever to finish. I ended up losing but that’s ok. I lost to Diego who was on my team before.
-I didn’t get into bed until like 12:30. I had so much fun though so it was ok!!
-Laundry
-Lunch: potato puff thing filled with ground beef and stuff. It was really good; all the food is really good!
-The group packed into a van to go meet with a volunteer organization in downtown Cochabamba. The meeting was interesting; the people showed us a video and talked about Bolivia today. A lot of it was about the youth of Bolivia and how they conflict with older generations. It is interesting because Bolivia is such a changing country and there is such a difference in generations and how they view things.
-Becky and I got home and started cooking Stir Fry for the family! It was so fun actually cooking a meal. I think it was the first time I cooked a legit meal for 8 people. I think we did a good job for the first time! The cake we made looked amazing! It was a chocolate bunt cake with vanilla frosting and sprinkles. The Stir Fry was good too we just made a TON of it. We way overestimated the proportions. Anyway, I don’t know if the family liked it or not. They ate it obviously but I don’t know whether it was to be nice or because they actually liked it. I will never know! They were really nice about it and kept saying it was delicious; that made me feel good! Haha. What they really liked was the cake. I have to admit, it was a really pretty cake. I don’t think I’ve made such a good one. There was a lot of Stir Fry leftover though because we made way too much. We just saved it for leftovers.
-After dinner we had a family photo shoot. We took a bunch of pictures with each other that was fun. All the pictures are so cute! Nelson also took a video of Becky and me saying how much we liked Cochabamba and staying with the family.
-Becky, Nelson, Charo, Chris, Crister and I all went to the park to watch some futbol. Eventually, Chris, Crister and I got to play which was really fun. I love playing in that park under the lights! There is nothing I love more. Crister and I played in a really long game. We were only supposed to play to 8 but it was win by 2 so it took forever to finish. I ended up losing but that’s ok. I lost to Diego who was on my team before.
-I didn’t get into bed until like 12:30. I had so much fun though so it was ok!!
Cochabamba Day 8
Sep 14
Today I woke up at 7:30 for Spanish classes at 8:15. I took a shower before breakfast but my host mom laughed at me because in order to turn the water on for the shower you have to lift up this lever in the front of the house. The lever was already up and I pulled it down turning the water off…she got a big kick out of that.
-Becky and I were in a big rush to get to class because we cut it really close. Are mom gave us some banana bread, bread, and tea to go. With our hands full, we ran around the corner to school.
-In classes today we talked about politics. I did a really good job talking! I was really proud of myself. It is amazing how much you can improve with small classes. I feel like I have learned more in these short days than I have in four years of high school. The three students to one teacher are great because you have so much time to talk. In the beginning we usually review grammar and then later we practice it. Being able to learn material and actually practice it after is just so beneficial.
-During the break I had banana milk which is the BEST drink in the world! A woman in the school sells fresh drinks during the half hour break. I love getting the banana milk or the freshly squeezed orange juice. It is soo good.
-Classes resumed for another 2 hours. We talked about random things and worked on more grammar.
-After class I went to Kate and Emily’s home stay house. Right as I walked in the door I was greeted with smiles and warm welcomes. The house was filled with people: aunts, uncles, grandmas, cousins, moms, and dads. I loved the big family! They were all cooking fresh pizza that looked A-mazing. They could all tell my mouth was watering for it and didn’t hesitate to invite me to stay for lunch. I told them I had lunch waiting for me at home, but they insisted that I come back for a slice. I quickly accepted their offer; after all, the pizza did look amazing.
-I ran home to eat my first lunch: chicken, rice and potatoes. It was soo good! I sat and talked with my family for a little but didn’t forget my promise to return to Kate and Emily’s house. After lunch was done, I ran right back out the door.
-I returned to the house as if I never left and was once again surrounded by all the smiling faces. I can’t describe to you the energy and kind heartiness that filled the house. Everyone was so just so happy. I talked to everyone, or attempted to, and that just made me so happy. Their smiles were contagious.
-I watched Hannah Montana in Spanish, I sang some Michael Jackson, and I even played a little indoor bball—I don’t know if that was allowed but everyone was just so carefree. The pizza was ready and they quickly shoved slices in front of me. I told them I already ate but they told me I must eat…so I did! I can’t complain though because it was absolutely delicious. The boy next to me, Elian, was piling ketchup on his pizza haha it was so funny. I noticed that the rest of the table was doing the same (I guess they really love ketchup!)
-I had class at 1:30 and had to go but didn’t want to tear myself away from my lively conversations! I was just having so much fun being with the family. I can’t stress enough how nice and happy they were! It just made my day.
-SOMEHOW I tore myself away from the table and made my way to class. I was shown out with smiles, “thanks for comings”, and “come back soons!”
-I arrived back at school for the Ancient Andes/Modern Andes class. It was pretty interesting. It was about an article called Bolivia On The Brink and it talked about politics and Bolivia’s relation with the US. I didn’t really talk much…I think it was because I ate two lunches and was extremely full!
-Internet café for a little
-Went home for a little and met some relatives that were over. Once again, I loved meeting the whole family and the warm hellos. There were so many cute cousins over!
-The day got even better when I got some brownies from Kate/Emily’s house…there is always great food there!
-The group then went into Cochabamba for it anniversaries! It was so fun. There were parades, food (ya more food), stands, shops, etc. It was also a beautiful day. Somehow I got ice cream. It was delicious. It was called Jave Late and tasted kind of like a frappaccino. I also tried…get ready…a cow heart! It didn’t actually look or taste like a cow heart luckily, It looked like regular thin beef on a stick and tasted like regular beef. I only had a bite though.
-Chris, Anne and I broke from the group and walked around. We watched some of the parade, looked at sunglasses, sat in the park, and took some pictures. It was so nice.
-We met up with the rest of the group around 6:00 at the corner of the plaza. A man was performing with a band of skeleton puppeteers; it was really cool! I put some money in his hat.
- Anne, Chris, Sophia, Molly, Becky and I decided to stay in the city longer. We wanted to see more of the parades and walk around since it was so nice out. We bought these coca leaf key chains that had embroidery on the back and “Bolivia” written across the front. I hope I don’t lose it cause its sweet.
-I love the vibe of the city. I felt really safe and everyone was so nice. Everyone talks about how unsafe Bolivia is but being here it seems so untrue. I probably feel safer walking around the streets of Cochabamba than I do the streets of Chicago. The only thing you get is a couple of stares because you are a gringo, or a white person. Another thing I was surprised about was the amount of homeless people. Bolivia is supposed to be one of the poorest Latin American countries yet it seems there are more homeless people in the US than Bolivia. I find that to be very interesting.
-ANYWAY, after watching the parade and shopping a little we got on the bus back home.
-Becky and I went to our rooms and were going to wash up for dinner when the lights went out!! It was so scary; I hate blackouts. We rushed into our family room with our headlamps. Our family was so intrigued by them and laughed on how they were on our heads. Fabianna, my little sister, wouldn’t stop laughing.
-Sophia stopped by because we were going to run but Nelson, our dad, told us it probably wasn’t safe to run. Sophia just went running with Chris instead and Becky and I stayed behind.
-After like 20 minutes the lights came back on. Becky and I really weren’t hungry and still wanted to go for a run. We decided to run around the park in front of the house. It was such a nice run!! I am so glad I got to burn off all the food I ate. When we were done running we decided to sit and watch some pickup soccer games. Becky and I started talking to some of the locals who were also watching. Chris, Molly and Sophia showed up and joined in on the conversations. Mansfield, a guy from the Spanish school who lives in North Carolina, came to the park, too. Once everyone was there a local girl named Tatiana kindly asked us if we wanted to play soccer. We were all so excited! Chris, Molly, Mansfield, and I played against some locals. We had one local on our team though named Diego. He was really nice and good at soccer! We ended up beating the local team 10-8. The game was SOO fun.
-Since we won the game, the other team had to buy us Sprite. We all talked and shared sprite on the stands for a while. It was awesome talking to locals and practicing Spanish. I really enjoyed talking to some Bolivians our own age. In all it was just a really fun night—and day!!
-After talking for a while Becky and I walked across the park right into our beds. It is so nice having our house right there!
-End of an AWESOME day 8
Today I woke up at 7:30 for Spanish classes at 8:15. I took a shower before breakfast but my host mom laughed at me because in order to turn the water on for the shower you have to lift up this lever in the front of the house. The lever was already up and I pulled it down turning the water off…she got a big kick out of that.
-Becky and I were in a big rush to get to class because we cut it really close. Are mom gave us some banana bread, bread, and tea to go. With our hands full, we ran around the corner to school.
-In classes today we talked about politics. I did a really good job talking! I was really proud of myself. It is amazing how much you can improve with small classes. I feel like I have learned more in these short days than I have in four years of high school. The three students to one teacher are great because you have so much time to talk. In the beginning we usually review grammar and then later we practice it. Being able to learn material and actually practice it after is just so beneficial.
-During the break I had banana milk which is the BEST drink in the world! A woman in the school sells fresh drinks during the half hour break. I love getting the banana milk or the freshly squeezed orange juice. It is soo good.
-Classes resumed for another 2 hours. We talked about random things and worked on more grammar.
-After class I went to Kate and Emily’s home stay house. Right as I walked in the door I was greeted with smiles and warm welcomes. The house was filled with people: aunts, uncles, grandmas, cousins, moms, and dads. I loved the big family! They were all cooking fresh pizza that looked A-mazing. They could all tell my mouth was watering for it and didn’t hesitate to invite me to stay for lunch. I told them I had lunch waiting for me at home, but they insisted that I come back for a slice. I quickly accepted their offer; after all, the pizza did look amazing.
-I ran home to eat my first lunch: chicken, rice and potatoes. It was soo good! I sat and talked with my family for a little but didn’t forget my promise to return to Kate and Emily’s house. After lunch was done, I ran right back out the door.
-I returned to the house as if I never left and was once again surrounded by all the smiling faces. I can’t describe to you the energy and kind heartiness that filled the house. Everyone was so just so happy. I talked to everyone, or attempted to, and that just made me so happy. Their smiles were contagious.
-I watched Hannah Montana in Spanish, I sang some Michael Jackson, and I even played a little indoor bball—I don’t know if that was allowed but everyone was just so carefree. The pizza was ready and they quickly shoved slices in front of me. I told them I already ate but they told me I must eat…so I did! I can’t complain though because it was absolutely delicious. The boy next to me, Elian, was piling ketchup on his pizza haha it was so funny. I noticed that the rest of the table was doing the same (I guess they really love ketchup!)
-I had class at 1:30 and had to go but didn’t want to tear myself away from my lively conversations! I was just having so much fun being with the family. I can’t stress enough how nice and happy they were! It just made my day.
-SOMEHOW I tore myself away from the table and made my way to class. I was shown out with smiles, “thanks for comings”, and “come back soons!”
-I arrived back at school for the Ancient Andes/Modern Andes class. It was pretty interesting. It was about an article called Bolivia On The Brink and it talked about politics and Bolivia’s relation with the US. I didn’t really talk much…I think it was because I ate two lunches and was extremely full!
-Internet café for a little
-Went home for a little and met some relatives that were over. Once again, I loved meeting the whole family and the warm hellos. There were so many cute cousins over!
-The day got even better when I got some brownies from Kate/Emily’s house…there is always great food there!
-The group then went into Cochabamba for it anniversaries! It was so fun. There were parades, food (ya more food), stands, shops, etc. It was also a beautiful day. Somehow I got ice cream. It was delicious. It was called Jave Late and tasted kind of like a frappaccino. I also tried…get ready…a cow heart! It didn’t actually look or taste like a cow heart luckily, It looked like regular thin beef on a stick and tasted like regular beef. I only had a bite though.
-Chris, Anne and I broke from the group and walked around. We watched some of the parade, looked at sunglasses, sat in the park, and took some pictures. It was so nice.
-We met up with the rest of the group around 6:00 at the corner of the plaza. A man was performing with a band of skeleton puppeteers; it was really cool! I put some money in his hat.
- Anne, Chris, Sophia, Molly, Becky and I decided to stay in the city longer. We wanted to see more of the parades and walk around since it was so nice out. We bought these coca leaf key chains that had embroidery on the back and “Bolivia” written across the front. I hope I don’t lose it cause its sweet.
-I love the vibe of the city. I felt really safe and everyone was so nice. Everyone talks about how unsafe Bolivia is but being here it seems so untrue. I probably feel safer walking around the streets of Cochabamba than I do the streets of Chicago. The only thing you get is a couple of stares because you are a gringo, or a white person. Another thing I was surprised about was the amount of homeless people. Bolivia is supposed to be one of the poorest Latin American countries yet it seems there are more homeless people in the US than Bolivia. I find that to be very interesting.
-ANYWAY, after watching the parade and shopping a little we got on the bus back home.
-Becky and I went to our rooms and were going to wash up for dinner when the lights went out!! It was so scary; I hate blackouts. We rushed into our family room with our headlamps. Our family was so intrigued by them and laughed on how they were on our heads. Fabianna, my little sister, wouldn’t stop laughing.
-Sophia stopped by because we were going to run but Nelson, our dad, told us it probably wasn’t safe to run. Sophia just went running with Chris instead and Becky and I stayed behind.
-After like 20 minutes the lights came back on. Becky and I really weren’t hungry and still wanted to go for a run. We decided to run around the park in front of the house. It was such a nice run!! I am so glad I got to burn off all the food I ate. When we were done running we decided to sit and watch some pickup soccer games. Becky and I started talking to some of the locals who were also watching. Chris, Molly and Sophia showed up and joined in on the conversations. Mansfield, a guy from the Spanish school who lives in North Carolina, came to the park, too. Once everyone was there a local girl named Tatiana kindly asked us if we wanted to play soccer. We were all so excited! Chris, Molly, Mansfield, and I played against some locals. We had one local on our team though named Diego. He was really nice and good at soccer! We ended up beating the local team 10-8. The game was SOO fun.
-Since we won the game, the other team had to buy us Sprite. We all talked and shared sprite on the stands for a while. It was awesome talking to locals and practicing Spanish. I really enjoyed talking to some Bolivians our own age. In all it was just a really fun night—and day!!
-After talking for a while Becky and I walked across the park right into our beds. It is so nice having our house right there!
-End of an AWESOME day 8
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Day 7
-Woke up at 9 and went for a run with Becky
-Breakfast: bread and tea
-internet
-hung out with host family all day: cooked with host mom and went to supermarket
-read for class
-baked banana bread
-lunch: pasta that we made
-dinner: leftover pasta that I we made
-dessert: bread that we made and some treats we got at the supermarket
-park with host sisters
-internet
-Breakfast: bread and tea
-internet
-hung out with host family all day: cooked with host mom and went to supermarket
-read for class
-baked banana bread
-lunch: pasta that we made
-dinner: leftover pasta that I we made
-dessert: bread that we made and some treats we got at the supermarket
-park with host sisters
-internet
Day 5 and 6
Incallajta!
Me and Crister at Incallajta!
Rest of Day 5:
-After the internet cafe I had dinner
-Dinner: Hot dogs and mashed potatos with some Coke and Fanta (yum!)
-After dinner Becky and I went for a walk with our host partents. They laughed at us a little because we were really cold and before they told us to wear a sweater but we said we were fine.
-Everyone went ot the "fiest" for a little which was fun
-Bed
Day 6:
-Woke up early at 6:15 beacuse we were going to Incallajta which is a city with old Inca ruins. The ruins the second largest compared to Machu Picchu. The city contained 3,000 people.
-Took a shower (the focet kept shocking me whenever I would turn it! OUCH!!!)
-Quick breakfast: bread, jam and tea
-3 hour bus ride to Incallajta
-After winding up small roads and going past rural farms we finally made it to Incallajta. When we got there we had some of the lunch our host mom packed us. Charo, my mom, packed me 2 ham and cheese sandwiches, apple, banana, orange and some bread along with a huge thing of water. While eating we met this cute little local girl in old dirty clothes. She also had cute little pigtails. We shared some food with her
-We set off for the trail: the ruins were amazing! The city of ruins was so spread out. There were different sections of the city for weaving, agriculture, the princesses, warriors, and astronomers. It was very interesting. There was also a very pretty waterfall that we sat by to eat the rest of our lunch.
-Once the trail was over we had a class on Ancient Andes, Modern Andes. We discussed the packet we read on the lifestyles of the Incas.
-Got back on the bus! 3 hour bus ride back. The view was gorgeous because the sun was setting. The ride went by really quickly. We played some fun games and listened to music.
-We tried stopping for empenadas but failed. The place didn´t have any!! Que loca.
-Dinner: my favorite....Arroz con carne!!! It is basically like fried rice. It was sooo good.
-After dinner Becky and I played with our host sisters. They are so cute. They finally warmed up to us. Some friends ended up coming over and we all played with my sisters. We pretty much had the whole group at my house: Fiesta!
-We went to the park across the street but then decided we wanted some ice cream so started walking towards the city. It was fun to see the Cochabamba nightlife! We went by some discotecas that looked really funny. We didn´t got though... we got ice cream and walked back home.
-Becky and I chilled at the park for a little then went to bed!
-End of Day 6!!
-After the internet cafe I had dinner
-Dinner: Hot dogs and mashed potatos with some Coke and Fanta (yum!)
-After dinner Becky and I went for a walk with our host partents. They laughed at us a little because we were really cold and before they told us to wear a sweater but we said we were fine.
-Everyone went ot the "fiest" for a little which was fun
-Bed
Day 6:
-Woke up early at 6:15 beacuse we were going to Incallajta which is a city with old Inca ruins. The ruins the second largest compared to Machu Picchu. The city contained 3,000 people.
-Took a shower (the focet kept shocking me whenever I would turn it! OUCH!!!)
-Quick breakfast: bread, jam and tea
-3 hour bus ride to Incallajta
-After winding up small roads and going past rural farms we finally made it to Incallajta. When we got there we had some of the lunch our host mom packed us. Charo, my mom, packed me 2 ham and cheese sandwiches, apple, banana, orange and some bread along with a huge thing of water. While eating we met this cute little local girl in old dirty clothes. She also had cute little pigtails. We shared some food with her
-We set off for the trail: the ruins were amazing! The city of ruins was so spread out. There were different sections of the city for weaving, agriculture, the princesses, warriors, and astronomers. It was very interesting. There was also a very pretty waterfall that we sat by to eat the rest of our lunch.
-Once the trail was over we had a class on Ancient Andes, Modern Andes. We discussed the packet we read on the lifestyles of the Incas.
-Got back on the bus! 3 hour bus ride back. The view was gorgeous because the sun was setting. The ride went by really quickly. We played some fun games and listened to music.
-We tried stopping for empenadas but failed. The place didn´t have any!! Que loca.
-Dinner: my favorite....Arroz con carne!!! It is basically like fried rice. It was sooo good.
-After dinner Becky and I played with our host sisters. They are so cute. They finally warmed up to us. Some friends ended up coming over and we all played with my sisters. We pretty much had the whole group at my house: Fiesta!
-We went to the park across the street but then decided we wanted some ice cream so started walking towards the city. It was fun to see the Cochabamba nightlife! We went by some discotecas that looked really funny. We didn´t got though... we got ice cream and walked back home.
-Becky and I chilled at the park for a little then went to bed!
-End of Day 6!!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Group Members
Here is my group! I thought you might like to know names in order to follow my blog:
1. Becky, 18, Seattle, Whitman College
2. Sam, 18, Grand Rapids, Harvard
3. Chris, 18, Boston, Colorado College
4. Sophia, 18, San Fran, Colorado College
5. Anne, 18, Baltimore, Stanford
6. Andrew, 20, Denver, Boulder
7. John, 19, Chicago, transfering from Lynchberg
8. Annie, 20, ?, Emerson
9. Emily, 18, Massachusetts, Skidmore
10. Kate, 18, North Carolina, Applying in Fal
11. Molly, 18, Bay area, ?
12. ME!
1. Becky, 18, Seattle, Whitman College
2. Sam, 18, Grand Rapids, Harvard
3. Chris, 18, Boston, Colorado College
4. Sophia, 18, San Fran, Colorado College
5. Anne, 18, Baltimore, Stanford
6. Andrew, 20, Denver, Boulder
7. John, 19, Chicago, transfering from Lynchberg
8. Annie, 20, ?, Emerson
9. Emily, 18, Massachusetts, Skidmore
10. Kate, 18, North Carolina, Applying in Fal
11. Molly, 18, Bay area, ?
12. ME!
Top row, from left to right: Molly, Kate, Sam, Andrew, Emily, John, Chris, Becky
Bottom row, from left to right: Me, Anne, Annie, Sofia
Instruct0rs: ALL ARE AWESOME!! They all know so much about Bolivia, Peru and Spanish.
1. Crister: 24, Santa Barbara, went to UNC, lived in Bolivia for a while.
2. Marolyn: from La Paz! She is really cool and it is awesome to have a "local" as a leader! She knows everything. I don´t really know all the details about her thought. She studied Biology though.
3.Helen: worked in Bolivia for the Peace Corp but was pulled out by the US for¨"saftey reasons." She is SO nice and knowledgable aboout Bolivia as well (I guess they all are though).
Catchup!
Hi everyone! Sorry I have been behind on my posts. I am finally in Cochabamba for my homestays and have acces to internet. I want to update you on what I have been doing!
Day 1 (Long travel day(s)
-flew from Chicago to Miami (3 hours)
-got to Miami around 6:00 and met my group. My flight was supposed to be at 11:00 but we didnt leave until 12:30ish. At this point I was starting to not feel well; I had a bit of a headache. The plane ride from Miami to La Paz was 7 hours.
-We arrived in La Paz around 7:30 and I felt awful! My legs were shaky, I had a bad headache, and I felt naseous
-We had orientation in a beautiful park overlooking the city. I still didn´t feel so well but the fresh air felt nice.
-After orientation we got back onto the bus for a 7 hour bus ride to Quillocollo.
-The bus ride was not pleasent. It was a double decker bus and we sat on top. Luckily I got the window seat! I ended up throwing up out the window... : ( After I felt a lot better though!!
-FINALLY we got to Quillocollo and went to our hostel. It was outside the city a little and was beautiful. It was more like a resort type thing. There was a lot of land and different buildings...even a pool! The pool was really cold though.
-We ate dinner, did some group activities then went to bed! End of long "day" 1
Day 2:
-Day 2 was filled with orientation meetings and activities. The food was really good (chicken). We swam played soccer etc. Not to much went on, just a lot of activities!
Day 3:
-Woke up and did yoga with some people...it was a beautiful morning!
-Breakfast: bread, jam, fruit etc.
-group activities/meetings
-during a break we met this cute boy who said his name was michael jackson. he started dancing and singing to Thriller. It was hillarious!
-Later that day we went to the town of Quillocollo. We had a scavenger hunt where we had to find certain things like restaurants, fruit, the church etc. It was a nice way to explore and learn about the town. We actually met this one guy named Omar who was 18. We asked him where the church was and he said he would take us. The really funny thing is that he was caring a fake spear because he was getting ready for the parade tomorrow. It was funny because it was a Bolivian with a spear guiding a group of Gringos (white people). Everyone was looking it was great.
-we had dinner at a spot where Omar showed us. The food was pretty good. We had a typical Bolivian beef plate.
-after dinner we went back home and had THE BEST meeting with the owner of the community or hostel. The man talked about how we have lost the sense of community. He said that he built the compound or community we were staying at in order to restore the sense of community like that way it used to be. He was probably the wisest person I have ever heard talk. It was awesome.
-Stargazed (the stars are awesome! it is cool because they arent the same as at home) then I went to bed!
Day 4
-woke up, packed, ate typical breakfast, and said goodbye to the awesome communidad we were staying in!
-took a taxi to Cochabamba for homstays...my taxi got a little lost
-arrived in the neighborhood of Cona Cona and was assigned our host family. I got the Charo family with a girl named Becky. The house is really nice! We have our own room that is across the patio. There is 3 beds and our own bathroom which is nice. My mom´s name is Charo, my dad´s name is Nelson, my sister´s name is Fabby (4) and Claudia (9). They are all so nice! The food is good but I get a little sick of the same thing over and over.
-Later that day we had Spanish classes for 4 hours! My teacher was hillarious though. Her name was Tuki. My spanish is really improving!! I am so excited.
-After classes we had a meeting at the staff house
-played Frisbee with Crister, my instructor and some friends, Anne and Becky at the park across the street from my house
-I then went home and did some HW before dinner. The dog, a chiauahaua or however you spell it, wouldn´t leave me alone!! It was SO annoying.
-Dinner: steak, "french fries" SO GOOD, and fried bananas
-after dinner some of us went to watch the pickup soccer games across the street at the park. They are all so good at soccer! It is really fun to watch.
-Bed.
Day 5 Sep 11 (so far)
-woke up at 7:30
-breakfast (bread, jam, butter, tea) with Becky and Charo my host mom
-Meeting at staff house
-took a bus to center of Cochabamba! We got to explore the markets and city. It was awesome. I got this sweet blue watch. Everyone was so nice! It is amazing how many people are on the street selling things. This one woman tried to get me to buy an outfit that consisted of: a poncho, hat, socks, scarf, and a blanket...all matching. It was really funny. I went around the markets with Sam and Anne. I only bought a watch and some popcorn but luckily we will be back. I want to get a Bolivian Jersey!
-Came back home for lunch: chicken, noodles, potatos, and juice
-4 hours of spanish classes... yay! I didn´t have the funny teacher today either. Oh well.
-Here I am now writing to you! Later I am going to a "fiesta" for some students at the spanish school we go to beacuse they are leaving. It is actually really cool that there are other students there. Some are from France, Germany, North Carolina and the Alps. I also hope to see more soccer! Well that is all for now but I will post later what I actually did tonight and what I will be doing in the days to come!
xoxo
Day 1 (Long travel day(s)
-flew from Chicago to Miami (3 hours)
-got to Miami around 6:00 and met my group. My flight was supposed to be at 11:00 but we didnt leave until 12:30ish. At this point I was starting to not feel well; I had a bit of a headache. The plane ride from Miami to La Paz was 7 hours.
-We arrived in La Paz around 7:30 and I felt awful! My legs were shaky, I had a bad headache, and I felt naseous
-We had orientation in a beautiful park overlooking the city. I still didn´t feel so well but the fresh air felt nice.
-After orientation we got back onto the bus for a 7 hour bus ride to Quillocollo.
-The bus ride was not pleasent. It was a double decker bus and we sat on top. Luckily I got the window seat! I ended up throwing up out the window... : ( After I felt a lot better though!!
-FINALLY we got to Quillocollo and went to our hostel. It was outside the city a little and was beautiful. It was more like a resort type thing. There was a lot of land and different buildings...even a pool! The pool was really cold though.
-We ate dinner, did some group activities then went to bed! End of long "day" 1
Day 2:
-Day 2 was filled with orientation meetings and activities. The food was really good (chicken). We swam played soccer etc. Not to much went on, just a lot of activities!
Day 3:
-Woke up and did yoga with some people...it was a beautiful morning!
-Breakfast: bread, jam, fruit etc.
-group activities/meetings
-during a break we met this cute boy who said his name was michael jackson. he started dancing and singing to Thriller. It was hillarious!
-Later that day we went to the town of Quillocollo. We had a scavenger hunt where we had to find certain things like restaurants, fruit, the church etc. It was a nice way to explore and learn about the town. We actually met this one guy named Omar who was 18. We asked him where the church was and he said he would take us. The really funny thing is that he was caring a fake spear because he was getting ready for the parade tomorrow. It was funny because it was a Bolivian with a spear guiding a group of Gringos (white people). Everyone was looking it was great.
-we had dinner at a spot where Omar showed us. The food was pretty good. We had a typical Bolivian beef plate.
-after dinner we went back home and had THE BEST meeting with the owner of the community or hostel. The man talked about how we have lost the sense of community. He said that he built the compound or community we were staying at in order to restore the sense of community like that way it used to be. He was probably the wisest person I have ever heard talk. It was awesome.
-Stargazed (the stars are awesome! it is cool because they arent the same as at home) then I went to bed!
Day 4
-woke up, packed, ate typical breakfast, and said goodbye to the awesome communidad we were staying in!
-took a taxi to Cochabamba for homstays...my taxi got a little lost
-arrived in the neighborhood of Cona Cona and was assigned our host family. I got the Charo family with a girl named Becky. The house is really nice! We have our own room that is across the patio. There is 3 beds and our own bathroom which is nice. My mom´s name is Charo, my dad´s name is Nelson, my sister´s name is Fabby (4) and Claudia (9). They are all so nice! The food is good but I get a little sick of the same thing over and over.
-Later that day we had Spanish classes for 4 hours! My teacher was hillarious though. Her name was Tuki. My spanish is really improving!! I am so excited.
-After classes we had a meeting at the staff house
-played Frisbee with Crister, my instructor and some friends, Anne and Becky at the park across the street from my house
-I then went home and did some HW before dinner. The dog, a chiauahaua or however you spell it, wouldn´t leave me alone!! It was SO annoying.
-Dinner: steak, "french fries" SO GOOD, and fried bananas
-after dinner some of us went to watch the pickup soccer games across the street at the park. They are all so good at soccer! It is really fun to watch.
-Bed.
Day 5 Sep 11 (so far)
-woke up at 7:30
-breakfast (bread, jam, butter, tea) with Becky and Charo my host mom
-Meeting at staff house
-took a bus to center of Cochabamba! We got to explore the markets and city. It was awesome. I got this sweet blue watch. Everyone was so nice! It is amazing how many people are on the street selling things. This one woman tried to get me to buy an outfit that consisted of: a poncho, hat, socks, scarf, and a blanket...all matching. It was really funny. I went around the markets with Sam and Anne. I only bought a watch and some popcorn but luckily we will be back. I want to get a Bolivian Jersey!
-Came back home for lunch: chicken, noodles, potatos, and juice
-4 hours of spanish classes... yay! I didn´t have the funny teacher today either. Oh well.
-Here I am now writing to you! Later I am going to a "fiesta" for some students at the spanish school we go to beacuse they are leaving. It is actually really cool that there are other students there. Some are from France, Germany, North Carolina and the Alps. I also hope to see more soccer! Well that is all for now but I will post later what I actually did tonight and what I will be doing in the days to come!
xoxo
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
First Days
FINALLY!
I am finally in Bolivia and I am loving it! The weather is awesome, warm during the day but a little colder at night. I don´t have much time right now to blog but hopefully i will have more later this week. The past couple days we have been staying in this hostel doing orientation type things. Shoot I have to go right now... SORRY! hopefully i can type more tomorrow. anyway, i am having fun and ill keep you updated!
I am finally in Bolivia and I am loving it! The weather is awesome, warm during the day but a little colder at night. I don´t have much time right now to blog but hopefully i will have more later this week. The past couple days we have been staying in this hostel doing orientation type things. Shoot I have to go right now... SORRY! hopefully i can type more tomorrow. anyway, i am having fun and ill keep you updated!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Proposed Itinerary!
Hey for everyone wondering what I will be doing in Peru and Bolivia, here is my proposed itinerary:
7 – 9 September: Arrival in La Paz, transfer to domestic terminal for our flight to Cochabamba! We will spend our first few days together at the Casa de la Crianza, a beautiful, inspiring, peaceful place about a half an hour outside of the city itself. We will dive into workshops on group dynamics, Andean Cosmo vision, social movements and advocacy and some basic language lessons!
10 – 19 September: Cochabamba is a unique and vibrant city, in the heart of the central valleys. The city is a meeting point for people from all over the country, and is a hotspot for social movements and revolutions. We will embark upon our first round of home stays and language study here in “Cocha”. We will have time to explore the city and surrounding areas in the afternoons and evenings, while we hone our language skills in small, interactive classes in the mornings. We may even have an opportunity to summit Tunari, the highest peak in the Cochabamba region!
20 – 24 September: We will travel up from the central valleys into the highlands of the La Paz department, catching our first real glimpses of the frenetic cities of La Paz and El Alto before moving on to the tranquil shores of Lake Titicaca. We will spend a few days in Santiago de Okola, on the shores of this majestic lake, learning about agro-biodiversity and the realities of life in rural Bolivia.
25 September – 2 October: Continuing north from Lake Titicaca, we arrive in the majestic Apolobamba Range. Our first big trek will take us through high mountain passes and through Quechua villages from Pelechuco to Charazani. We will stop for three days in the village of Kaata to participate in home stays and observe agricultural practices in this beautiful community—also one of the most productive agricultural regions of the country.
3 – 24 October: After a busy month of rugged travel, we will settle into our extended home stays in the idyllic mountain town of Sorata. Nestled into a beautiful, fertile valley in the shadow of the magnificent Mt. Illampu, we will have ample time to continue language study, dive in to our Independent Study Projects, further explore and discuss themes of social movements and change in the Andes, and try our hands at keeping up the gardens and working in the fields with our host families.
25 - 30 October: We will set out on the next leg of our adventure from our very own backyard at the Program House! Following an old Inca highway, we will descend through various ecological tiers and past gold mining operations on the “Camino de Oro”. This legendary path connected the Andean highlands to the lowland gold mines. Much of the gold extricated from this region traveled all the way to Cuzco to adorn the temples of the Incas!
31 October – 10 November: Continuing further down in elevation, only this time, by boat, we move on to the gateway to the Amazon region in Bolivia: Rurrenabaque. Our time in “Rurre”, as it is locally known, will be defined by meaningful service projects with a focus on rural community health, lectures on local ecology and opportunities to work alongside locals in their daily routines.
11 – 14 November: After saying farewell to Rurrenabaque, we will move on to the Yungas region of the La Paz department. The Yungas, situated on the eastern slope of the Andes, is a vibrant transition zone. It is an ideal area for the cultivation of many crops, including the infamous and controversial coca leaf. We will spend a few days in the Afro-Bolivian community of Tocaña, working alongside local families in their fields, and learning more about agriculture in the Andes.
15 – 21 November: After another long, yet fulfilling journey, we will return “home” to Sorata for a final week of home stays, language study and independent study projects. We may also have the opportunity to spend a few days exploring La Paz and El Alto as we gear up for the next phase. We will take advantage of this rejuvenating time to plan for our final expedition: Peru!
22 November – 3 December: Peru! It’s time for students to take the reigns of the course. Working with the instructors, students will have the opportunity to direct their experience in Peru. From the vibrant Amazonian region, to the storied Incan cities of Cuzco and Machu Picchu, Southern Peru offers many rewards to the intrepid adventurer. Details to be determined!
4 – 8 December: After successfully navigating the Peruvian/Bolivian border crossing, we will return to La Paz for our final few days together. Our time will be divided between ISP presentations, meetings with local NGOs, workshops on reverse culture shock and returning home, and even some time to do a little souvenir shopping
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