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
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