Arriving to Cochabamba

Well, Lydia and I have made it to our home base for the next 90 days! We left Loki in La Paz around 12:30, and took a bus to Cochabamba. The bus ride was....unique. It was incredible to be able to see Bolivia's vast and amazing landscape, from miles of flat desert like scapes to being right in the middle of ginormous mountains basically touching the clouds. We drove through many different small villages, most of which had half built building and many stray dogs running wild. It's hard to explain how I felt driving through some of these towns that were just so so poor, and seeing a big "Coca Cola" montage painted on a building that was falling apart. I was told that the reason for so many buildings here in Bolivia not being fully finished is due to the fact they don't have to pay tax if they construction isn't complete. Driving through a town called "El Alto" we saw scarecrows hung up throughout the city. I found out that this is to warn everyone of the penalties for committing a crime in this town, as they do not have official police. Men are hung and women are stoned to death, still to this day. Pretty surreal.

We stopped in another little village that had a tiny restaurant, and at this point I was famished so I bought some pringles, and a "Pollos" a.k.a chicken sandwhich. They ended up giving me one chicken and one "Carne" which means beef. They weren't amazing, but I didn't expect them to be. They had a small piece of a tomato and a bit of what I think was mayo...I was worried about getting sick but I seem to be feeling fine. Overwhelmed, but fine. The bus ride did go smoothly, our luggage was safe, and I managed to get a little nap in. I wish my nap would have lasted longer, as the locals on the bus requested that a movie be played, and they chose an English title just for us "Gringa's"....and they went with FINAL DESTINATION 5.....worst.movie.choice.ever. I was already feeling extremely anxious, and to add to it I had a screen in front of my face that I couldn't shut off showing different freak accident scenarios where young people die extremely brutal deaths...Lydia and I were not enjoying this whatsoever, but the local people were laughing and loving it. I was told that scary movies are a common favorite here, which is fine...but maybe not for us Gringa's on an 8 hour bus ride through an unknown land.

Arriving in Cochabamba was very overwhelming for me. Lydia was very calm, and was able to speak with some locals about which taxi service was safe and where the main entrance was. We were able to call our contact Igor from CENDA who decided it was safest to come pick us up...I was very grateful for this. The terminal was massive, people everywhere, lots of shouting, and people honking their horns. I just felt uncomfortable lugging all my big bags and having so many people stop to stare at us and point "Gringa Gringa", but I have come to understand that being that Cochabamba is not a tourist spot, they are just not use to seeing us and are very interested. Igor arrived and we drove to his house which is located a bit outside the city. Wow what a beautiful home he has! It is in a very secure and safe area, has gated security which made me very happy. The view from his balcony is incredible, definitely will be posting pictures soon. We can see the "Cristo De La Concordia" from here, which is giant statue of Jesus Christ, very similar to the one in Rio, Brazil but a bit bigger actually! I'm all settled in, got to Skype with Nick my boyfriend which was very comforting after the long day, and Igor made us a ham and cheese sandwich with some tea he makes himself, very good! I feel absolutely welcome here, Igor has truly gone out of his way to accommodate us which is so nice. He even has set us up with a house viewing tomorrow close by, safe area and for only 300$ Canadian a month! Quite the difference from my two bedroom flat in Halifax, Nova Scotia. We are going to relax in the morning, and go have some lunch, view the house and then stop by CENDA to meet some of the people we will be working with. Igor discussed a bit of the work we will be doing here, which all sounds incredible. Lydia and I will be studying and reporting our findings on food security and food sovereignty in Bolivia.. I am very grateful to be able to experience all of this, and I know this experience is going to be one that will stick with me for a lifetime. Though it's overwhelming at times, I'm sure it will pass, this is my first big trip after all! I miss my family, and friends but I am focusing on all the good this trip will bring and have a feeling the 90 days will be over in the blink of an eye. Off to bed now, will post again soon!