October is here!

Hello Readers!

My apologies for my lack of posting this past week or so, let me tell you that I have good reasons for this!

This has been the craziest, most hectic and overwhelming week of my entire existence....well potentially. I think being in a foreign country just magnifies everything and makes it seem much more dramatic. We have a new apartment! Turns out paying 300$ EACH per month for a small apartment in Cochabamba is wayyyyy to expensive, and luckily we've befriended some locals who were able to let us know this. It was not an easy process, but at the risk of offending anyone, I won't get into it. Basically just the fact that as foreigners, people think it's easy to take advantage of you in a sense.

Our new apartment is fantastic! It has two FULL bedrooms, with wardrobes built in, a beautiful living/dining area completely furnished, a laundry area, and a nice kitchen with new appliances! The area is great too, as we are close to downtown and tons of different coffee shops, restaurants and bars for those days when a nice cold one is a necessity. I almost had a nervous breakdown however when I found out our apartment didn't have a steady internet connection! I like to push myself academically so I decided taking 3 online courses was a great idea, turns out not so much....but I am getting them done! Life is definitely getting better here, and I feel like I'm slowly adjusting. I definitely don't think I ever in a million years would have chosen to come to Bolivia, but I'm still very grateful for the experience this will bring me and all of the lessons I am learning here.

I am going to try to be more steady with my blogging, work is getting a bit more intense and we have presentations to do and will be interviewing locals at different markets this month, so I will keep you guys in the know about those experiences! Thanks for reading :)

September 27th-30th

Hello again!

I’ve decided instead of blogging/journaling everyday that it’s more efficient to group a few days together and tell you about them in one post.

I had a really awesome weekend here in Cochabamba with some friends that Lydia met on a “Couch Surfing” website. Friday evening we went to a museum called “La Troje” and it was free! Friday the 27^th was actually “Free Admission” day to any museum in Cochabamba which we only found out late in the day and didn’t think we would get to take advantage of so it’s great that we did! It was all in Spanish, so I didn’t get to take in everything but what I did take in was very interesting. They had ancient chairs, portraits, books and a variety of different devices that humans used years ago here in Cochabamba. Following the tour there was a traditional Bolivian dance and a gentlemen handed us two leaves and told us that we could make two wishes, and project all our positive into these wishes, then put them into the fire and that they would come true as we were sending our love to Pachamama, which I explain further down, don't worry! The group we were with decided that we would head to a “Beer Bar” after which was also really exciting. I met some very interesting people from all over the world, including a French lady and her brother who are also here in Cochabamba working on an internship.

Here is Lydia, Danila and I outside the pub! and some pictures from the museum

The "Leaf" Wishes

Traditional Dance!

 

 

Saturday the 28^th was another AWESOME day for us! Around 3 P.M Lydia and I met with our new friends Juan and Danila and started our journey to Punata, a town about an hour away. Once we arrived the town was bustling with people everywhere, locals selling an abundance of different pastries, fruit juices, souvenirs, and some prepared meats. The parade was the highlight of the day, and was really unlike anything I have ever seen before in my 23 years of life.  The streets were packed with on-lookers with smiles on their faces and buckets full of Chicha to share with all of the dancers. "Chicha is a term used in some regions of South and Central America for several varieties of fermented and non-fermented beverage many derived from maize, and similar non-alcoholic beverages. Chicha can also be made from manioc root (also called Yuca or cassava), grape, apple or various other fruits." Big thanks to Wikipedia as that's much better than what I could have explained! My explanation would be as follows “ Chicha is a strange liquid that’s served in buckets, drank from a coconut shell that tastes similar to a combination of beer and red wine" it was so cool to try it. Juan bought us a pitcher of it, and as the parade went on, we were given a few different variations from locals who were interested in sharing with us Gringa’s. The most interesting thing about Chicha for me was how much of a part of the culture it is in Bolivia. We learned that when someone offers it to you, it is considered very rude to refuse, so we ended up drinking QUITE a bit, but some wasn’t with alcohol so that helped.  Pachamama which translates directly to “Mother World” but means “Mother Nature” is considered a "good mother" and people usually toast to her honour before every meeting or festivity, in some regions by spilling a small amount of Chicha on the floor, before drinking the rest. This toast is called “Challa” and it is made almost every day.  This happened every time anyone had a drink at the parade, and it was really interesting to see something that is such a strong piece of the culture here. Pachamama has a special worship day called Martes de challa (Challa's Tuesday), when people bury food, throw candies, and burn incense. In some cases, celebrants assist traditional priests in performing ancient rituals to bring good luck or the good will of the goddess, such as sacrificing guinea pigs or burning llama foetuses (although this is no longer common, thank goodness for me!)

 

Pouring some Chicha for Pachamama!

A lovely Cholita who kindly offered us some Chicha

 

Giving it a try!

 

 We stayed and watched the parade for a little over 2 hours, and I am so thankful that we were able to be a part of this. Not only were we able to watch all the excited and talented dancers, but at one point some of the beautiful dancers invited us to join in the parade and dance with them, even play some of the instruments that they had! It was an experience I will certainly never forget.

 Young Dancers! So cool

They let me try on their hat!

Part of the parade

 

My lovely dance partner!

Another thing I without a doubt will never forget is the dead Llama that some of parade participants carried around and a few locals posed to take pictures with. I’m quite an animal activist so this was a bit of a shock, but I do understand this is a part of their culture and that Llamas have been sacrificed to Pachamama for thousands of years. I tried to find out if this Llama was killed for the parade or had already been dead, but my attempts were unsuccessful. Please don’t chew my head off! I’m new to this and slowly getting used to how things work, as it’s quite different in Canada. The aspect of animals is something that is taking me awhile to get used to, and I think that’s normal. The stray dogs here are absolutely everywhere, I’ve walked by dead dogs on the streets, dogs without limbs, and dogs that just look absolutely starved. It is painful for me as this is not something you see in Halifax, and I want to help them all but do not have the means.  It is impossible to deal with an animal issue when a country is struggling to feed all the human mouths, and that is something I am really starting to understand. I can only hope that the work I do here will in some ways help those who are suffering and give progress and change to this wonderful country and it's people. Big dreams I suppose!


Overall I had a really incredible and eye opening weekend, and I am happy that I am starting to settle in and feel comfortable here. I knew it would take time, which is why I never gave up and pushed through the bad days. It’s easy to have hard times and throw in the towel, but that’s not what I’m about to do. This experience will help me grow as both a woman and a humanitarian and I truly look forward to those changes. Starting a new work week today and looking forward to finishing our presentation that is due by the start of next week. I will write more on this soon! Thanks for reading everyone J

Sick Week :( Sept. 23rd-26th

Hello fellow bloggers,

 I’m so sorry I haven’t been writing this week, but unfortunately I have been doomed with some sort of illness that has not given me much motivation to do so.  I wanted to save you from an unnecessary blog post telling you all about my exciting week of 9 cups of tea a day followed by a few good naps and of course watching the entire first season of “The Mindy Project” in 3 days.  Sick days in Bolivia are not so different from my sick days in Halifax it seems.

While I have been sick all week, it certainly has given me some time to reflect on me feelings and thoughts compared to those of last week. I am settling in just fine, Lydia and I spent about 100$ each and a good two hours at the supermarket Monday night and our apartment is finally starting to feel just a little like a home.

I still find it hard to believe I am actually living in Bolivia. Rewind to a year ago, if anyone would have told me “Hey so you’ll be living in a foreign, undeveloped country in a year’s time!” I would have A) given them a look of utter confusion and probably thrown in a “Yeah right” and B) Ask them why they are going around predicting random girls futures. Point being, I never would have saw myself here. To be honest, I’m still having a hard time accepting that I am actually here....for another....Wow, this time I don’t know the exact number of days. This is good, right? Time will pass quickly; hard to believe that as of today I have been in Bolivia for 2 weeks already. There are a lot of things that I miss about Halifax...I miss my friends, family & boyfriend, I miss my cat....I miss Netflix, I miss Alexander Keith’s....and in a way I really miss the everyday routine of rolling out of bed at 9:45 and rushing to my 10:00 A.M class and seeing all my peers, socializing and being a regular SMUdent.  My routine here is much different and I guess that’s a bit difficult to get used to. Another thing I never really thought about or appreciated in Halifax, was how safe I felt. Not that I don’t feel safe in my home here in Cochabamba, the people who’ve helped get us set up have done an amazing job, truly angels in disguise and I don’t know what we have done without their generosity and graciousness. However, in Halifax it’s so much different there. Of course there are problems, just last week my friends suffered a horrible beating near Gottingen St, there are problems everywhere you go. In general though, I can walk down Spring Garden Rd. And catch just about any taxi and know that they will take me home. Whereas here, it’s not a good idea to just hop into any car that labels themselves as “Taxi” because many times this is how people are robbed. You always here to horror stories, and in a way that has been what is plaguing me and causing so much anxiety. To add another comment to the horror story aspect, before I arrived I had no idea what the people here would be like, how could I? Google only really helps so much in that regard. I had come up with so many scenarios in my head, but none of them were correct. The people here are warm, kind and gentle souls. There are bad people in every country you go to, no matter what. Bolivians may not be used to tourists, and initially be a little uneasy about speaking to us, but I can totally understand that, I would be too. All I can be thankful for is that Lydia and I are here to help, here to develop a more in depth understanding and we are fortunate enough to get to know some of these people on a personal level and hear their stories, and it is our job to tell them.  We have been given this great platform to do so, and I don’t take that lightly. I don’t feel safe at all times, but that is because I’m out of my comfort zone. Things don’t run the same way they do in Halifax, and realizing how sheltered I’ve been in that sense is very grounding and interesting to me.

Taking the day to rest and get some work done from home, we have our first presentation to our co-workers due on October 8^th, in which we will be discussing Canada’s indigenous peoples and the large amount of natural resources we have access to in our beautiful homeland. It will be interesting for us to discuss these things, as we were told that this will be the first introduction our co-workers have to these topics and how things work in our country. Therefore we get a chance to teach other people all of these wonderful things about Canada, while still discussing some of the problems we have, as no country is without issues. Until next time friends! If you’ve found this blog via Facebook, Twitter, any of those ever so popular social media websites, please feel free to share! It’s awesome to see that people are reading this, and hopefully enjoying it! Chow J

The 21st of September

Saturday, September 21^st

Lydia and I woke up bright and early this morning, and prepared for our adventure to “La Cancha” market which is the biggest open market in Bolivia. Lydia woke up around 7:30 and I woke up at 8 as Veltza and her daughter offered to drive us to a halfway point, and we could walk from there. Lydia and I are both learning that the time frames given here in Bolivia are much different than Canada. Not a bad thing, just a different culture. Around 10 A.M we arrived downtown, near La Plaza and began our market adventure. IT wasn’t a far walk at all, just a few blocks. I was amazed at all the people on the streets selling jewellery, snacks, and even artwork. I walked by a man selling hand painted portraits of famous people, and the first one to catch my eye was a gorgeous painting of Bob Marley and for a total of 10 Bolivianos, it is now mine! I can’t wait to get home and hang it up in my room.

Lydia passed some fruit vendors in La Cancha so we stopped and got some grapes, apples and later we bought peanuts from the same merchant. As we kept strolling it was amazing to me to see all these North America brands filling up the streets; shoes, sweaters, body care products, hair care, they had it all. We passed by huge spot selling different pieces of clothing, I spotted a pair of leopard print leggings that were absolutely awesome. We stopped and chatted with one of the ladies working there, and she showed us a variety of different patterns and styles. She offered us 3 for 150 Bolivianos, so I bought two and Lydia bought 1. They are so unique, I can’t wait to wear them. The best part of the market was a section that sells handmade items such as bags, socks, ponchos, souvenirs, hats, basically anything you can think of and all in the beautiful original pattern that you see in many different areas of South America. It was hard to stop myself from buying absolutely everything they had to offer, but for about 28$ Canadian, I was able to purchase quite a bit for myself and a few gifts for my family and friends. Can’t wait to go back!

We decided that since it is after all Saturday night, that we would go out and find something to do. We are so lucky that our neighbour Oscar was kind enough to welcome us into his home and go over some of Cochabamba’s best and safest nightlife.  

We went to an AMAZING restaurant, I can’t remember the full name of it now, but it was something “Diablo” which means “Devil” in English.  We started off with a local beer that we were told was the best in Cochabamba and it surely did not disappoint.

Here is Lydia and I enjoying our brew!

 

 

 

We both were quite hungry but weren’t sure what to order, until we saw “Mixed Table” which had dried fruit, nuts, cheese, bread and cured meats. The best possible choice we could have made! It was incredible, so many varieties of cheeses, amazingly flavourful cured meats, and delicious homemade breads.

 

 

To go with our mixed table appetizer, we ordered a salad so we felt at least a bit healthier ordering some vegetables, it was also incredible. Overall it was a great first night out in Bolivia, it actually reminded me of some of the places you would find downtown Halifax, which was in strange sense very comforting.  Back to work on Monday, going to finalize our research question and start really getting into our work. I’ve also emailed a few Language schools so that I can start taking Spanish lessons and become more comfortable speaking with people here in Cochabamba! Until next time bloggers.

Friday, September 20th

Friday, September 20^th

Good news! I am feeling GREAT today.  Yesterday was an awesome day; Lydia and I walked to work around 2:00 and arrived at about 2:30. We were greeted by some sort of road construction directly in front of the entrance to our building; I like to call it a “moat”. Luckily we leaped across and made it safe and sound.

 

 

We were given a tour by our supervisor Klaartje. The office has a kitchen, with lots of teas which excited Lydia and I as we are both tea fanatics. It’s seriously all we drink here. Klaartje showed us to our desks, which are situated in a room with other employees as well, who all speak Spanish and no English, so I feel as though this will be a great way to pick up on some conversational Spanish. I looked over and work plan and decided to get right to it. We have to create a presentation that gives our co-workers some insight to how things work in Canada, so I think I have finally found my niche and means to feel as though I may finally be of some use with CENDA, the NGO we are working with. The first presentation we decided to research is Indigenous Rights & Agriculture in Canada. I immediately thought of the issues surrounding the Bear River First Nations in Nova Scotia, and the problems the privatization of the fishery industry have caused for our indigenous people. We worked from 2:30 until about 6:15 and then started our trek home.

 

Here I am at my desk !

 

Klara was nice enough to accompany us on our walk home, and brought us to Avenuda De America. On the way we passed a swimming pool that is open to the public everyday of the week, from about 9 A.M until 1 P.M. As a child of the water, this was awesome news. Once we hit the Avenue America, there were tons of shops and little restaurants for us to chose from. We decided to eat a place called “Frankffurt”, where they had tons of different style burgers, steak, ribs, chicken, basically anything you could imagine. Lydia and I both ordered the same thing, pictured below. It was a giant piece of steak, cooked perfectly, some salad with vinegar and oil for dressing, and the most amazing root vegetable thing I have ever tasted. It’s called a “Yuca” which is found all over South America, and it was superb. It was deep fried of course, so what isn’t good deep fried right? Lydia told me that it’s just as good boiled with salt and pepper, and that they sell it in the produce sections in Halifax, so I will definitely be cooking it when I get home and treat my friends to some Latin America cuisine.

 

 

 

 

After dinner we were on our way home, and came across an act from the “Cochabamba Jazz Fest”, and stopped in to see what it was like for a few minutes. It was so cool seeing some extremely talented musicians from this part of the world.

 

Overall I am feeling much more optimistic about my journey here in Cochabamba, and I am excited to see what the rest of the 87 days will bring, (yes still counting!). Off to work soon and then our first weekend off here! We are going to check out the main market called “La Cancha” and hopefully find some awesome Bolivian goodies. Can’t wait to fill you all in tomorrow! Chow

Settling In

Good morning!

Lydia and I have settled into our humble yet adorable apartment in Cochabamba. It has two bedrooms, small kitchen and a nice bathroom. I feel comfortable here, which is a very nice feeling. I have also determined that the only real time I feel overwhelmed is as soon as we leave a "home like" environment and venture into the city. I'm trying to establish why this is, and what makes me so uncomfortable about being downtown. It's much different than Halifax, no marked bus stops, it just kinda stops wherever on the street and locals just know. The worst part for me is crossing the street! You literally never know when it's okay to cross, and the exact moment you feel a slight sense that it may be okay....nope, taxi comes raging through nearly slamming into you. I guess in a sense that's really not THAT different from Spring Garden Rd. in Halifax.

Here is a photo of my bedroom! Pretty cute.

I'm going to remain optimistic about this experience, because I know at the end of the 88 days (yes I've been counting) I will have learned so much about myself, and this culture. You can read about poverty and the hardships other countries face, but no matter what extent of reading I've done, I don't think it could have ever prepared me for the realities here in Bolivia. Even in just the short period of time I've been here, it's truly opened my eyes up to just how lucky I am to be Canadian, and have such a high quality of life. People here did not chose to be poor, no one does. It has brought into fruition just how fortunate I am to be able to turn my tap on in Halifax, and drink the water without having to worry about contracting diseases such as cholera, hepatitis and Chagas, a parasitic disease that causes intestinal problems and early death by heart attack. In 3 months time I am able to fly home, and spend time with family and friends and enjoy the Christmas season with plenty of food, a roof over my head, and clean drinking water, these things alone are a luxury to some of the people in this country suffering from immense poverty. I am going to push through my periods of frustration and culture shock, and really give myself the opportunity to adapt, adjust and take in as much as I can.

I wanted to try to eat a bit healthier living here, but that has also proved to be a bit of a challenge. Potatoes, rice, milk products, and bread, lots and lots of bread are common staples in the Bolivian diet. Lydia and I went to the "IC Norte" which is the Canadian equivalent to "Sobeys" and were able to pick up some of our groceries. I found a jar of Vlassic dill pickles and it was somewhat embarrassing how excited I was. Lots of fruits, vegetables, some brown rice, yogurt and a couple snacks for when we are at work. We sat at our dinner table once we got home and enjoyed a pre-cooked chicken (so good) and some rice that Igor taught Lydia how to prepare and it was AMAZING. The bottle of wine we bought had a cork, and we didn't have access to a wine opener so Lydia spent a few minutes battling with it, and eventually won.

I am feeling optimistic and content this morning, despite my ferocious battle with a foreign species of hornet who decided he wanted to hangout with me in my room. I did not appreciate the company however, so after about 45 minutes of debating with myself which method I would use to be rid of him, I decided to spray him with just a bit of bug spray, enough to confuse him, and then lured him out my window and quickly shut it. I won! Today is going to be a good day, I can feel it. Lydia and I will be walking to CENDA's office around 2:30 P.M so we can get to know our route to work a bit, and see some of the things around the area we are living. I'm looking forward to this, and the rest of time here, as I feel like it will just keep getting better. Not everyday will be fantastic, but there will be fantastic days here and I look forward to those. I am going to return to my homeland a new woman, with new perspectives on life and a true realization of just how fortunate I really am.

 That's all for now!

Day 1 in Cochabamba

Monday, September 16^th, 2013

Today was my first full day in Cochabamba, and I will admit it that it was quite the experience. Lydia and I relaxed and ate some breakfast in the morning, and then went to visit Igor’s sister Veltza who lives in the house that our apartment is in. Our apartment is great, two bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom and laundry on site for 300$ canadian a month. This is very reasonable. Igor informed us that Veltza is a linguist, and speaks Russian fluently. She is very kind and welcoming, and I’m glad I get this sense even with the language barrier. Speaking of such, this barrier brought about a variety of different emotions within me today. We went to see the NGO CENDA’s office where we will be working, and this is the point I believe I felt the most overwhelmed. Not because anyone was rude, simply because I had some feelings of helplessness whilst everyone was discussing the projects and our work in Spanish and I could only sit there and nod pretending in some sense I had at least an idea of what they were talking about...I didn’t. There is a lady there who does speak english so she translated most of the conversation for me, but again I feel like more of an inconvienience in this situation, needing a translator for every word spoken around me. We discussed the work on food sovereignty and food security that we would be completing, along with some presentations about Canadian politics and agriculture that we will present to the CENDA staff during team meetings on the last Monday of each month. CENDA produces a local newspaper with their findings and reports, and travels to boardering cities and villages to sell this newspaper, as well as interview some of the locals who they then feature in the newspaper. I really need to work on learning Spanish, as I feel like this expereince will be uncomfortable for me if not. I can pick up on certain words and sayings, and reading the signage around Cochabamba hasn’t been a problem, it’s mostly just conversation that I’m lacking. It’s a difficult feeling to describe when you can only converse with two people in your own language in a massive city. I would love to be able to converse and meet some of the locals as everyone we’ve met for the most part seems to be very friendly, but unfortunately I’m not able to just yet. Veltza, the lady who owns our apartment and lives on site does not speak much English but has offered to help me in the morning this month and teach me Spanish; which is so kind of her. Pointing at items, writing things down and speaking with someone who does not speak English may be a very interesting way of learning the language. I’m definitely feeling the culture shock today, it seems more than tempting to just stay in bed but I am going to hopefully venture out and see some of the city and go for lunch at a nearby local cafe. I knew this early on there would be some shock and feelings I wasn't quite used to in the comfort of Halifax, NS so I just need to take deep breaths and keep in mind that things will get better here. I know it won't be too long before I adjust and adapt because that's what people do! There's a lot of beauty in this city, kind people and a vast and deep rooted culture that I feel honoured to be able to experience. I will write again this evening to document my feelings througout my second day here in Cochabamba.

I've also been enjoying this tune my Tracy Chapman, for some reason it makes me feel a bit better!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ0kh3k0LKE