Happy (winter) Solstice!

Saludos family and friends!

As promised, a more recent update!  It takes me a long time to write these updates so I end up writing them all over the city as I go about my daily life.  Right now (actually 6 days ago), I'm sitting in a blood bank, waiting to donate blood on behalf of a friend's friend.  Apparently, in order to receive blood in Bolivia, you have to get people to donate that many units on your behalf because there is such a intense shortage.  We came here expecting to be in and hout quickly, but the waiting room here reminds me of the DMV.  Anyway, let's jump back a few weeks.

Julie and I went on a backpacking adventure!  I had a week between the end of my program and my job and I wanted to explore some mountains. So we set off on the Choro trek, an old Inca trail that weaves in and out of the mountains, following a river that carved the valley below.  The trek starts in the cold barren altiplano about 40 minutes from La Paz.  We started the trek hiking up a mild looking hill, wrapped in all of our clothing to protect against the cold and tin air.  As we made our way up the hill, my lungs and back, and limbs were not-so-subtly reminding me of how thin the air was at that altitude (around 14,000ft).  We had to stop frustratingly often just to catch our breath.  We eventually reached the top of the hill and were greeted by a beautiful of the barren valley and snow capped mountains in the distance.  We could see old Incan ruins below as we started the steep downhill trek. 

As we walked, every so often, we encountered locals from the "nearby" (about 3 hour walk) villages who were walking to La Paz with enormous bundles.  They were all SUPER friendly, but always asked us for candy, which we didn't have. We offered peanuts instead.  As we walked, we discussed the trivial and the imporntat, the funny and emotional parts of our lives, mostly in Spanish.  Even though we're both native English speakers, neither of us wanted four days steeped in English and have to retrain our brains.  After sunset, we we allowed ourselves whatever language we wanted.

The beginning of the downhill was not so hard, (on our bodies, that is), but after six hours downhill with heavy packs, my hips and feet and knees were screaming angrily.  By the time we reached our campground on the first night, I had a few too many blisters, bruised hips, and shaky knees.  But we earned the quinoa, veggies, and snickers bar we had for dinner. We sleepily gazed at the milky way, then climbed into our tent and passed out.  We were actually staying in a small (VERY small...~10 people) community stationed aright at the bend in the river.  In the morning, I went to fill our water bottles as a woman from the community went to wash her family's clothes in the river.  At this point, the altiplano had already turned completely into tropical forests. 

--Alright, now I'm writing in a family-owned little lunch place in another small neighborhood in the Zona Sur--

As we hiked, we weaved in an out of the mountains that really looked like they were formed by enormous, powerful hands.  It got really hot, and occasionally quite muddy as we crossed the mountain streams that flowed down into the valley.  After another long but rewarding day, we arrived at our second campsite that looked into the valley and farther down the river. A couple we had met at the beginning of the trail were also there (he from Mexico City, she from Des Moines...I know! Des Moines!)  They were really sweet and totally ok with the Espanglish we were speaking.  As we were setting up our tent, four American girls showed up with surprisingly small packs....Turns out, they were hiking from the Southern tip of South America up to Ecuador. WALKING! Each had a pack that weighed only about 25 pounds.  Julie and I spent a bit of the evening grilling them about their ultralight techniques.  We ended up spending most of the rest of our trek/trip with them. (Check out their blog: eathikesleephike.blogspot.com)

  Anyway, that night, we had an AMAZING dinner: quinoa, chard, and onion sauteed in butter with coconut and peanuts.  It was SO GOOD!  The next morning, we set off early, ate lunch at the "Japanese gardens" (garden tended by a REALLY old Japanese man) and finished the trek tired, blistered, and ready for a shower. 

We took a taxi the 40km to Coroico where we would stay the night.  The taxi driver was really sweet, so we forgave him for swerving everytime he looked over to chat with Julie. We eventually arrived and were immediately attacked by tiiiiny no-see-um type bugs that bite and then 2 hours later you have an ENORMOUS and RIDICULOUSLY ITCHY bite. From Coroico, we took a trufi to La Paz and arrived in time for Api con pastel and then...Thai food. :-)

We arrived back in Cochabamba at 6am the next morning, completely groffy.  I showered at Julie's, then went straight to work where I was greeted by the enchanted and ever-welcome smell of coffee and my awesome co-workers.  Jessie (a former SIT student too!) showed me around the office, which is actually a 6th floor apartment with a GORGEOUS 360 view of the city.  Kathy, my boss, and a fellow Obie (class of '89!) arrived a little later.  I love my work.  Both Jessie and Kathy are smart, snarky, and hilarious.  Working with them as already helped me learn so much, not only about Bolivian politics and news and international policy, but also about how to actually enjoy NGO work and make it effective.  Even though the office atmosphere is generally quite casual, I feel like AIN maintains a high-level of efficiency and an equally impressively high quality standard.  Also, our office has the best shower I've ever had in Latin America. Hands down.

(Alright, now I'm sitting in my bed after a short day at work.  I wasn't feeling well, nor was I being productive, so I hopped in a trufi and came home!)

So all of that combines to make a pretty rocking summer internship/job.  I might be heading to La Paz at the end of the week to do some interviews of some environmental policy experts and to visit some cool environmental organizations.  Oh! One of the ones I visited on Friday does work to try to preserve indigenous agricultural traditions while helping them to adapt to climate change by predicting climate behavior with bio-indicators.  That was fascinating.

Some highlights from the past couple weeks:
-A house-warming/crepes party! My first weekend in my house, I had a whole bunch of friends over to eat the absurd number of crepes we made and sit in my gorgeous garden.  We had a picnic with the crepes, home-made caramel and chocolate sauce, jam, wine, and fresh squeezed juice.  As could be expected, the conversation at one half turned to politics of globalization and capitalism, while the other half talked about their life stories.  And of course, throughout the evening, we talked about food.  Because we all love food.  Cochabamba is actually known for being a city full of people who love to eat.

-A trip to the Chapare! Sol, Sophie, Lena, Ariel, and I ventured out to Ariel's uncle's house-thing in the rainforest about 3.5 hours from Cochabamba.  Driving there, the temperature dropped rapidly and then rose just as quickly, with added humidity.  We arrived around dusk, bought some bread and mandarinas for dinner, and made our way to the house.  The house itself was more like a two-floor open air cottage.  Although the house belongs to Ariel's uncle, the only people who live there are the house's caretaker and his 11 year old daughter, Jhovana.  We slept in our sleeping bags, despite the heat, to avoid the incredible number of bugs (we weren't smart enough to have found mosquito nets).  But we awoke early in the morning to the sounds of chickens in the yard and trucks roaring by on the nearby highway.  After a long morning of fresh fruit and card games, we walked to the river where we took an unexpected but not unwelcome swim in the river.  We actually went back the next morning to do the same, this time surrounded by women washing clothing and dozens of children swimming and playing in the water.  While in the Chapare, we also went to Villa Tunari and ate DELICIOUS fresh fish from the river and then walked around in a nature preserve where they keep rescue monkeys.  The next day we went back to Tunari (about a 45min to 1hr drive) just to have lunch and then catch the trufi back to Cochabamba. 

-Last Sunday, Sol and I went to Tiquipaya to eat lunch and drink chicha.  We wandered around and eventually found the place that had been recommended to us.  We ordered trucha (trout) (a half plate), and a jar of guarapo (sort of fermented juice) and chillaxed and people watched as families and friends gathered for a traditional Sunday afternoon lunch.  Unexpectedly, a woman and a man (not her husband, but with two kids) came up to us and started being alllll friendly-like.  The woman would speak to us in Spanish, the man would then translate into broken English, and we would respond in Spanish.  It always frustrates me when locals speak to me in English that is definitely no better than my Spanish.  I have to say though, I feel a little conflicted, because I know if I meet a Bolivian in the States, I'm definitely going to want to speak Spanish with them.  So I try to keep that in mind.  After this all-too-unilateral-and-unwanted-flirtatious encounter, we left to wander around a bit more and enjoy the sun slowly drooping, casting BEAUTIFUL shadows on the surrounding mountains. 

-This past Saturday, we went to the Simon Patiño museum/gardens.  Simon Patiño was the father of the tin mining industry in Bolivia and became one of the 10 richest men in the world at his time.  The gardens were absolutely stunning and the museum (a house built for Patiño), reminded me of the Newport mansions.  After a romp through the gardens, we stopped at the mercado (market) on the way home to get some brunch materials.  Once home, we made chocolate sauce, and I started to make pancakes when we ran out of gas.  So I called a taxi company to bring us a gas tank ('cause that's how it works here, apparently), but there's no gas in the city! So I called my friend Julie, and she so obligingly put the stove in a cab and sent it to my house.  So we had pancakes!! (Picture of food attached).  We're all about brunch. :-)

Sorry for yet another too-long update, but I can't help it!
Thanks again for reading this far.

Saludos y abrazos!

Eliana
(ps you can always check out my pictures (soon to be updated)  on my Picasa account)

Loooong overdue update: What I've been doing since April

Hola amig@s y familia!

I hope you're all doing well! When I wrote the following post, I was sitting in an Indian restaurant in La Paz during my week off between the end of my program and the start of my job.  That was about 3 weeks ago! Yikes! Since then I've moved into my new apartment, started my new job(s), and started settling into a different rhythm here in Cochabamba.  So, the following thoughts are three weeks old.  I'll send a long a more thorough update soon!

May 16th, 2012
"I'm about to head off on a four day trek with my good friend Julie.  In the meantime, I have a day or so to collect my thoughts and catchup with the important people in my life.  Traveling along is always a little unnerving, but I must say it's nice to have this time to myself.
"To catch you all up on my life...I'll start chronologically.  I think I last wrote to you all right before the start of my ISP.
For the past month, I've been studying the public transportation system in Cochabamba.  It took me into government buildings and the chronically underdeveloped southern zone of Cochabamba. I had the opportunity to speak with Taxi drivers (always chatty and friendly), government officials (surprisingly helpful), bus riders, and people who founded their own bus line to accommodate their community.  It was such a wonderful experience, although definitely challenging, to take a month of my life to fully explore a subject.  I realized how passionate I am about regional planning and community development.  My work/study in Cocha has helped me realize that I'm also grateful to Oberlin for supporting me (obviously intellectually) but also financially, to stay here this summer.
"I've received two grants, one to continue my research and one to work for an NGO (the Andean Information Network), but more on that later.  Here's a selection of funny/meaningful stories from the past month:
-"During one of my visits to the Zona Sur:  I wanted to find members of the community who had been involved in the founding of their own bus line.  But of course, we were visiting the neighborhood called "1er de Mayo" (May 1st) ON May 1st! So of coouuurse there was a large party (not to mention it was also Día de los Trabajadores: worker's day).  I looked at my advisor with a semi-lost looks, hoping she had some ideas for what she should do.  She looked around and spotted an elderly man in a brown sweater sitting on the curb in front of his shop.  We went over and asked where we could find the dirigente (representative) of the community.  He gave us an "are-you-kidding-me" look...So I asked if I could just interview him.  Turns out, not only as he one of the most senior members of the barrio, he was also directly involved in the founding of the bus line.  He told me his story, pausing occasionally for a toothless grin that said: "no ve?" (essentially, ya know?).  As I was finishing the interview, the dirigente walked by.  We snagged him and managed to interview him as well.  Que suerte! (What luck!)

-“One weekend, I went to Santa Cruz to interview the urban engineer in the city hall.  One thing I LOVE about Bolivia is that you jut have to show up, and chances are, you can interview the head of city/transportation planning.  I climbed the steps of the building that looked FAR more like an American business building that I had seen previously in Bolivia.  I ended up interviewing Jorge, who showed me the INCREDIBLE interactive map of their plan to redesign Santa Cruz’s transit system.  SO COOL! I left there so energized about my project and about urban planning in general.  My friend shared in my joy...we were so excited we just had to buy Api (delicious, hot, sweet, corn drink....kind of like if hot chocolate were actually made of really sweet purple corn) on the way out. 

-“Later that weekend, a group of 7 of us (3 American women, 3 French women, and one Bolivian man) made our way to Samaipata, a beautiful town about a 3 hour ride (through the mountains) from Santa Cruz.  The breathtaking views of the mountains and forest were quickly covered over on our second day by think but non-menacing clouds.  But not before we managed to visit some gorgeous Incan ruins at the top of an intense mountain with a bumpy “road” to bring us to the top.  (Pictures on my Picasa account!)  The next day (the cloudy one), we commissioned a trufi to take us to a volcanic lake.  The bumpy ride was made calmer when Sol insisted we listen to Simon and Garfunkel.  But when we started up the volcano/mountain, the terrain got even rougher.  Twice, we had to get out and push the can through deep red muddy rivets in the road.  45 minutes later, we made it up the mountain to be greeted by....a golf course??? We hiked across the enormous and sopping wet field and found our way to a stunning view of an Andean valley.  But after all that, we were hoping for a bit more (hence the sad faces in the pictures).  Sol issued a challenge: "first one to find a trail up that hill will get hot chocolate."  Thinking of our soaking wet feet, we all bolted toward one of the nearby hills.  Bushwhacking a little, we found our way to the top and were rewarded with another incredibly gorgeous view of the surrounding valley and mountains. Success!! Exhausted, we made our way back down and eventually back to our hotel, where we ate dinner at the AMAZING Tex-Mex/comfort food/fancy restaurant attached to our hotel.  The owners are  Bolivian woman (from Cochabamba!) and a Texan man (her husband) who makes a mean burrito and speaks perfect Spanish with a thick (and slightly ridiculous) Texas accent.  And of course, there were Israelis.  Everytime I attempted to speak to them in Hebrew, I humiliated myself less and less (there's still hope for my Hebrew!).  Anyway, the next morning, Sol and I went to a monkey rescue reserve and played with howler and spider monkeys. SO AWESOME!  (Check out the photos.)  Sol found a a fellow French woman and I found fellow monkeys.  

"We took the bumpy road back to the hotel, packed up our stuff, and found a driver to take us to the "cuevas" and then back to Santa Cruz.  The cuevas are a series of 3 stunnnnnnning water falls connected by a gently flowing river.  The driver gave us two hours but it quickly became obvious that we would be there for longer.  We lounged in the mossy wading pools and let the powerful water falls pound against our backs and warmed and dried ourselves in the sun.  It was definitely going to be hard to back to work after that.  But we got back in the van (3 hours later, with a grumpy driver) and made our way back to Santa Cruz.  Sol, Sophie and I took a "bus cama" (bed bus) back to Cochabamba.  In the morning, I started fresh with my interviews still feeling the waterfalls and hearing my friends giggling.  It's always helpful to have these moments of bliss to surround me as I dive into stressful work.  But at the same time, it makes it more difficult/powerful as I cross geographic and socioeconomic divides in the city.  Every minute is an opportunity to learn here. 

As I sat down to compile all of the date and information I'd collected, I realized that the conversations I had with the talkative and friendly taxi drivers informed my understanding of the city far more than my interviews with the (equally friendly) government officials.  Even though my research had taken a pause, I can't kick the habit of started up conversations with the taxi and trufi drivers (making my friends roll their eyes and laugh at me everytime). 

Oy I don't want to drown you in my stories, so I'll give you just one more anecdote. 

"Last weekend (actually about a month ago), the whole group (24 of us) and our two AMAZING academic directors came together for the first time in a month.  We had our final Spanish exam (during which I ended up talking about Kabbalah and organic farming....surprise!)  Then we all headed to a hotel in Tiquipaya, a province to the NW of the city.  That evening and all of the next day, we listened to our fellow students present the incredible work they had done. There were 9 documentaries, several of which brought me to tears.  The topics ranged from the fight for more rights for people with disabilities to the effects of climate change on one of Bolivia's glaciers.  One student (my friend Sarah) made a beautiful and poignant documentary about the effects of pollution in Lake Titicaca.  Another made an emotional documentary about the Afro Bolivian community.  But there weren't just documentaries! My friend Amelia made a beautiful one woman play about the experiences of the Afro Bolivians in Cochabamba.  Six students wrote children's books (my favorite was about bats in Bolivia!) and a few of us were boring and just wrote papers :-)

Although we sat through about 18 hours of presentations, it was so wonderful to see everyone's work and it made me feel proud to be a part of this community.  We had a very emotional discussion (in English! Woah!) about reentering into our home countries carrying the weight of what we had learned and experienced.  It was so powerful to hear everyone reflect on their semester and about their hopes and fears for returning.  It was emotional and empowering for me to think about the expectations I had before I left (fear, nervousness, lack of confidence, excitement)...In the past 4 months, I've dont a lot of growing and changing and all of these experiences have helped me become a more confident person.  One example that I can think of is language.  After 4 months, I feel fully able to express myself in Spanish.  During a recent conversation, I said: "After having had to do everything in Spanish, it's going to be fun and bizarre to go back and order something in English, not have to repeat myself, and think, YEA!!! I OWN this language." :-)

Anyway, that's 2 months away.  In the meantime, I'm working for the Andean Information Network putting together an educational program about the effects of climate change on Bolivian society, economy and culture.  I'll also be doing some outreach consulting for the Democracy Center.  With luck, I'll also be doing a bit more research on transportation here.

Before I started this work, my friend Julie and I went for a a trek for 3ish days in the mountains near La Paz.  After 3ish months in the city, it was so nice to get back to where my soul and body feel most comfortable...in the woods!"

 .....

Soooo, that was written a while ago! I have another long update to send to you, but I'll wait a few days. 

Since the trek, I started my job(s), done some more traveling, and begun soaking up the wonderful community I'm continuing to build for myself here.  More on that later!!

Shabbat shalom! Have a wonderful weekend all!

Thanks for reading this far.

Much love,

Eliana

(Pictures: Samaipata, ISP, there will be more up soon I promise!)

Marchando adelante in Bolivia!

Saludos dearest friends, and family

I hope you're all enjoying what I hear has been a beautiful (if not a bit too warm) start to spring up in the States! The weather has continued to be gooorgeous here, although it has continued to rain occasionally, which is apparently quite out of character for this time of year. Climate change is actually changing things. Oy.

On a much happier note, it's been a LOVELY past few weeks. I'll try to go in order:

Passover! Was fascinating! For the first night, two of my friends and I put together a seder. That's right, here in Cochabamba. Not only did we have a seder (with a complete seder plate), we had Matza and Manishevitz wine! All this thanks to a very wonderful Jewish community that imports the supplies from the States for Pesach. One box of matza? $10. But so worth it to a homesick Jew on her favorite holiday! The seder was beautiful. There were 3 American Jews, one American non-Jew (Brandeis student who missed going to seders!), and 5 curious Bolivians. This was my first time leading a seder in Spanish! We went through the whole thing, and given that it's Bolivia, we started several hours late, and ended our seder at 1am (not so weird for me!). Everyone at the table contributed to interesting conversations about the meaning of freedom, the true nature of the four sons, and the reason why we eat these very specific foods. Having to explain Passover to so many people here has truly made me appreciate how symbolic the whole holiday is. The egg/life/spring metaphor was especially resonant for people. The second night of Passover, we went to the Jewish community's seder at the community center. I'd say there were between 30 and 40 people there. They high-tailed it through Maggid (the story telling section) like I've never seen. And even though we skipped Elijah and didn't get to sing all the songs, it was a really wonderful experience. At the end, one woman sang Chad Gadya in Spanish. That was definitely one of the highlights. Other highlights: matzah ball soup, chrayn, plentiful matzah...I guess all the food. Another interesting part of this whole experience is that there was a highly varied level of knowledge of the traditions. Melissa (another US American) and I ended up singing a few of the songs solo, to the delight of the Jewish mom-types at the table. I was so grateful to be included in their community that night. It definitely brought joy to the next 8 days without the bready deliciousness of Bolivian food.

The end of classes: Was sad. It was the last time that we're all (all of the students) going to be in Cochabamba before the last 2 days of the program. It was exciting to hear about what everyone was going to study for this last month, but it made me realize how quickly time passes when you're having fun and learning a lot! I still feel like I just arrived (although I'm sure my parents feel differently...Hi Ema and Abba!) I've really made some wonderful friendships with the people on this program. Whenever an era of my life ends and another begins, I always feel a a little sad. We had a goodbye dinner with our host families during which I ate more delicious food and danced to lively traditional Andean music from a large live band. It was so wonderful to see the connections that students have made with their Bolivian families. I for one, feel so lucky to have been placed with this family. My little brother, Diego, and I have learned to communicate with odd noises that make my host mom giggle. My host mom and I spend time together cooking or just drinking coffee and talking about life's craziness. My older brother and I continue to play chess occasionally and go out to meet friends and dance or listen to great music. I'm glad I get to be here for the next few weeks. Speaking of which...

ISP! My Independent Study Project started last week; I decided to stay in Cochabamba to do my research. Those of you who know how I spend my time in Oberlin will either roll your eyes or laugh. I'm studying...public transit. The system here is fascinating in that it's not actually a cohesive system. And it's not actually public. All the different forms of transit are owned by different private companies. The micros, the trufis, and the hundreds of taxi lines. My original proposal involved studying access to public transit in the public service-lacking Zona Sur (southern zone) of Cochabamba. However, things have expLOded in terms of transit policy here in Cochabamba, so I may be changing focus a little bit. The municipal government is working on imposing a law that limits traffic for taxis in the center city. Based on the last number of the license plate, each taxi will have a day when they are not allowed to enter the center city. Congestion and traffic is a huge problem here (as it is in most cities), and with over 200 taxi companies and over 5,000 taxis, the city thought it was logical to limit their access. But there has been an INCREDIBLE uproar.

TODAY!! Today, I followed a march with over 10,000 drivers (taxis, micros, trufis) organized by their sindicato (union) and empresa (company). They started at the head of the main boulevard and walked down, setting off fire crackers and chanting: "Mayor, be careful, the drivers are amassing!" (Ok, it sounded a lot better in Spanish). I interviewed about 8 people about their thoughts, which primarily consisted of: "either apply it to all of us or none of us." They're alluding to the fact that the new law would not apply to other forms of transit (which are not public!) like buses and trufis (minibuses). I witnessed some very minor violence (a driver who was not marching with the crowd was punched in the nose; a trufi that was doing its route had its windshield smashed). Mostly, the march was peaceful and was mostly about intimidating the government. One man I talked to told me that he doesn't think that they'll pass the law, because if they do, the taxi drivers and their allies (which amounts to over 10,000 people) will completely shut down the city with blockades. He compared this movement to the Water War of 2000. Many non-taxi drivers are frustrated with the drivers because when they shut down the city, it means that many people can't get to work or school. I'm really looking forward to continuing to study this conflict and the role of government in transportation here. I have an interview with the head of city transit on Thursday.

This summer! I am fortunate enough to be surrounded by people doing incredible work here. Thanks to an Obie alumna who has been working here for many years, I have a job this summer! I'll keep you all updated as my responsibilities become more clear. In the meantime, it looks like I'll be helping to put together an educational program based on the effects of climate change on Bolivian society, the economy, and Bolivia's most vulnerable communities. I'm in the midst of applying for funding, but I'm 99% sure I'll be here until the end of July. If you're on the continent, let me know! :-)


Anyway, I should get back to work. Here are some more updated photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/myphotos

I'd love to hear from you all and how you're doing! Thanks for reading this far!

Love and abrazos (hugs!),

Eliana

Quiet sunny days in Bolivia..

Saludos dearest friends and family!!

I hope you are all having a wonderful beginning to spring, and for those who celebrate, a lovely Passover, or a happy Easter! I'm sitting outside on my porch after having eaten a delicious traditional Bolivian Good Friday meal. Although my family is entirely a-religious, old habits die hard. Arroz con leche (rice pudding) is my new favorite food.

Yet again, it's been a while since I last wrote! Since we got back from Sucre and Potosí, we've finished our classes, taken our finals, visited Santa Cruz, and started preparing for our final individual projects. I'll start from the top!

The day after we got back from our adventures in Sucre and Potosí, we had our Spanish final, which was really nothing like any other Spanish final I've had. Our Spanish teachers sat in the back of the room giggling and joking with us and giving us occasional "thumbs-ups" as we took five minutes to speak about any topic we had covered all semester. I talked about education and activism in Bolivia. We learned from one of our professors that one of the biggest problems with the Bolivian public education system is that students no longer learn how to think critically. This lack of critical thinking, according to Prof. Postigo, has led to a lack of real political engagement of our generation. It's interesting to think about this in the context of the current Morales administration, which many compare to the Obama administration (Evo Morales is the first Indigenous president of Bolivia).

Anyway, after exam day we had several days free to work on our projects for our seminar (Multiculturalism, Globalization, and Social Change). My group did our project on the water system in the Zona Sur (the southern zone) of Cochabamba, which is an enormous chunk of the city that lacks most municipal services (such as water). We got to walk around with a woman who lives there and meet the presidents of two water cooperatives that provide services for the 8th district of the zona sur. Although we were only about 20 minutes down the road from the center city, it felt like we had jumped worlds. There was no apparent sewage system, the roads weren't paved, no trash collection, etc. The houses ranged from shacks with corrugated metal roofs to quite new modern homes built by those who had gone to Spain, earned a bunch of money, and returned to build on cheap land. We spoke mostly about the impact of the lack of water/water infrastructure and how it is causing a lot of uncertainty in the future of the community. We made a brief documentary about it, and we also got to interview Oscar Olivera, one of the protagonists of the Water War in 2000. (This program hooks us up with so many connections!)

In the middle of all this work on our project, we traveled to the Bolivian lowlands. Although many consider Bolivia to be an Andean country, the majority of the land is actually Amazonian. This was our first trip to the Amazonian region. We could immmeeediately tell the difference. Stepping of the plane, not only did the air feel more humid and heavier, but we felt lighter! Everywhere we went, I absolutely rejoiced in my ability to run without being out of breath. We had dropped several thousand feet in altitude, and all of us were enjoying the extra oxygen in our blood. Upon arrival in the Santa Cruz airport, we promptly boarded a bus for Concepción, one of the Jesuit missionary towns a few hours outside Santa Cruz. We visited a museum of old Bolivian church art, and attended mass (some of us felt a bit more lost in the ginormous cathedral than others). The town of Concepción is actually famous for its annual Baroque music festival. After a day and a half long vuelta (tour) around Concepción, we got back on our bus to head to an "ecoresort" (aka hotel in the middle of nowhere). Unfortunately, about an hour away, our bus encountered a chunk of road that we couldn't get through. (See pictures of mud and muddy foot prints). So we had to turn around and spend another 4 hours (thats 10 hours total) in the bus. It was worth the wait though. Although we weren't able to visit the rainforest national park (again, caused by washed out roads), or the community that lives nearby (washed out roads), we did have some pretty wonderful adventures. We got to go on a long walk through a forest nearby and found ourselves in the middle of a small village. Our guide, a tall Italian man with a thick Italian accent and a PhD in biology, told us all about the plants and animals we encountered (including coffee and cacao trees).

Also, at one point we got to run around on a hug rock formation in the middle of the forest, and it was the most free and deeply peaceful I've felt since arriving here. Growing up surrounded by trees and animals and hiking trails has definitely created in me a deep love for the peacefulness of nature. Something about the sound of leaves, the smell of bugspray, and dirty feet just makes me simultaneously giddy and incredibly calm. Although we're not going back to that area during the program, I'm already making plans to try to head back to the forest.

Before we headed to the actual city of Santa Cruz, we stopped at a home/rehabilitation center for malnourished children. Though run by nuns, it did not seem to have much of a religious undertone that usually emerges in these settings. Our guide, a nun herself spoke about the importance of real sex education and the use of contraceptives. That was shocking for some of us, but it was interesting to hear her perspective. Many of the children in the center were not planned, and some were born to teenagers who are themselves malnourished. It was heartbreaking, but we got to play with some adorable babies for a while and learn about how the organization is teaching mothers how to prevent malnutrition in themselves and their kids. So we ended that visit with a little bit of hope.

Our stay in the city of Santa Cruz was short, but nice. We ate at a vegetarian restaurant and stayed in a pleasant hotel (WITH A POOL!). We visited an organization that fights for indigenous rights and is currently working on trying to prevent the construction of the highway in the Tipnis nature reserve (also home to many indigenous groups). We also walked around the central plaza and drank coffee that men cart around in large thermoses. At one point, we were trying to find a cafe my friend had heard of. She walked up to a group of men about our age and asked in Spanish if they knew where it was. They gave her a mildly confused look and started to speak to each other....in Hebrew. About us. And so I chimed in (in Hebrew), "Aaaaand, I speak Hebrew." The looks on their faces was priceless. Most of them ran away out of embarrassment, but one nice guy stayed with us and took us to a "chill" cafe/bar for a concert. We didn't stay very long because we were exhausted, but it was fun and entirely confusing to speak to Yuval in Hebrew, Spanish, and English.

Speaking of languages, my host brother introduced us to a group of really lovely French women, and I've been spending a lot of time with them. Surprisingly, it's been great for my Spanish! My French and their English isn't good enough to communicate, so we speak in Spanish. The other day, Sol, Sophie, and I walked around the city during the Bicycle day. Two days a year, the city shuts down for cars, and only pedestrians and bicycles are allowed in the streets. It was SO cool to walk around and see hundreds of bikes and artisans filling the streets. I had to wonder though, where are all of these bikes during the rest of the year? It was lovely though, and the air felt noticeably cleaner. Sol and I spent a good part of the afternoon in the botanic garden right near my house. It was definitely a lovely break from the crazy car/bus noise and pollution that fills the rest of the year.

Anyway, I should go get ready for our seder tonight! Passover has always been one of my favorite holidays, and I'm always a little sad that I can't be at home with the fam. But I always feel so grateful to celebrate my freedom in many different places with many different people. This passover will have an additional special meaning for me as I celebrate it in another country that was built on the backs of slaves whose decedents still suffer the effects of discrimination and economic and political oppression. I feel so grateful that I have been taken in by so many different communities. I want to share that gratitude with all of you: you have all in some way contributed to who I am as a person today, challenging and comforting me as I grow.
So, thank you!
Chag sameach, shabbat shalom, and happy spring!!

Love and besos,

Eliana

(working on uploading all my pictures. In the meantime: Here are some)

Bolivia post 3: March 17

Hola!

I hope you all have been having a wonderful March! Mine has been going well here in Bolivia, but unfortunately I missed pi day. (I did end up in a cafe called "Pi Cafe" though, so I guess I'm lucky!)

It's been a while since I wrote an update, so this might be a long one! Here we go!

A few weeks ago, we took another break from our regularly scheduled programming to head on an excursion to La Paz, El Alto, and the tiny little pueblita of Tocoli. Arriving in La Paz from Cochabamba was sort of like arriving in New York from Boston. Although La Paz lacks the skyscrapers and the glitz (and the green space) of NYC, it more than makes up for it in incredible scenery, interesting people, beautiful weavings, fascinating politics, and mind-blowing geography (seriously, look up some maps). Another lovely surprise was our hotel. There were towels AND toilet paper! WOAH! But seriously, it was a very nice hotel, which was a nice change after the dinky hostel in Oruro.

Our first morning in La Paz, we walked to a talk about Andean cosmology, where we learned more about dualism and the role of balance in human life and in the universe. I'm really loving this aspect of our program actually; although the idea of reciprocity and balance is really resonating with me, I'm having a hard time with the male-female dualism. Although the sexism in the indigenous communities seems to be a far muted version than what the Europeans brought over, the strictly fixed roles of men and women create an incredibly gendered existence that makes me uncomfortable. I'll talk more about this when I get to the rural homestay in Tocoli. Anyway, on our way to the talk, a very Bolivian thing happened. We encountered a bloqueo (road block) due to political protests. The disabled community in Bolivia has been protesting to gain more rights and higher monthly pensions. One street that we passed was filled with tents, people in wheel chairs, and signs propped against walls and lamp posts. Unfortunately, our talk was in an "official" building, so the road was blocked. But thank goodness for friends-in-high-places. Our Academic Director Ismael managed to talk them into letting us through. It was a bizarre experience to pass through a military road block as a large group of white students as Bolivians watched or walked by with indignance or disinterest. They called us one by one and we walked down one of La Paz's many steeply sloped streets to our talk.

After the talk, we walked around the city, which is no easy feat, given the high altitude and the hilly city (seriously, it could beat San Francisco with its hilliness). The streets are lined with semi-touristy shops where you can buy alpaca sweaters, leg warmers, hats, scarves, weavings, jewelery, llama fetuses... Wait, what??? Yea, llama fetuses. They use them in the Q'oa ceremony, which is a monthly offering of gratitude to the pachamama (mother earth). (Ok, it's a little bit more complicated than that, but I don't feel qualified to fully explain it....wikipedia?). It was kind of fun to walk around and be a little bit touristy for a while. The city seemed to be teeming with European and Israeli tourists. There were MANY signs in Hebrew, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I also managed to convince some of my friends to come with me to an Israeli restaurant. The food was surprisingly delicious and authentic (my tongue did joyous metaphorical back-flips after eating falafel and shakshuka). I also got to talk to a bunch of Israelis traveling in La Paz. It was hilarious and difficult to try to convince my brain to function in Hebrew after a month and a half of forcing it into Spanish mode. But it worked! I couldn't wipe the grin off of my face for the rest of the day. It felt like a little bit of home in a very foreign place.

While staying in La Paz, we also visited El Alto, the fastest growing city in Latin America. It's perched above La Paz, with incredibly striking views of the surrounding mountains. It also is where most of the poor people live. We visited Teatro Trono, a theater company that blew my mind with its awesomeness. (Again, sorry about my English...my brain is a wee bit tired). The seven-story building itself is constructed from entirely recycled materials; but even cooler is what goes on inside. It was started by a man who wanted to give street kids an opportunity to participate in theater and the arts. They put on plays, dances, radio shows, and travel all over the world (and Bolivia!) to show their work. Topics range from indigenous rights, to poverty, hunger, politics, LGBTQ issues, etc. It was really exciting and empowering to see what a disempowered group has done to make their voices heard.

We also visited Mujeres Creando, one of two anarchist feminist groups in La Paz/El Alto. Run by a ;esbian, Aymara feminist, they use their space (a lovely coffee shop) as a place for art and concerts, and also for political organizing. Julieta (the director), spoke to us about community, and how modern society and neoliberalism has forsaken the power of community. It was SO cool to hear this woman speak with such passion. She channels some of the values of her community (communalism, reciprocity, etc.) while rejecting the heterosexist and individualist norms that are pervasive and oppressive. I might end up working with her for my Independent Study Project. (I have SO much more to say about this, but I have a feeling you'll hear more about this organization a bit later on!)

After a few days in La Paz/El Alto, we headed to Tocoli, a TINY village on the shores of Lake Titicaca for our rural homestay. Things I had to get used to: peeing in front of dogs and cows, freezing winds, waking up at 5am, walking up a mountain to go home, speaking in hand gestures, potatoes, potatoes, potatoes, POTATOES!!!!! While in Tocoli, I mostly ate potatoes (three different varieties, actually!), and choclo (a much bigger, less sweet version of our corn). Lauren and I spent the few days with an elderly woman and her husband who spoke Aymara and very little Spanish. We managed to communicate though! We also had the privilege of waking up to stunning views of Lake Titicaca every morning. We spent one whole morning lounging by the lake with all of the host families (and all of their adorable kids). I also swam in the coldest water I've every swum in. Life in Tocoli is incredibly quiet, punctuated by braying donkeys, moo-ing cows, and the occasional barking dog. Although the whole community lives on one mountain-side, it seemed deserted and eerily quiet. Each family has its own garden where they grow potatoes....and potatoes...and some herbs and the occasional other vegetable. Other veggies come in from La Paz when someone treks the several hours down to the city. I'm still not sure what I think of this whole experience. We're constantly supposed to be thinking about reciprocity, and I tried SO hard to let our hosts know how grateful we were for their generosity, but the language barrier was pretty high. I hope they know how much we appreciated their hospitality.

Jumping ahead a few weeks!
We just got back from a visit to Sucre (the official capital), and Potosí, the famous mining city. Sucre felt really odd to me. The entire city is made up of colonial architecture and touristy restaurants. We spent most of our time there in museums or walking around trying not to buy too much of Sucre's famous chocolate. We had a big birthday party for one of the students in this awesome restaurant where we danced ourselves silly with Ismael and his wife. It was really good to let loose with the whole group. After two days in Sucre, we woke up early for the 4 hour drive to Potosí. We ended up actually driving through the city for an excursion to the nearby hotsprings. The pictures say it all :-).
We returned to Potosí for a free afternoon, which most of us spent just walking around and relaxing. We visited an incredibly old cathedral that is currently being refurbished. Our tour-guide was hilarious and learned all of our names so that he could punctuate his sentences with, "no ve, Eliana?" (right, Eliana?). We also found THE BEST hot chocolate/coffee I have ever had in my entire life. It was life-changing. That's all I can say.

The next day, we headed to the mines. We all bought a bag of coca leaves and a giant bottle of soda to give to the miners we encountered. Then, we got dressed in our "protective" outer gear that included a hard-hat, a head lamp, polyester pants and jacket, and knee-high rubber boots. With our kindly tour guide, we headed into the mines. More than 8 million indigenous and African slaves/workers have died in these mines since colonial times when Potosí was one of the biggest cities in the world. It is said that they extracted enough silver to build a silver bridge from Potosí to Spain. The mines are actually still functioning, with more than 15,000 miners still working there in deplorable conditions every day. Some don't come out of the mines for days at a time. We were only in the mountain for a few hours and we all came out coughing and headachy from the dust and stale air. We had to crouch and crawl and avoid wagons full of minerals on their way out. I think my body was in enough shock that my mind wasn't able to fully comprehend what I was witnessing. We spoke briefly to a 13 year old miner who stopped to ask us for soda and some coca. (The coca keeps the miners awake and suppresses hunger). I felt dirty and deeply sad and angered when we came out of the mines. I still don't know if I can fully reflect on it.

After a chill night back down at our hotel, we woke up at 4:30am for the drive back to Sucre for our flight back to Cochabamba. I've started to feel homesick every time I leave this city, which I think is a good thing. It feels nice and comfortable to be back home with my host family in a city I recognize and and starting to get to know.

Oh! I forgot to write about the Jews!! Two other students and I went to Friday night services last week at an old synagogue in Cochabamba. The words were all the same, and they were mumbled through as one might expect at certain synagogues, but it felt SO nice to be surrounded by something completely familiar. The Bolivian Jews there subtly stared at the 3 gringas (white girls) sitting in the women's section, and then invited us over for Shabbat dinner. We ate a comical mix of Bolivian and traditional Eastern European food, and talked with the young Jews about what it's like to grow up in a city where there are only about 50 Jewish families. We also spoke with an old man who came to Bolivia in the 1940s from Poland. He speaks: Polish, Russian, German, Italian, Yiddish, Spanish, Quechua, and a little bit of Hebrew. CRAZY! I was so grateful to be invited in for a nice Shabbat dinner with people who talked about shechting and mitzvos and shobbiss. Oy. We also went to a Purim party on Sunday, where about 30 people came to drink coffee, eat sufganiyot ("we can't get hamentaschen here"), and tell the story of Purim. Once again, I felt embraced with such a warmth, I was speechless with gratitude.

I think that's the biggest feeling I have right now. Despite the incredible physical and emotional difficulties of the last month, I feel so blessed and lucky to be surrounded by such love and beauty. I'm going into this Shabbat with an intense gratitude for the kindness and beauty of the people and the land around me. I am reminded of a quote from Psalm 23: "Kosi r'vaya," my cup overflows.

With that, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Thanks for reading this far!!!
Shabbat shalom and besos (kisses)!
Eliana
(ps as usual I'd love to hear how you're doing!)

Bolivia post 2: Feb 22

Dearest friends and family,

I've just finished week three in Bolivia, where things are pretty soaking wet. For a few reasons. It's been raining pretty much non-stop since my comment about how nice the weather is. Also, it's Carnaval! The activity of choice during these days (weeks?) involves foam in a can and under-filled (and therefore painful) water balloons. (More on Carnaval in a bit). Also, last week, we experienced an unprecedented hailstorm that resulted in several inches of hail throughout the city (and on my roof!) The houses here aren't really built for such weather events, so my cozy little room ended up being a nice lagito (little lake...check out the pictures!). My host mom graciously helped me squeegee-dry my room, but my clothes are still, shall we say, damp. But my bed is warm and dry and the sun occasionally peeks out to say hello, so I can't complain.

CLASSES:
My classes continue to be fascinating and challenging, which is proving to be a pretty inspiring combination. We finished our unit on Bolivian political history, taught be historian Rafael Puente. While the subject matter was interesting, his lecturing style wasn't my favorite (and his bright orange sweater proved to be the source of an occasional but persistent headache).

CARNAVAL:
Our classes were briefly interrupted by a trip to Oruro, the acclaimed world capital* of Carnaval. The drive to Oruro was absolutely stunning and humbling. (See pictures for a glimpse). The Andes are incredibly awe-inspiring. As our bus lumbered around corners and up steep (paved and unpaved) roads, we caught a small glimpse of a calmer (yet wilder) Bolivia. We took advantage of the spacious public bathrooms (read: hillside) and breathed the fresh and ever-thinning air. As we weaved among the mountains, it felt as if we were part of a caravan of pilgrims to this Carnaval festival. After a 6 hour drive, we arrived in Oruro where the elevation tops 12,000 feet. The modern city of Oruro exists almost primarily for this festival. The economy there is based solely on the four-day festival during which the population more than triples.

The Carnaval parade lasts from 8 am on Saturday until 3am on Sunday (yes, that's 19 hours), only to begin again at 9am on Sunday. Persistent traditional Carnaval drums and brass music become the heartbeat of the city for the whole weekend. (One learns how to fall asleep to tubas, trumpets, and bass drums). I could try to describe the costumes and dancing to you, but the phenomenon of the parade is best described in pictures (check out the picasa album!). It was definitely a fascinating and colorful experience. The parade tells the history of Bolivia, including the stories of the colonization, the exploitation of indigenous people in the mines, the exploitation of kidnapped Africans in the mines, the effects of altitude...all with a bit of Catholicism thrown in.

My least favorite part about the whole experience was the espuma (foam in a can). Teenagers (and small children, and adults, and grandmas) wander around the city and sit in the bleachers and gleefully cover unsuspecting people in the soapy foam. We found ourselves ducking every time we heard the shake of a spray can. I still have dreams about it. Oy. All in all, Carnaval was an interesting experience...though I'm not sure I'll do it again anytime soon. (Though I did get an AWESOME wig out of it...again, check the pictures).

BACK IN COCHA:
After our adventure in Oruro, we arrived back in Cochabamba for two "ferriado" (furlough?) days. I spent these days sleeping, doing homework, encouraging the sun to come out, and hanging out with my host-bro. It was definitely an exhausting couple of days, and I'm feeling emotionally and physically exhausted, but I'm also feeling so grateful to be surrounded by such loving people. The people on my program and our directors (and my host-family!) are so loving and giving, it's hard to imagine I could ever give back the amount of love I receive on a daily basis.

We learned today a bit more about Andean cosmovision. We talked about the concept of ayni (roughly translated as reciprocity) and how that manifests itself in Andean ideology, music, and religion. We learned that everything has its pair or its opposite: our body parts, our souls, etc. Even G-d is made up of equal parts good and bad (because one cannot exist without the other). In traditional indigenous music, there must be at least two people to play the melody line (almost switching off notes on the pan flute). We also learned about the different cosmic and earthly spheres (which reminded me very much of what I've learned about Kabbalah). The take-away of this lesson is that life (and death) are all about balance. One has to balance the good and the bad, the strong and the weak, the joy and the sadness. This resonated deeply with me, especially after an exhausting (and exhilarating!) week.

For some reason (not really sure why), I was reminded of a part of a prayer by Reb Nachman that has become my mantra for this week:
"Help me find satisfaction and a deep abiding pleasure in all that I have, in all that I do, in all that I am."

On that note, I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week and a relaxing weekend!
Thanks for reading this far! And, as usual, I would LOOOVE to hear what you're up to.

Love and empenadas (YUM!),

Eliana

(pictures: HERE!)

*so claim the Bolivians

Bolivia, post 1 (Feb 8th)

Hello wonderful friends and family!

I'm writing you from my cozy little bedroom in Cochabamba, Bolivia. I'm really bad at keeping a blog, but I'm a LITTLE bit better at writing to people, so I figured this is the best way to keep you updated about my life.

I'm studying abroad here in Cochabamba for 3 and a half months. I've already been here for a week, but it feels like it's been so much longer. I've already learned how to get to school and back on the "micros!" Believe me, given how full they get, I feel incredibly accomplished every time I manage to force my way on and off these minibuses. Each bus is "charmingly" decorated with the driver's favorite things. Some examples: Shakira (and other half naked singers), Winnie the Pooh, a fan that says "love, treason, and pain," Jesus, and other colorful posters.

The weather here is practically perfect in every way. Everyday it's around 76 degrees and sunny. With occasional rain at night. Also, we're surrounded by breath-taking mountains. (Pictures to follow soon!)

I started my classes earlier this week. My primary class is called Multiculturalism, Globalization, and Social Change. This class has definitely been a challenge for me, considering it is a full-scale seminar (3 hours+) conducted entirely in Spanish. I can definitely feel myself improving, but my brain is exhausted at the end of each class. After our morning class, I make my way back home for almuerzo (lunch!) with my lovely host brother (more on him later).

I then head BACK to school for my afternoon Spanish classes. Today my Spanish class actually consisted of a field trip to an organization that supports "Trabajadores del Hogar," roughly translated as domestic workers. We heard the stories of several women and about how they came to Cochabamba (often from the rural surrounding pueblas), sometimes having to learn Spanish, and began working as house-keepers in wealthier Cochabamba homes. These women face a lot of barriers to basic civil rights (like minimum wage, benefits, parental-leave, etc.). Only recently was a law passed protecting the rights of these women. One woman spoke about the ongoing fight to achieve equal rights to other workers; there is heavy discrimination against these workers because they are (mostly) indigenous women. This organization has been doing an incredible job of supporting and fighting for these women.

After this field trip, I got back on the crazy-micro, and went home, where I ate dinner with my wonderful host brother Sergio. We've already spent a number of hours debating politics, philosophy, economics, etc. (all in Spanish!). He and his mother (MariaElena), have been so incredibly helpful to me. I feel so at home with them (especially because MariaElena is ALWAYS trying to get us to eat more). I think it's going to be a wonderful semester!

If you read this far, thanks! Please let me know if you want to keep getting emails from me. I don't want to clog your inboxes with my slowly-disintegrating English and rambling stories. I promise the next email will be a bit more coherent. :-)

Be well!

Eliana

(PS I'd also love to hear about what you're up to!)