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)
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-
-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)
