Four Months!

I am now at 4 months in Bolivia!

Shortly after Thanksgiving, Enrique Iglesias came to Bolivia. With the cheapest ticket costing only $8, I figured it was something I had to see. So I purchased the $15 upgraded ticket, grabbed a few friends, and head to my first big-time concert. I had an amazing time singing “Bailamos!”
It wasn’t my only musical experience this month. My host family also took me to a cover band for Pink Floyd. It was awesome! They had all kinds of visuals and lights set up, and the music was fairly close to the real thing too.

This month I also started and finished my first Spanish novel for fun—the first book of Harry Potter. My Spanish has improved enough to where I was able to read without stopping once to use a dictionary. Of course, there were plenty of words I didn’t understand, but I was able to figure them out by the context.













Above: Dancing with Elva at her graduation.

I went to the graduation of the family maid, Elva. She graduated #1 in her class of about 40 people-- a very small school by the name of Ramón Dario Gutierrez. I had originally thought that Elva was much older than me, but it turns out that she is 18, my same age. I asked how long Elva has worked for my family, and my host mom told me 4 years. She started when she was 14.
I met Elva's mother. She is a chola (like what I dressed up as for Halloween), and also a colla. She came down from Oruro area (where she lives) for the graduation. She has a total of 8 children, and being unable to support them all, 7 of them are living spread out through the country and, like Elva, working and studying.

Since Elva’s mother isn’t from Santa Cruz, she had a different way of greeting. Instead of the normal kiss on the cheek, she did this weird handshake/hug/kiss one cheek/kiss the other cheek/hug routine. Naturally, it was an awkward and misplaced greeting on my part… I didn’t know that greetings varied so much throughout Bolivia!

She also had a tradition where after the graduation she went to each one of the guests in turn, put a bunch of confetti on their heads, and repeated the 2-kiss greeting. I asked her what if this traditional had any kind of significance, and she told me it was just a way of saying "congratulations on coming to the graduation."












Above: Elva's mom putting confetti on my host dad's head.

On December 7th, I went to Cotoca for the Fiesta de Cotoca. Normally a 17-mile religious pilgrimage taken by foot, I had a friend drive me there. The town was filled with little tiendas (shops) set up along the roadsides selling food, souvenirs, and miniatures. The miniatures are offered to the Virgin Mary as a way of asking for different things. For example, by offering miniatures of dollar bills, you are asking for money. They also sold jalea (a sort of honey like substance made from sugar cane sugar) for very cheap. I was told it was a very traditional thing to buy in Cotoca on that day, so I bought two small pottery jars of it to bring back to my host family.













Above: Cotoca jalea in pottery jars.

This past week I took a cooking class in a local culinary school to lean how to make a chicken salteña, beef salteña, salteña de hoja, and empanada santa clara. Salteñas and empanadas are very common foods here.

Just yesterday I finally got the opportunity to visit the Santa Cruz zoo. They had all kinds of unique animals, including several I had never seen or heard of before. Living near the Amazon, I was particularly impressed by all the magnificently colored toucans, parrots, and other birds. I spent ample time sitting in the walk-in aviary. I have attached a picture of myself next to a particularly large bird that I saw, as well as one of a boy taking a runaway turtle back to its home.









Above left: With a tall bird. Above right: Boy with runaway turtle.

In the coming weeks I am looking forward to the excitement of a Bolivian wedding, Christmas, and New Year’s—among other things. I hope everyone is enjoying some cold weather (and hopefully snow)! The Bolivian sun is just warming up!

Chau,
Maija

Three Months!

Hola amigos, familia, y Rotary:
Last Wednesday was my 3-month mark in Bolivia. Since the time of my last letter, I have graduated from Bolivian high school, been to my first soccer game, and visited beautiful waterfalls and ancient Incan ruins.
School ended at the beginning of November. As with many other high schools in Santa Cruz this year, classes ended a week earlier than expected. One Friday afternoon the director simply announced that school was over. This approach is meant to keep students from traditional rioting and misbehavior associated with the last week of school.
I participated in my school’s graduation and my host dad walked with me to receive my Bolivian diploma. The service was beautiful and not unlike that of a US graduation, with the exception of the lack of graduation cake.













Above: My host parents and I just before the ceremony.

Two days later, I had my Fiesta de Promoción. This is the last opportunity the school provides for the senior class to be together, so it is a huge deal. Students and their chosen partners (often boy/girlfriends) desfilar (parade) down an aisle dressed in Prom style dresses.












Above: My whole host family and me at the the Fiesta de Promoción.

They then return to tables to sit with their families to chat and party until 2:30am. As part of the fiesta, they have a traditional Waltz that comes after every you desfilar.
















Above: Waltzing with my host dad.

Afterwards, my class went to a quinta outside of the city for our “Amanecida.” Amanecida literally means something like “sunrise,” and traditionally it is a party that is meant to last until the dawn of the next day. My party began at 4am and lasted until 4pm the next day.
Perhaps one of the most popular Sunday activities in Santa Cruz is to go to the stadium and watch fútbol (soccer). I went to my first ever fútbol game 3 weeks ago. It was a game between the two most popular Santa Cruz teams: Oriente and Blooming. The competitive atmosphere within the stadium was absolutely marvelous! Almost everyone in Santa Cruz has a strong sense of support for one team or the other, and I have found that asking about a person’s preference is often an easy way to start a conversation. I myself am an Oriente supporter—the team colors are green and white, the same as the colors in the Santa Cruz flag.
Afterwards, I decided to join an all-girls fútbol team in order to try and learn the game better. So far I have been to a handful of practices. The heat in Bolivia makes it seem all the more intense, but doesn’t stop it from being pretty fun.

Last weekend I took another family trip to Samaipata. This time, though, I had the opportunity to see some of the town’s most popular tourist attractions: Las Cuevas and El Fuerte.
Las Cuevas is an area full of beautiful waterfalls. I was able to swim out and bathe in them—it was truly amazing.













Above: Las Cuevas. You can see my host mom, me, and my friend Sarah standing up on the left.

El Fuerte is a sight of ancient Incan carvings ad ruins. I took an hour and a half hike around the area to see all the different carvings. Although there is still a bit of mystery as to the explanation of these carvings, they believe that they served some kind of religious purpose.








Above left: Overlook of the main section of El Fuerte. Above right: At the "Templo de la Sacrista" at El Fuerte.

During this trip, I also got to try coca leaves for the first time! They are the main ingredient in cocaine, but the leaves themselves are not a drug. However, the miners and indigenous people of Bolivia have been known to eat them because they kill appetites and prevent altitude sickness. They are really weird to eat because they leave a slightly numb sensation in your mouth.













Above: Two large bags (of many more) that we saw in a town outside of Samaipata... they are absolutely filled with coca leaves!

I have also attached a photo of a boa constrictor that my parents found here in Santa Cruz. One morning, I awoke to my host mom’s screams, only to go outside and find her with this snake. My host dad killed it and then later had it skinned.













Above: The boa, my host dad, and me.

That’s all I have to update for now, but future plans promise much more to come! Enjoy Thanksgiving (I baked a few apple pies for my host family and Rotary)!
Chau,
Maija

Two Months!

Wow! I have been in Bolivia now for a little more than 2 months
I apologize that this letter is a little late, but my laptop was in the hospital and I wanted to wait until it got out before I wrote this so that I could send pictures too (I spilled an entire cup of hot tea on my keyboard...)
In the past month I went on 2 very exciting trips-- one was a religious retreat with my school, and the other was a Rotary sponsored trip to Concepción for the Orchid Festival.
As I am not a particularly religious person, the retreat was an entirely new experience for me. My school is Roman Catholic, and everyone in my class went on the retreat. We spent 3 days praying and listening to lectures about religious topics (no sex before marriage and the like). For the first time, I saw people speaking in tongues and having religious experiences.
The Rotary trip left on Friday morning in a micro (which is a giant colorful bus well-known for driving quite badly). The front of the micro was covered in all these colorful stuffed animals. It sure looks funky and interesting to have swinging bunnies in front of you for more than 5 hours.









Above: The Micro.

They had told us to bring clothing for cold weather, and I did just that... only to regret it. The humidity on the trip was absolutely insane—so much so that my sweat could not evaporate. It was also incredibly hot, probably easily over 100˚F. I have never been that sweaty in my entire life!
There were a total of 22 exchange students on the trip. 21 came from Santa Cruz (3 French, 2 Canadians, and 16 from the US), and one US boy came from Sucre.
Our first stop was in San Javier for lunch. We drank chicha, which is a Bolivian drink traditionally made from corn fermented with spit. The kind we drank, though, (or so I hope), was not fermented and was made with water instead of spit. They call this "chicha camba" as opposed to the traditional "chicha colla."
We toured an old church in San Javier that was entirely painted in natural, earth-based paints. Much of it had been reconstructed, but our tour guide claimed it was still 90% original. Inside we listened to a small concert of baroque music with 3 violinists and saw some really neat old mannequins which had interchangeable heads, feet, and hands so as to represent the different saints... sort of like old-fashioned religious Barbie’s.








Above left: Church in San Javier. Above right: Mannequin.

After that, we got back on the bus and drove some more. On the way we listened to Mariachi music and danced in the micro. We stopped on the side of the road when we saw a giant herd of... BUFFALO! They were grazing and swimming... it was SO awesome!









Above: Buffalo!!!

Then we went to a nearby lagoon to go swimming ourselves. We saw chanchos de montañas (mountain pigs) that were super cute and little, and a loro (parrot).
After that we finally drove to Concepción and our hotel for the night. I stayed in a room with 3 other exchange students. I spent my free time walking around looking at the tiendas (shops). The tiendas in Bolivia are by far one of the coolest things... they’re all over the sides of the streets and they’re so colorful!
On Saturday we went to a little pueblo (tiny village) outside of Concepción—a view of the 3rd world side of Bolivia. There were lots of straw roofed huts and everyone was in traditional dress. The locals made us a lunch of chancho (pig), and some pieces still had teeth attached! They also did some traditional dances for us and let us take a quick ride on their burros (donkeys)-- just for fun. Afterwards, my friend Leah and I made friends with a little 8-year-old girl from the pueblo named Ximena.








Above left: Ximena. Above right: Burro.

A short ways from the pueblo, we went and saw a small exposition of orchids. Then, we went on a hike.
The hike took almost 3 hours in total. I have never been so nasty, sweaty, dirty, and disgusting in my entire life. I wasn’t even that tired-- it was just that the humidity was at its maximum and the sun was SO hot!!! I had tons of these annoying little black bugs crawling all over my body in my sweat.
After about 2 hours we got to the bottom of a mountain and took a short break. Then we continued the hike to the mountain’s base and climbed up a short ways. It was pretty intense, but the end result was worth it—the mountainside was covered in orchids!











Above: Hot and sweaty at the top of the mountain.

After that, we hiked back to the bus and headed to Limoncita, another small Bolivian pueblo. The drive took an hour and a half, and when we arrived in Limoncita we were still sweaty and gross.
It was exactly like those movies where the tourists come into the village of the natives. I was aware of a large contrast between us (exhausted, nasty, pale, foreigners versus clean, dark, dancing natives).









Above: Limoncita dancers.

I have never felt so much like a tourist in my life. The people of Limoncita were dressed traditionally and dancing for us. We purchased some chicha and then moved on to Concepción for showers and sleep.
Sunday morning we ate breakfast right outside our hotel rooms in a small courtyard area. In the tree above our heads, which was shading over the breakfast table, we spotted a tiny little monkey climbing about. It was awesome!
In the morning we spent a lot of time looking around the city. Later, we went to the orchid festival exposition, which had all the different colors and patterns of orchids. It was so beautiful!










Above: Orchid exposition.

We went to San Javier again to see a museum about the history of the church that we had seen on Friday.

Then, we drove to a cavern made of cement that had been built on a mountainside. The artist had simply built the cavern around the mountain’s rocks without changing the position of the rocks. Our guide poured water on the ground in a particularly rocky area, and stuck one end of a huge bamboo stick in the wet rocks. She then had us put our ears to the other end of the bamboo and listen... a weird humming noise was coming from the ground! It was very cool.

Above: Cavern.

Yesterday was Halloween, and although Bolivians don’t celebrate it the same as in the states, they do try to wear costumes and eat candy. I went to a costume party on the 30th, and my host mom helped me to dress up as a cholita, or a colla girl. I was a little worried that this might be culturally unacceptable, but my mom insisted it would be okay. She was right; I won the costume contest.










Above: Halloween Cholita.

I´d also like to note that I have officially voted for the first time-- absentee ballot!
I hope everything is going well with all of you! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
Chau chau,
Maija

One Month!

Hi everyone!

I have been in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, for about a month now.


Above: Giant cactus'!

My Spanish is definitely getting better! However, my host mom still introduces me as her daughter that SPEAKS Spanish, but doesn't UNDERSTAND Spanish. This is because the people here talk really fast, and my ears are still adjusting so that I can tell the difference between the start and end of words. I am getting better at it though!
My first weekend here, my family drove to Samaipata. Samaipata is about 75 miles outside of the city. It is a small pueblo famous for El Fuerte, a giant rock that they believe was carved by the Incans. My family shares a house there with three other families, so we all went and had a blast.


Above: On the way to Samaipata.. the beautiful Bolivian countryside.

On normal weekends, everyone usually has their own agendas on Fridays and Saturdays. Then on Sundays we go to la quinta (our little farm) where we rest in hammocks, cook barbeque, and see my grandparents. There is also a pool there, but since it is "winter," it's not filled up yet. There are star fruit trees there, too, and it's awesome to be able to go pick and eat star fruit straight from the tree.


Above: La quinta.

I really like my school here. All the kids in my culso (class) are really good friends with each other. In late November/early December we are going to take a promo (senior) trip to Camboriu and Foz de Iguazu in Brazil! It's a two-week trip, and I couldn't be more excited!

Above: A common sight: people selling goods along the street.

My school dress code is a school t-shirt and jeans or denim shorts that come past your knees. Several of the other schools have uniforms of short skirts and blouses, but not mine.
Outside of my school, I am also taking lessons in Spanish and in Salsa! The Spanish lessons are provided by Rotary, and the Salsa classes are with a friend of the family. I have both classes 3 times a week, so I stay pretty busy.
Everything here is really cheap. 7 bolivianos is about US$1. It's crazy to spend so many "100" bills here, but 100bs = US$14, which isn't much. Yet people still have trouble breaking their 100 bills, because a $14 bill is just too big!


Above: Hippies in Samaipata selling their goods. You can also see a pay phone in this picture. All the pay phones in Bolivia are disguised as different giant birds.

Thinking of money, I haven't really bought much yet except for earrings. There are lots of "hippies" that can be found in the centers of the cities here, and they sell the most beautiful, cheap, handmade jewelry. I have one pair made of peacock feathers and vegetable ivory, which is from the nut of the tagua palm tree and has the same properties and looks as elephant tusk ivory.
One of the craziest things I have encountered here so far was at a college fair at the Universidad Católica Boliviana. They had a section of the university set up for teaching us about their medical program, and to illustrate the kind of work they do, they had about 6 dead bodies lying out on tables. The flesh of the bodies had been ripped aside so we could view the tendons and such. Then, they gave us each a glove and had us feel the insides of the cadavers and told us about each organ as we felt it. I'm pretty sure this would violate some health codes in the States!


Above: A cadaver whose insides I got to feel.

As you probably know, the political situation in Bolivia has been unstable for the past week or so. Santa Cruz has been trying for a long time to gain ¡Autonomía! (autonomy), and for the first time, the protests turned violent with tear gas, fireworks, fires in the streets, and road blocks. I have had a lot of canceled school because of this, and there was one day when my family had me stay inside all day, just to be safe.

For the most part, though, as long as I continue to stay away from the fighting, I am perfectly safe. I feel comfortable and happy in my new country, and though I plan to stay alert to the situation, I have no intentions of going home at the moment. Tuesday night the prefects of the departments all signed a peace agreement. Hopefully this means that the fighting is going to stop.

Above: Every city in Bolivia that supports the Autonomía has an Autonomía pole in the center of their town.

I am learning lots and having a blast! Feel free to ask me any questions, and I will try and answer them. (In response to previous questions, my dog's name is Gypsie.)
Well, that's all I have to say right now!
Chao, chao!
Maija

My First Few Days In Bolivia

¡Hola!

I am in Bolivia! I left Arkansas on Monday and arrived on Tuesday. The view out of the airplane windows as I flew through La Paz was one of the most magnificent sights I have ever seen. There was a thick layer of clouds with the tops of huge, snowcapped mountains protruding out of it. I flew through at dawn, so everything was lit with a gorgeous glow. The pictures I took don’t do it any justice. Even though I am staying in Santa Cruz (not La Paz), the minute I saw this beauty I thought, “Wow. This is going to be an amazing year.”
Above: Me and my family before take-off.

When I arrived at the Santa Cruz airport, my family was waiting for me. Everyone here greets each other with a quick kiss on or near the cheek. I kiss everyone!
On the way home from the airport we ran into about a dozen roadblocks. Santa Cruz was having a “paro,” which is like a non-violent protest where everyone refuses to work or drive. In order to get past the blocks (which were created by the citizens from dirt or rocks or caution tape or Bolivian/Santa Cruz flags or tire scraps...) we had Santa Cruz flags all over the car. In some cases, though, we had to take different routes.
There are 9 departments in Bolivia (kind of like states), and when they pay taxes all the money goes to the central government in La Paz. Almost all of this tax money comes from 5 departments, including Santa Cruz (where mostly “cambas” live). However, when the government gives this money out for projects and the like, 80% of it goes to the other 4 departments (where mostly “collas,” who are kind of like mountain people, live). Essentially, the 5 camba departments are protesting for the right to keep a certain percentage of their tax money to be used in their area. (Just like how in the U.S. the states each have some state tax money.) The Santa Cruz department is the biggest supporter of this protest for autonomy.
My first night here I went to a dinner party at a house that my host mom designed. It is probably the nicest house I have ever been in! I met my mom’s 3 best friends… they call themselves the women from Sex and the City.
My school was changed to Colegio Espiritu Santo so that I could be where most of the other exchange students are going. School goes from 7:30-12:30 so it is very short. Two days a week, though, I have to go back in the afternoon from 2:15-6:30pm for more. The reason for this schedule is so that families can eat lunch together and observe siesta. Although I had heard about siesta before coming here, it still strikes me as odd that everyone sleeps in the middle of the day. However, my head is usually aching from all the Spanish, so it’s quite nice to have a nap. Above: My bedroom.

My family is awesome! My host dad is always trying to explain difficult concepts to me in Spanish (like about the Autonomy). He also tells me lots of jokes, but I never get them because it takes me too long to figure out what he is talking about.

My house is absolutely gorgeous! They have a brick wall surrounding the property and it's yard. It feels very outdoorsy because all the doors and windows are usually wide open and/or made of clear pane glass that huge and crystal clear. They even have an indoor garden, surrounded by the same glass. Half the time in the house I am unaware of whether I am actually inside or outside. The maids live in a separate little building in the back yard.
On food… they have THE best juice here! Banana juice, grapefruit juice, orange juice, apple juice… all of it is fresh from the fruit and homemade.
Above: Front of house.

They also serve tons of meat here. It is not uncommon to have 4 different meat dishes served at one meal. The most unique (to me) thing I have eaten is corazon de pollo, or chicken hearts. They're actually pretty good!
Downtown Bolivia is quite a sight! The traffic is terrible and nobody obeys traffic laws in the least. There is no sense of “lanes” or “turn signals” here! Often times you see poor people on the streets dressed in dirty clothes and begging for money. Sometimes you see collas too, who are dressed in big skirts and hats. Someone once told me that Santa Cruz is not so much a city as it is a large pueblo… and I believe this is true. There are no skyscrapers or malls or anything, but there are tons of dirty, crowded streets and small shops and street vendors with goods laid out on the ground for sale. It doesn’t sound luxurious, but it’s really amazing to see. Often times, I feel like I am walking around on a movie set.
Above: Back of house.

My Spanish is far from good, but I am getting better everyday just by trying to listen and speak. Tomorrow I am going to Samaipata which is a small town with some sort of ancient ruins.
I hope everyone is doing well in los estados, and if you have any questions about my experiences, please feel free to ask and I will try to answer them in my next letter. I will also try and send some better pictures of the city.
Chao,
Maija

Preparing to Leave

Hi everybody!

This coming year I am going to Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, to be an Ambassador and exchange student through the Rotary International Youth Exchange program.

I am leaving for Bolivia on August 18th!
My flight will leave Fayetteville around noon and head to Dallas/Ft. Worth for a hefty 4 1/2 hour layover. Next, I'll go to Miami. After only 1 1/2 hours there, I will fly straight to the Santa Cruz Viru Viru International airport to meet my host family.
When I arrive, 20 hours after my departure, it will be around 8:00AM on August 19th!

With a population of about 1.5 million people, Santa Cruz de la Sierra is the largest city in Bolivia. It is located in the Santa Cruz department and is just a little bit southeast of the center of the country.
The primary language spoken in Bolivia is Spanish, although many of the citizens are indigenous and speak Quechua and Aymara.

My first host parents are Pico Gutierrez and Chacho Antelo. I have one host brother, Luis Andres (21), who is studying graphics at Universidad Privada Santa Cruz de la Sierra (UPSA), a local college. I also have two host sisters, although neither of them will be there during my exchange. Alejandra (23) just graduated from the University of Richmond in Virginia and Mafer (15) will be on her own exchange in Front Royal, Virginia.
I will also have a host dog, a Yorkshire terrier named Gypsie. Two maids, Elva and Juana, will live in the house with me as well. My host mom insists that they, too, are part of the family.

I will attend high school at Colegio Isabel Saavedra.
I have already graduated high school, so this is a "gap" year for me. When the year is over, I will return to the United States and begin my undergraduate education.

Wish me luck! My next letter will come from Bolivia!

Maija