Of course, the most important news to share with you all is that I watched Bolivia beat Argentina in fútbol (soccer): 6 to 1 !!! Pretty dang impressive since Argentina is one of the best teams in the world, and Bolivia doesn't even come close. Of course, the gauchos are sore losers and had to complain that it was the altitude (they played in La Paz) that caused them to lose so badly.
This month I went to countryside with my host dad and my friend Caity. We went because my dad was looking for a rancher he wanted to offer a job on our farm. He had heard that the rancher was playing soccer, and when we finally found him, he was, sure enough, on the sidelines of a soccer field. A job working on the family farm pays 1200bs/month plus 50bs for each truck that you unload (about 1500bs or $215 for a normal month).
On the way back from the soccer field, my host dad pointed out a makeshift market built out of scraps of old wood in the middle of the road. Of course, building in the road is totally illegal. Inside the market they make and sell the cheapest food you can find anywhere (one dollar for an entire meal complete with drink, meat, and rice). Of course, the conditions in which they make the food are totally unsanitary.
Above: My friend Melissa and I
One afternoon I went to volunteer at an orphanage with my friend Melissa. It took about a half hour micro (bus) ride to get there, which is quite far when you are used to everything being so close. It's out in the 5th ring of the city where the roads aren't paved.
Frankly, there is nothing pretty about the scenery out there. There are lots of small dirty homes on small dirty roads filled with sand, mud, and dirt. Poverty. The orphans range in age from 4 to around 19. When we first entered we were placed with two young girls ages 6 and 10. We were told they were new arrivals and had not yet started school because they were behind. We were to help them catch up by teaching the letters of the alphabet.
A few minutes into working with them, I realized that these kids were basically starting from scratch-- the only letter the 6 year old knew was "A." The 10 year old was no better. Later, I was told a little of their story: some travelers found these two girls- without food or water- underneath a mat in the middle of the jungle.
The youngest little girl there looked about 4 years old. She had her hair in cute little pink ponytails all over her head. She was absolutely the most adorable. I was told that she arrived at the orphanage after her grandfather attempted to murder her.
The girls and boys inside the orphanage have separate sleeping quarters. On the guy's side, each room has wire mesh in the windows. I was told it was put there when they began having problems with a sexually abused boy leaving his room in the night to attempt sexual acts with other boys.
The kids were incredibly affectionate and always wanted to hug me, hold my hands, and have me pick them up or tickle them. They call all the volunteers and workers "tía" and "tío" or “aunt” and “uncle.” It took me a minute to realize when they said "tía" they were actually talking to me.
In my university I have now finished my Bolivian Culture class and entered a geography class. My Bolivian Culture class was supposed to take a trip to the Amboro National Park, a large nature reserve in the middle of Bolivia. However, it was raining the day we went out there and a small landslide caused the only road to be completely blocked off. So, instead we went to Cotoca and Mairana, two small towns outside of Santa Cruz. It was a very low-key trip; we talked with one man from Mairana and then watched as they played a quick game of soccer. Mairana is a very poor and under-educated town where almost everyone I saw was without shoes and taking pictures was forbidden for the fear that “photos steal your soul.” A friend and I had purchased several oreos for the trip, and when we hadn’t eaten them as we left Mairana, we decided to give them to the kids there. It was like feeding a pack of wild animals—after giving out one pack of oreos to one kid, the rest of the kids swarmed around and began fighting for the little that we had.
Above: Crazy swirling river
We also stopped by a river that was absolutely amazing—completely full of swirling whirlpools and wild currents that it looked like dirty boiling water. A photo of the water is above, although a photo just isn’t nearly as impressive as the real thing.
Another place I visited this month is a place I have wanted to see for a very long time—the Biocentro Guembe. This is a large resort outside of Santa Cruz complete with a butterfly garden, aviary, Orchid garden, about 20 different “natural” swimming pools, and a restaurant. I went with several friends for just one day.
Above left: Two macaws with me, Above right: "natural" pools at Biocentro Guembe
The highlights of the trip included spotting the sloths in the aviary and watching as a Macaw inside the aviary met a wild Macaw outside the aviary and they began “kissing” through the wire mesh separating them.
Above left: Two macaws, Above right: At the top of the aviary
I finished my Bolivian Culture class with a record grade of 75% on my final exam! I am now enrolled in a geography class. The lack of knowledge of my Bolivian peers is sometimes astounding—one the first day of class the instructor began calling students up to point out different elements on the world map. Shock took hold when it took three students to finally locate the continent of Africa.
However, I have yet to prove that I am much more intelligent. On the first day in the class we also had a preliminary examination, and I learned that:
- Although 7,000,000,000 is 7 billion in English, it is NOT 7 billón in Spanish. It is 7 mil millónes (which translates to 7 thousand million).
-- The teacher will call this out in class and announce to the class that SOMEONE doesn't know how to label numbers correctly.
- Although I have always learned that there are 7 continents (N. America, S. America, Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and Antartica), they only teach that continental model in N. America, China, and most of Europe. In S. America they teach that the Americas combined are actually one continent, called America.
-- Bolivians will actually laugh at you when they hear you are separating North and South America. They will think it is a racist/cultural-ist thing, as though you are separating English and Spanish speakers. "We are all part of America," they will tell you.
- Although the Rocky Mountains is a legitimate and important mountain range in the United States, they have never heard of it in Bolivia.
-- If you list it as one of the important mountains in America, the teacher will read the answer off your test to the rest of the class and say, "THIS person put that ROCKY is a mountain. I mean, what is Rocky? Are we talking about the movie here? Completely wrong."
Above: Me and the girls on a University trip
My geography class recently took a short day trip to the countryside. The trip involved an hour and a half walk past farmland and across a river. After the walk, we all sat down to eat a locro (which is like chicken soup).
Above: Eating locro on a University trip
Our maid Elva left recently because her mom was in a car accident and broke a leg. She isn’t coming back, so the family is officially on the hunt for a new maid.
I am also attaching a photo, below, from my host brother’s birthday. We went to a very fancy Asian restaurant.
Above: Me, my host brother, and my host dad during my host brother's birthday
That’s about all I have to report for now.
Wishing you the best, as always,
Maija
