Tour Through Bolivia

As is custom with Rotary clubs around the world, my Rotary Club here in Bolivia hosted a tour-trip around the country for all the Rotary Youth Exchange students. The trip lasted 10 days and went to almost all the major cities and famous Bolivian wonders. About 17 rotary students went, including students living in Santa Cruz, Oruro, and Sucre.

PHOTOS AND INFO IN THIS SECTION ARE FROM:
SUCRE:


The first day we left out of the Santa Cruz airport and headed to Sucre. Thanks to the high elevation of the Andes Mountains, the majority of Bolivia is considerably colder than Santa Cruz, and I found myself in long-sleeved shirts with jackets for the majority of the trip. In Sucre, we visited a few different churches and Casa de la Libertad (Liberty House), which used to serve as Bolivia’s high court. Today, it is part of a museum. Sucre, like most of Bolivia, is also quite hilly compared to Santa Cruz. Being at high altitude, this made walking a pain. After 100ft of walking, my breathing could be compared to that of an older, out-of-shape runner who had just barely finished a marathon.

The second day we took a bus to Tarabuco, a small village outside of Sucre renowned for it’s knitting. We ate lunch in a local restaurant there, and walked around admiring all the handmade quilts and fabrics. When we returned to Sucre that night, we had the chance to walk around the plaza (for what walking around we could manage), and I met with a huge surprise when I was pelted with water balloons by some of the local kids. Apparently they are already gearing up for the celebration of Carnaval in February.




PHOTOS AND INFO IN THIS SECTION ARE FROM:
POTOSÍ:

On day 3 we left Sucre by bus and went to Potosí. Potosí is a mining town founded in the Andes Mountains. It was founded for the workers of the nearby mine of Cerro Rico where workers mostly extract silver and zinc (though many other minerals have been found in the past, including a little bit of gold).
We had a tour guide take us, all in full mining attire, into Cerro Rico. Before leaving we stopped at a small shop where we purchased gifts of coca leaves, juice, cigarettes, dynamite, and small bottles of 100% pure alcohol for the miners. Coca leaves are chewed as stimulants that help miners go for longer periods of time without eating. I, myself, also made use of these leaves because they help fight altitude sickness. Don't worry though-- although coca leaves can be used to make cocaine, the leaves themselves are not drugs. However, despite all the coca leaves, coca tea, and altitude pills, I still came down with a pretty bad case of altitude sickness, which involved more than several instances of vomiting out of bus windows.
Also, before heading to the mine, we shared a small bottle of the pure alcohol. The religious practices of the natives involve drinking a small amount of this alcohol and then offering some to Pachamama (who can be compared to mother earth) by pouring a bit on the ground and then stomping on it.
After purchasing gifts for the miners, we got in another bus and headed up the mountainside. Inside the mine, we toured around learning all about the mine's history and its workers. Average pay for a worker in the mines today is around 35 bolivianos (about US$5) for a full day’s work, which we were informed is actually quite good—enough to support a family. Inside the mine I saw several veins of zinc, lots of sparkling pyrite, and tons of some beautiful, white, crystalline substance. When I asked what this gorgeous white mineral was, my urge to find a little to take home with me was completely overthrown; it was arsenic.
Deeper in the mine we came across a statue of Tio. Tio is essentially God, and it is said that all miners must pay him respect if they intend to find anything of value within the mines. Our tour guide, a native and speaker of Quechua, immediately did a small circular dance upon arrival at the statue of Tio. He then explained who Tio was, and gave a few offerings of coca leaves and pure alcohol (which he made a particular point of splashing on the statue’s prominent bright red member, saying that it represented fertility—Tio makes love to the Pachamama.)
Our guide also taught us a few Quechua words just for fun. The only one I really remember is “munacuyqui” (sounds like “moon-uh-quick-ie”) which means “te quiero” or “I love you” (but in the non-romantic way).
Outside of the mine, our guide gave us a demonstration on how the miners put together dynamite. Using a fuse that was particularly long for demonstration reasons, he lit a stick of dynamite and proceeded to pass it around for silly pictures until the fuse became short. Then he ran a ways down the mountainside, set it down, and came back just in time for the explosion. It was awesome! I have never been that close to exploding dynamite in my life… the whole ground shook from under me!

Later, we headed to the Convent Santa Teresa in Potosí. This is probably the most interesting museum I have ever visited in my life, and I am proud to say that my Spanish is good enough to enjoy museums to that extent. We learned all about how royal families from Europe (who came to Potosí to bask in the riches that the miners dug up for them) would often send their 2nd born (if a daughter) to this convent in order to forgive the sins of the rest of the family by offering their daughter's life to religion. The girls always came on their 15th birthdays, and there were never more than 21 girls in the convent at one time (because 7 x 3 = 21, and 7 and 3 are both holy numbers in the Catholic religion… 7 days of creation, and 3 for the trinity). The women lived inside the convent, and after entering they were never given a chance to leave or make any kind of connections with the outside world. The women even had to bury their own dead (with lime) within the church, only to dig them up 2 years later and move the now-preserved bodies to their final resting spots. The stories of these women who went from lives of royalty to lives of silence, prayer, and baking sweets absolutely fascinated me. In the beginning, they weren’t even allowed to see their families, though they could talk to them through a black veil. Today, of course, they are allowed to talk to and hug their families, and even leave the convent whenever they please.


PHOTOS AND INFO IN THIS SECTION ARE FROM:
UYUNI:

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia, is the most beautiful place I have ever visited in my life. It is the largest salt desert in the entire world, measuring 12,000 square kilometers and containing around 90% of the world’s salt-- a resource that is still pretty much untouched.

There is no airport near the Uyuni, so the only way to get there is by bus. After one night in Potosí at the Hotel Avenida we took the bus on to Uyuni and the Salar.

On the outskirts of the salar we saw llamas running around and stopped to see if we could get close to them. I had never seen a llama so close to me in my life! They were everywhere-- they were even walking around near a nearby gas station!

As you come upon the salar, it seems like driving through dirty snow. However, the longer you drive, the whiter the "snow" (salt) becomes until, eventually, looking around the desert becomes absolutely blinding without sunglasses. The ground is so perfectly brilliant in every direction! The only other colors to be seen are in the blue, cloudy sky.

The sun reflects off the ground and easily makes for the worst for the worst sunburn of your life what with UV rays from both above and below. The high altitude (almost 12,000 ft) makes the sun's rays even more intense, and I sincerely regretted having forgotten my sunscreen. Nevertheless, it was worth it.

This desert was actually considered for a place in the 7 wonders of the world, and if you ask me, it definitely should have won. Since everything is white as far as the eye can see, it also makes for great trick-photography.

We visited a salt refinery and learned about how they collect, dry, iodize, and bag the salt. The entire process is very rudimentary and the salt is bagged by hand—one bag at a time. Each bag is even sealed by hand using a hot flame.

We also saw the piles of salt that they form on the salar to let the water drain out of the salt before the bring it to be processed.

Then, we drove across the salt desert for a few hours and stopped by the Hotel de Sal Playa Blanca- a hotel made out of bricks formed from the surrounding salt. Although we did not spend the night, we did have a chance to look at the beautiful building and the international flags flying outside of it.

We also visited the Isla del Pescado (Fish Island), a fish-shaped island within the “lake” of salt. Since the perfect white salt had a resemblance of snow, it was spectacular to see right next to the giant 1000-year-old cacti on the island. A naturally formed coral arc can also be found on the island, and we had a great time climbing around it.

We ate llama for lunch, and when we left the island, I sat on top of the 4-wheeler as we drove across the desert.

It was SOOOO beautiful! The wind and watery salt blew in my face as we drove, coating my hair and entire body with a layer of salt. Little did I care at the time, but it would make my sunburn hurt just that much worse later on.
When we finally left Uyuni, we headed to a train cemetery where lay tons of rusted out old train parts in the middle of the desert. As of yet there is no museum or guide to explain why these trains stopped their trip into Bolivia.

We headed back to Potosí for the night in what should have been a long (but bearable) bus ride. However, thanks to mechanical problems, the bus had to stop twice so the driver could do emergency repairs. It turned into an 11-hour long painful bus adventure, complete with sore sunburns, a lack of aloe vera, and a completely filled bus—topped off with hitchhikers who slept in the aisles between the seats using our feet as pillows.

I finally drifted off to sleep around 2:00 am in the morning while we were stopped for the second time, and a few hours later we finally managed to reach Potosí for the night.

Although Salar de Uyuni is undoubtedly the most beautiful place I have ever been in my life, the fact that it is so remote makes it difficult for travelers to visit. It is difficult if not impossible to book hotels and buses online, and one must be willing and able to "go with the flow" in case the bus needs emergency repairs while on the road, as ours did.

I was lucky to be able to have this experience with Rotary's tour guide.

PHOTOS AND INFO IN THIS SECTION ARE FROM:
LA PAZ:

Though I didn’t get much sleep that night, the next day, day 5, was delightfully low-key. We visited la Casa de la Moneda where they used to mint the country’s money (logical, right? since Potosí is the source of the country’s silver). After that, we took another bus to Sucre and then flew to La Paz for the night.
Day 6 we spent in La Paz. In the morning we saw several different museums in la Calle Jaen. However, if I tried to tell you something about these museums I would only be working off of what other people told me—the fact of the matter is I was absolutely wiped out with altitude sickness and sunburn pains to the point where I fell asleep on the stairs of one of the museums until some European tourists came along and found me and offered me coca leaves to chew on and revive me. While I realize now that “accepting coca from strangers” ought to fit into that little book of things your mother always tells you not to do, it certainly did do the trick. Within a few minutes I was feeling a lot better and managed to get the strength to follow the group, though groggily, through the rest of the museums.
Later that night when I was feeling better, we went to la Calle de las Brujas (Witch’s Street) which is a fairly famous street in La Paz known for selling all kinds of typical Bolivian items (lots of alpaca-wool clothing, jewelry, and llama fetuses). I had read about this street before visiting, and was particularly excited about buying a llama fetus, which Bolivians sell as offerings for Pachamama. However, it turns out that llama fetuses actually smell quite bad, and I couldn’t fathom carrying one around in my suitcase for the rest of the trip—let alone trying to keep it in one piece until my return to the states.


PHOTOS AND INFO IN THIS SECTION ARE FROM:
COPACABANA/ISLA DEL SOL:

On day 7 we left La Paz and headed out to Copacabana. Copacabana is a city right on the edge of Lake Titicaca, the highest (elevation) navigable lake in the world. We ate lunch there, and then headed out in a small boat to la Isla del Sol (Sun Island). Isla del Sol is gorgeous. The base of it is covered in the ruins of Incan structures, which the Incans built as one of their last stops on the way to Machu Picchu. Isla del Sol was built for the men who searched for the “inner fire that does not burn” which, upon explanation, sounded to me to be a concept quite similar to that of enlightenment. The nearby Isla de la Luna (Moon Island), which I did not have the opportunity to visit, was meant to be a haven for the women.
We hiked to the top of the Isla del Sol were we found a village and a beautiful hotel where we stayed the night. One of the girls on the trip had her birthday that night, and as a gift we rented one of the local llamas for a few hours and took turns taking pictures and walking around with it. The view from the hotel was amazing—it is no wonder to me that the Incans decided to build on this island.

On day 8, our Isla del Sol tour guide showed us the Fountain of Youth (as built by the Incans) on the island. We all took turns drinking and splashing the fountain’s water on ourselves. One boy in the group stripped down to his boxer’s and bathed in it. Then we went down to the water's edge and “swam” in Lake Titicaca. It could hardly be called much of a swim, however, because the water is so cold that I barely had enough strength to pull myself back out after I had jumped in. Needless to say, the locals looked at us as though we were absolutely crazy.
After that, we crossed the lake in a boat again and headed back to La Paz. We had a few hours of free time in La Paz, and two of my friends and I took the opportunity to go around with a list of questions and interview a few local merchants.
We wanted to ask them about who they are and their thoughts about the country’s political situation. On January 25th there will be a referendum vote that will take place to pass (or revoke) president Evo Morales’ new constitution. Although the majority of the country is expected to vote it in, the city where I live is very much against Morales and all his moves. Thus, it was an interesting change to have the opportunity to chat with people of differing viewpoints in La Paz. However, we soon learned that it was not easy to talk to people on the streets. We met several people who didn’t speak Spanish (only Quechua), and several more that were simply too shy to respond to us.

We initially set out with a US mentality, which is to say, if you want to ask people questions, you have to have a cause.
But after several of my friends’ failed attempts of presenting ourselves as university students with a few inquiries, I realized something that probably should have been obvious from the beginning: Bolivian street merchants in La Paz are not formally educated people, and our presentation did not make ourselves seem credible (as it would in the States) so much as intimidating.
On this thought, I went up to a flower saleswoman in the plaza and, addressing her with respect, told her I was a just high school kid in Bolivia for the first time and trying to learn a little Spanish. I told her I was interested in her city, and asked if I could ask her a bit more about it. Just like that, we got our first interview.
I can’t say that I learned a ton by talking with these people, but it was definitely interesting to do. I only met one merchant who had had the opportunity to enter college, and I met several who had never even been to high school. Most were working shops as a continuation of their parents work. To me, these kinds of people are just as fascinating to meet as people with multiple college degrees. In some respects, they are more fascinating—partly because I haven’t met many people with these kinds of backgrounds in my life.
When I asked what the people wanted in their government, almost everyone told me they seek a leader who will listen to the voice of the people and help with the poverty of the country. It is for this very reason that Evo Morales was elected—Morales is known for going from town to town to talk with individuals, and though he is not well-educated (and in fact dropped out of high school), he represents the one-on-one attention that Bolivian citizens crave.
As an ambassador, I will neither say that I approve or disapprove of the current president. I honestly don’t think I know enough about the situation to say one way or the other anyways. However, I will say that Bolivia's political situation is an interesting one to think about and meditate on.

On day 9 we went to the airport in La Paz around 1pm in the afternoon. Our plane was initially supposed to leave at 2pm to take us to Cochabamba from where we would later fly to Tarija for the night. However, a series of delays pushed back our flight until 4:30, 5:30, 8:30… and before we knew it we found ourselves sadly scratching Cochabamba out of the itinerary. When nighttime came we began wondering about the possibility of having to spend another night in La Paz, and were curious if the airline would give us hotel vouchers. But, the airline (which unlike US airlines has no reason to give out vouchers in order to keep a good name, since it already has a monopoly on in-country flights around Bolivia) refused to cancel our flight, saying that the airplane would surely come in just 10 more minutes, 20 more minutes, one more hour…. After midnight, a small riot began. People began shouting at airport security and personnel and insisting monetary compensation for their wait. The airline had shuttled us through to the pre-boarding section to raise our hopes that the planes were coming. When we learned this wasn’t at all true, the people banded together and pushed back through the security checkpoints, which is really quite illegal, and headed to the employee-only area where they insisted on “talking” with someone.
It was fairly dramatic, and it only added to the drama to know that the head and loudest voice amongst the screaming Bolivians was our Rotary tour guide.
In the end, the plane finally came. We had waited for 13-hours in the airport, but the airline gave out no vouchers, and we spent the night in Tarija as originally planned.
One interesting thing that we did see during our stay in the airport was a couple who had just been married. Apparently it is a kind of custom to walk around the entire “village” right after a wedding, and the bride and groom had even made it to the airport.


PHOTOS AND INFO IN THIS SECTION ARE FROM:
TARIJA:

The 10th and final day we spent in Tarija. Tarija is famous for its vineyards, and we visited a small one called Casa Vieja. There, we had the opportunity to taste all the different wines that they make there—all of which were quite sweet.
We ate lunch in the local Mercado—a local dish called Saice.
Then we drove out into the Tarija countryside and walked along a pathway through the woods to arrive at several giant waterfalls. We spent a little time swimming there before packing up, driving to the airport, and, with only a one-hour airline delay, returning to Santa Cruz.

Overall it was an interesting and fun trip. Hope you all enjoy the stories and photos… I know I wrote a lot, but… there was a lot to be said!

Maija

Five Months!

I have now completed 5 months in Bolivia! Over the last 10 days I went on an amazing tour of the country of Bolivia and got to see all kinds of really wonderful stuff! With well over 700 photos to prove it, I am going to write another letter in the upcoming few days (when I have time to sift through all my memories and create an ordered story for you) in order to illustrate this spectacular adventure.
In the meantime, I will update you on my activities for the past month:
I had the opportunity to see a Bolivian wedding! As the majority of Bolivians are Roman Catholics, it turns out that a Bolivian wedding, at least in Santa Cruz, is quite similar to a wedding you might see in the United States. Except, of course, it is all in Spanish.
CHRISTMAS in Bolivia is a bit different. Instead of opening presents in the morning, they open them on the night of Christmas Eve, just at midnight.












Above: The family. My host parents, grandparents, and brother.

I went to my grandparent’s house for this celebration, with all of my dad’s side of the family—including, oddly enough, the young ones. I asked my uncle (who has several young kids) how it is possible that his children can believe in Santa if they are awake all night long. When does Santa supposedly bring their presents? He told me that his kids believe Santa brings extra presents to their real house while they are out at the grandparents’. But then he turned to me and said something that I believe would translate along the lines of, “Of course, it’s really kind of hard to believe in Santa. Most kids here don’t, or not for very long. After all, what kind of a buffoon would wander around on a summer night dressed in a giant red and white suit?”
Being on the other side of the equator, we are in the middle of summer right now. So I guess he has a point.
















Above: Opening Christmas presents at nighttime.

After the present opening and a nice dinner with the grandparents, the families with young children headed home to go open Santa’s gifts. My family headed to a giant party for my host mom’s side of the family where we stayed for the rest of the night.
For New Year’s there are tons of parties all around Santa Cruz. They range from small, free house parties with just a few close friends to giant US$200 per ticket fiestas with thousands of people.
















Above: Getting ready for New Years in my bedroom

I elected to go to a cheaper yet still fairly large event at Las Lomas de Arena (“The Sand Hills”). This is a place just outside of the city famous for big sand dunes that give the appearance and feel of being in the middle of the desert.
The New Year’s party was at a hotel there, and since it started after dark I regret to admit that I didn’t get much of an opportunity to see and enjoy the dunes. Thankfully, since it is so close to the city, it will be an easy one-day trip that I can take with some friends later on in the year. In any case, I had a great time dancing and celebrating 2009 with all my friends!












Above: Making salteñas

I used my salteña class skills this month to try and make my first batch of salteñas. They turned out okay, but there was a lack of juice inside them. I have since learned that salteñas in other parts of the country don’t necessarily have to have lots of juice. However, based on the reactions of my host parents, I’d have to guess that juice is a gravely important aspect of Santa Cruz salteñas. Hopefully with some practice and Bolivian instruction I can perfect the recipe before returning to the States so that I can share this traditional food with my family and friends.












Above: One of my salteñas

Over the past few days, I have taken the advantage of otherwise uninteresting mornings by walking around the city solo. Doing so has led me to discover all kinds of things. For example, one morning I walked to a nearby park where I had never been early in the morning. There, I saw a surprising number of people curled up on the pretty green grass-- sleeping shoelessly and blanketlessly. Homeless.
I even saw one family of a mother, father, and two sons who looked to be about 5 and 7 years old, sharing a "breakfast" on the grass underneath a tree. Breakfast seemed to consist of a few scraps of food and a bottle of Fanta soda. Such poverty, with beggars and children sleeping on roadsides, is not terribly uncommon in Santa Cruz. For me, however, it is something quite new.
That’s all for now! You can expect my update over the Bolivia trip soon!

Chau,
Maija

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