First Impressions

Hello! I was totally planning on posting yesterday (I'm trying to do every day, because there's just so much to share!), but still haven't figured out the wifi in the office where I'm staying. I'll work on it today, though, because I know you're all dying to hear about everything! (Just kidding, I'm sure that's only my mom.)

La Paz --- Cochabamba

So, when we left off, Alexa, Joyce, and I were spending the night in the La Paz airport waiting for our flight to Cochabamba. Once the ticketing counter opened, we got in a very long line to check in and check our bags. We were all frantically trying to rearrange our luggage because the tools I was carrying for Mano a Mano were really heavy and the BOA (the airline we took) weight limit was much smaller than that of TACA. But, when we put my bags on the scale, there was no problem at all! We went to wait at the gate and found a little cafe with gorgeous views of the Andes mountains. 

The view from the cafe - we watched the sun rising over the mountains!

We got on the plane, and the flight was actually 35 minutes long. It would have been a 6-8 hour drive, though, because the roads are so bad throughout Bolivia. We got gorgeous views of the mountains during the descent into Cochabamba and when we deplaned. 

You can kind of see the mountains from this picture! 

We Made It!

We picked up our bags and met Nate outside baggage claim. He was accompanied by Blanca, the lawyer in charge of one of the Mano a Mano organizations here, and her son Ben. Nate, Ben, Joyce, and Alexa drove to their hotel while Blanca took me to the office building to get settled in. 

Here's a picture of my room! Not too much going on, but the bed is SUPER comfy!

This is the view from my room. Isn't it cool?!

CEA 

After I set my stuff down, Nate showed up with the six students from Oxford! We all piled into two cars to drive to the demonstration center (called CEA); I was with Blanca, Nate, and Tracy (Blanca's husband who lives in Belgium). It's about ten minutes away, and during the trip I got to hear Blanca tell the only joke she knows in English:

There are two guys: Jack, who is black, and Mike, who is white. They are best friends and do everything together, but they're constantly arguing about what race God is. Jack thinks held black, while Mike thinks he's white. One day, Jack and Mike die exactly at the same time (after all, they do everything together). They get to the gate to Heaven and will finally get some answers. As they ask St. Peter what race God is, He walks by and says, "Hola amigos! Bienvenidos!"

(I obviously laughed at this joke, but I had actually heard it last week from Segundo at the office. I guess the whole family likes it!)

Here are some pictures I took during the drive: 

We got to the CEA and got a tour from Camila and Pablo, the agronomists in charge. The whole thing is meant to show the rural communities where we build water reservoirs how best to use that water and the resources that they have in surrounding areas. They have set up a cyclical process that involves the reservoir, fruit trees, greenhouses, livestock, and a biodigestor and composting facility. Everything can be constructed and maintained by hand out of local materials. 

This is the dormitory being built for when farmers come to the CEA for training, and where the Oxford group will be staying once doors are installed. The first group of farmers should be arriving in the next few months, which is really exciting!

This is Tracy in front of the dry bathroom at the CEA. There is a toilet which separates solid waste and liquid waste (so that each can be purified and recycled as compost or something else) and a shower attached to the outside. I'm pretty glad I have indoor plumbing where I'm staying, but really excited for the Oxford group to have the chance to live at the CEA for two weeks! 

After we left the CEA, we went to lunch back in Cochabamba at a buffet place which served Bolivian and some Brazilian food. This means there was a lot of meat, some rice, and a LOT of potatoes. 

A lot of restaurants use Disney characters for their logos. This might not be entirely legal, but nobody seems to mind! 

The food was pretty good - I think we'll be going back there because it's close to the office. 

La Cancha

After lunch, we all split off for a little bit to drop some stuff off at our respective places of residence, and so that Nate could pick up Joyce and Alexa (who had been resting at their hotel). We agreed to meet back at the restaurant in ten minutes, but it took everyone about 25. Oh well, that's Bolivia for you. We walked about ten blocks to La Cancha, Cochabamba's famous market. The place is HUGE and really overwhelming, especially when traveling with a group do 12 people from out of the country, only four of whom speak Spanish. 

Nobody bought anything, because we were all afraid of losing the group and of getting pickpocketed, but it was really fun to walk around. I can't think of one thing that wasn't for sale there; here are some pictures!

She's selling fava beans - there are women with these huge wheelbarrows full of them everywhere!

Some artesanías (crafts) - I wanted to buy a sweater and a bag, but I'm waiting to go to a market with a little bit less going on. 

Cakes! These smelled sooooo good, and it was one of the girls from Oxford's birthdays, so we were all quite tempted. We moved on, though. 

Spices!

SO MANY CARBS - rice, pasta, potatoes, etc. 

I didn't get a picture of coca leaves, but they were being sold all over the place. These are the plant from which cocaine is made, and many farmers here chew them as a source of energy. They're also used to make mate, a type of tea that's very common here (and delicious)!

La Noche

After La Cancha, we all needed a break and split up to take a rest. I hadn't showered or slept much since leaving Minnesota, so I took advantage of this! Reminder to people traveling in South America (and anywhere the water is bad): when showering or washing your face, keep the water out of your mouth! Especially while your body is adjusting for the first few days, it's important to be really cautious about this. 

We went to dinner along the Prado, a street full of restaurants and bars, at another buffet place. During dinner, we were joined by this furry guy: 

I've definitely already become known as the crazy dog lady - anytime anyone sees a dog on the street, they point it out to me. I just want to bring them all home! (In case you were wondering, the owner of the restaurant gave this guy some leftovers and he left happy.)

Then, the Oxford students, Alexa, and I went to find a bar to celebrate the birthday! We found this really cute place:

Everyone had some drinks (the boys from Oxford had flaming shots, and made the birthday girl do a shot of Tabasco followed by one of tequila - she said it wasn't bad!), and Nate even showed up! He said he had to be somewhere later (a barbeque at midnight... we were confused) but that he would have a cervesa with us before that. After he and Alexa left (Nate to the BBQ, Alexa to the hotel), the Oxford group and I went to another bar called La Hija Fea for a little bit. They are really really fun people! The only thing that's hard about hanging out with them is that I always adopt a British accent - it's so weird and probably annoying, but I can't help it! I also have to ask them what some of the phrases they use mean, but they don't seem to mind. 

We eventually left and they walked me back to the office before going on to their hotel (how nice is that?!). I slept great, woke up, and went to meet Joyce and Alexa for coffee. 

Hoy

We walked to a coffee shop that was highly recommended by Nate, and that has wifi, but it was closed for the holiday. Bolivia's Independence Day is Tuesday, but everyone is spending the days leading up to it preparing and resting. We actually ran into Nate, and all of us came to a restaurant that serves, in his words, "sushi, coffee, and alcohol." They also had some good breakfast food!

Anyway, thanks for reading - sorry this was a pretty long post. Later we're going to go see the Cristo del Rey statue - the largest of its kind in the world! Expect pictures!!!!

Ciao!