Before I left, I made a list of goals that I had for the trip:
1. Embrace the culture! I know that there are different customs in Bolivia, so I want to do my best to really appreciate and understand them while I can.
I definitely feel like this was accomplished. I learned so so so much about Cochabamba and the people who live there. Some things I discovered:
- People (especially women) dress very conservatively. I didn't see anyone wearing shorts or anything revealing, except for when they were walking in the parades! The only day-to-day exception I saw to this was that women were just breastfeeding all over the place! It took some serious adjustment; no matter where we were, there would be at least one woman openly feeding her baby.
- In fact, the entire family dynamic is pretty different in Bolivia. Children live with their parents until they get married - you could be 40 and still living in your parents' house! And there doesn't seem to be any sort of general daycare system, so there are little kids running around with their parents at all times of the day. Family is hugely important in Bolivia, which was really nice to see. Even just small interactions, like an adult son hugging his mom for no reason, or seeing three generations of a family walking around a plaza, demonstrated the emphasis that people place on their families.
- Every single day, there is some sort of celebration or parade or preparation for one of those. At 6:00 or 7:00 am, there was literally ALWAYS a band practicing. This is great and makes the entire city feel very festive and patriotic, but can be a little irritating when you want to sleep in.
- There are really not many tourists in Cochabamba. I mentioned this before, but it sometimes felt like I was actually the only blonde person in the entire city. However, there didn't seem to be any anti-foreigner sentiment; people seemed quite curious about life in other places. When I visited the girls' home on my last day, I got questions about everything from Justin Bieber to what work is like to my family.
- Bolivia is just the coolest country - one of the many reasons for this is the diversity in landscapes. There are extremely dry places with cacti, green mountainsides, rainforests, the salt flats, and the Amazon River! Driving even one hour out of the city brings you to extremely rural farming communities, while inside the city are restaurants, bars, hotels, and beautiful plazas. It was a great place to be, to say the least.
- Children and dogs are adorable in Bolivia. Duh.
- Traveling in Bolivia is super cheap - I had at least three meals that cost me less than $1.00, and all of my meals cost less than $15. Nice hotels cost maybe $20 per night. The one problem with this, though, is that you usually end up with really big bills every time you change money, and it can be hard to have enough change to buy things like water bottles or a cup of coffee.
- PDA is really really common - it's impossible to walk down a street without seeing a couple embracing or cuddling on a bench. We talked a couple times about how this is really different from the US - people just don't seem to be as affectionate here, which is pretty sad.
- If you can figure it out, public transportation is actually really great! They have a pretty extensive bus system that goes all over the country, and TRUFIs, which is an abbreviation for Taxi con Ruta Fijada (fixed-rout taxi). Basically, these are taxis that serve as buses; they go on the same route every day. The one thing is that I had no idea how to figure out how to use the transportation system, but there's always someone to ask!
2. Accept the challenges. I want to avoid getting too frustrated or upset when I'm uncomfortable because I'll be in a new setting - I know it will happen, so I'm going to try my best to be open-minded about everything and not worry about being perfect all the time.
This was tough at first. I dealt with a lot of ants all over my bathroom for the first few days, I got really overwhelmed by having to speak Spanish after using only English for a long time, I got sunburned pretty badly the first week, and Toro Toro was terrifying. But now, I can't think of one experience I had that I wish I hadn't. I'm never going to love insects, but I have finally accepted that they really aren't going to form a swarm and attack me every time I go outside; I started putting on a lot more sunscreen by the end of the trip and now a nice, if uneven, tan (yay!); I got a lot of practice speaking and understanding Spanish; and I survived the Toro Toro trip with a lot of cool pictures and experiences as a result!
3. Try new food. I love food, so I want to take the chance to try things that I can't eat in Minnesota or Baltimore!
Yep - this was accomplished! Saltenas, pique macho, and llama meat were all part of the experience.
4. Make a friend. I would love to come back to the States and keep in regular touch with at least one person from the trip for a while after!
In case it isn't really obvious from all my posts, I just loved everyone I met on this trip. Joyce and Alexa were such great people to travel with for the first week, the Oxford group was amazing and I wish I lived closer to them (but I've already found them all on Facebook, don't even worry), and literally everyone from Mano a Mano is just an amazing, selfless, dedicated, hard-working, passionate person. I can't wait to keep in touch with them all!
5. Be more confident in my Spanish-speaking. I'm always really nervous about my American accent when I speak to native speakers, but I definitely feel like I have a good grasp on the language and know that it will only improve while I'm there!
So, this trip taught me that learning Spanish in a classroom is nowhere near enough to be fluent. I can read, write, and understand Spanish pretty well, but speaking is REALLY HARD. I did feel a lot more confident in my speaking by the end of the trip, though, so that's really good. I guess I'll just have to go back to South America at some point to practice more!
6. Get a tan. I've been inside all summer, so I want to come back at least a little browner! This also involves applying sunscreen every day, because I absolutely do not want to come back peeling and red.
See #2.
7. Adjust to the altitude. I want to be able to embrace the entire experience without feeling sick the whole first week, so hopefully this just works out.
The altitude actually didn't present much of a problem for me at all. After the initial tingliness in the La Paz airport, I didn't feel lightheaded or anything for the whole trip. The one thing we all noticed was that we got winded a lot more quickly - three flights of stairs often required me to take a break before climbing anymore. Even this got better by the end, though!
8. Get souvenirs. I want to come back with at least a new sweater for myself and some presents for other people!
Yeah, this didn't really happen. Sorry everyone. I was busy doing other stuff!
9. Blog at least six times. This is dependent on the Internet/computer situation there, but I do want to keep my friends and family updated on the trip, as well as keep an in-the-moment record for myself in the future! If I can't do the blog thing, then this will turn into journaling at least six times.
Mission accomplished! I hope the posts were entertaining and at least a little educational.
10. Make someone smile every day. As cheesy at it is, I really want to make a positive impact while I'm in Bolivia. I know it's a bit of a hassle planning for people who visit, so I hope to be helpful and friendly enough that it's worth it for everyone involved.
I think this was achieved. Whether it was from playing with the girls at the Salvation Army Home, talking to patients at the hospital, or just helping the Oxford group with their project for a couple days, I think I managed to brighten at least one person's day every day I was there.
Being on this trip, I learned a lot about myself, too. Even though I wasn't really alone for much of it, this was my first time traveling without my family/friends for the whole time. A list of some things I didn't know:
- I hate eating out alone. Having a book helps, but I feel like everyone is watching me.
- I get really attached to people within minutes of meeting them. Leaving Bolivia was the hardest thing I've done all summer, because I didn't want all my relationships to just be over!
- Harry Potter will never cease to be a source of comfort whenever I need it.
- I don't really like llama meat.
There were many other lessons learned, but here's the most important one: I am extremely blessed to be where I am. I live in a country where skill and hard work generally results in reward. The smartest people can find ways to thrive and succeed wherever they are. This isn't the case in Bolivia. No matter how smart or dedicated or talented you are, if you don't have resources or opportunities or even clean drinking water, you simply can't move past a certain level of income/well-being. Even in the biggest hospital in the city, people were begging for help and resources. The people in Bolivia are wonderful - they are passionate, they are kind, they are accepting, and they are happy. But, they need help. When people don't have water, when they have to walk three hours on a winding mountain road to and from school every day, when they simply don't have access to medical care, something needs to be done. That's why I'm so happy to have been able to connect with Mano a Mano, because they really understand Bolivia. They work with these amazing people to solve the problems that need to be addressed, and they are making a huge impact.
By no means is traveling kind of on my own for two weeks enough to have had a transformative experience. I'm still the same person who will spend too much time on Facebook and too much money on clothes I don't really need. I'm not going to start thanking my professors for the opportunity to do 800 hours of homework every night or calling my parents every day to tell them how grateful I am for the opportunities they have given me. But two weeks has been enough for me to get to know Bolivia and its people. It's impossible to convey the need there is for money, teachers, medical equipment, roads, and every other sort of help imaginable. But, I can now be an ambassador for this place that I have come to love. I'm going to tell people everywhere about what I've seen and what I think can be done. I'm going to keep doing whatever I can for Mano a Mano. And I'm definitely, definitely going to go back to Bolivia.
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