Final Reflections

Hi for the last time! This is going to be my last post; it's going to be a sort of reflection on the trip. Obviously, I've been posting a lot of details about everything and every day in specific, so today I'm just going to give you a general overview of my final impressions. Sorry, this post is going to have no pictures - but it's going to be fun to read I promise (I mean, at least if you like learning about other cultures and stuff)!

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.

Bye Bye Bolivia

Hi again! Sorry for the long wait between this and the last post - I haven't had very reliable wifi and I also haven't been taking pictures much. However, I do have some updates to share!

Monday

I spent Monday recovering from the weekend, so I spent a lot of time walking to various plazas with my book. Eventually, I ended up at my favorite cafe to grab lunch. I ended up running into a group of guys we had met in Toro Toro (two from England, one from Canada, and one from Colorado), which was a crazy coincidence! I guess that's what happens when you travel, though! I hung out with them while they planned the rest of their trip in the cafe (we definitely overstayed our welcome there, but the wifi is hard to resist). Then, we all went to the Italian place I had been before. I got gnocchi this time and it was DELICIOUS!

Tuesday

I spent Tuesday morning doing pretty much the same thing, walking around Cochabamba and drinking coffee in various locations. I went back to the office once I thought everyone would be there to ask some questions for the Minnesota office about what we ship. I spent the rest of the day translating some kids' books that were sent from Minnesota. They have beautiful pictures and the stories are really cute, but they're all in English! Here's a pile of the books I translated Tuesday:

Tuesday night, I went with Blanca to buy seats for the festival we (myself and the Oxford group) attended yesterday. The festival is called an entrada, and basically consists of folk dancers putting on a parade from 11 am to 2 am. There were basically 43 billion people watching, and people were actually camped out so they could get the best seats in the morning. 

Wednesday

I spent Wednesday morning translating some more books, after I went to get a very American breakfast. Here's a picture:

The Oxford group showed up around 3, and we headed off to the parades. It was a really cool experience, and it didn't seem like there were many tourists at all. We drew a lot of attention, but had no problems. 

There were quite a few terrifying masks, like this one:

One thing we found amusing was that the boys all seemed to be having a blast, like this guy below, but that all the girls looked miserable and exhausted. 

He has a llama on his hat:

Mickey Mouse was there (dressed in his finest American flag apparel for some reason):

Barney made an appearance as well (I tried to talk to him but was ignored):

We also saw Sid the Sloth from Ice Age:

We were all just confused by the end, but had a lot of fun anyway! We decided to go back to Cochabamba to eat dinner (at the Italian place again - and there's only one waiter so I tried to hide my face as much as possible). We couldn't get in touch with the taxi company for which we had a phone number, so we spent about an hour trying to figure out how to get back and ended up going on a bus. It wasn't scary at all and was really cheap, so nobody had any complaints. 

Everyone got pizza at the Italian place, and one of the boys actually got a family sized pie (he was, unfortunately, unable to finish it). Here's my pizza: 

It was so so so good. We went back to the Mano a Mano building to check in with Blanca (who tends to worry about visitors) and to get the group a taxi back to the CEA. One of Blanca's sons was there, and he drove them back, which was super nice! I actually drove with them, because I was having severe anxiety about never seeing them again. The group from Oxford is seriously awesome - I wish I could have stayed with them for the rest of their trip! 

Thursday

This morning, I went to hang out with some kids at a girls' home. I thought that I was leaving tomorrow night, so I had planned on spending the whole day there, but it ended up only being half they day. Anyway, the girls were adorable, and they taught me how to jump rope (which I have always been incapable of doing - embarrassing, I know. Gym class in elementary school was always a nightmare)! I hung out with them while they washed their clothes, watched a movie, ate lunch, and got ready for school. 

During lunch time, the high schoolers came back - the older girls go to school in the morning, and the younger girls go in the afternoon. All of them were so so so nice and curious about everything to do with life in the US. I was asked by pretty much all the high schoolers if I had a boyfriend (I felt like I was letting them all down when I said no), and everyone kept asking me to sing to them! I also got to play some clapping games with the younger girls, which was really fun and obviously adorable. 

Mid-morning, Zulema from the office called to tell me that we had been wrong about when my flight was: it was actually today. I was pretty upset - I had prepared myself to say goodbye to everyone tomorrow, and wasn't really able to. Plus,  I was planning on eating dinner with the Oxford group at the CEA tonight and going dancing with one of Blanca's sons after! I had thought I was really ready to go home, but discovered that I definitely wasn't. 

Anyway, now I'm in my hotel in La Paz (I had to fly here tonight because I fly out early tomorrow morning) watching a One Direction concert on TV. 

Tomorrow, I'll probably publish my final update. Thanks for staying with me throughout the trip!

I Moved!

Hello readers! I hope you're all having a great end of summer - it seems like it just started and it's already almost over!

El Altillo

First, big news: I'm living in a new room now! The guy who was living upstairs in what's called the altillo has returned to the US (he goes to school in Illinois), so I'm living there now. It's beautiful and has a lot more space than I did before!

I have two beds to choose from:

An office/living room:

A kitchen:

And a great view of the city:

So, here's a huge thanks to Blanca and Zulema for setting it up for me!

Wandering 

Yesterday, after being at the hospital all morning, Joyce, Alexa, and I wandered around Cochabamba all day. We went to a museum which gave a history of the tribes that used to (and still do!) live in the area. One cool, but also gross, thing I learned was that the Incas used to make drums out of the skin of their defeated enemies!

I took some pictures even though it wasn't technically allowed. 

This guy is hanging out in a funerary urn - he's from before the Incas were even around!

This guy looks really scared, but apparently your jaw just drops after being dead for a while because your muscles relax or something. You learn these things when traveling with a doctor!

Here's some cool pottery so you don't all think I'm obsessed with the remains of pre-Columbus people or anything:

After being at the museum, we found an art gallery and walked right in! I didn't take pictures there, but trust me when I say it was really cool stuff! Needless to say, we felt very cultural after this outing. 

Pizza!

We all needed an energy boost after the morning at the hospital and the afternoon of walking, so we went to Cafe Goss (the sushi/breakfast place I mentioned before) for drinks and to take advantage of their wifi. I got carbonated water (which I haven't ever really liked in the US, but have come to love here) and a tiny espresso, and we all relaxed for a bit. Joyce was working on her presentation for this morning, Alexa was looking for pizza restaurants in Cochabamba (yes, that was my idea), and my phone was dead so I was just people watching. 

Here's a picture of the smallest coffee ever:

We found out that the best pizza place in the city was within walking distance, so we started on our way! It was SO GOOD, and we had the sweetest waiter ever. 

I got a Neapolitan pizza:

We also shared some amazing thin-crust garlic bread. It was a great excursion. 

The Presentation

After dinner, I went back to the office and worked on some rough translations of the slides Joyce had sent me from her PowerPoint so that I would be a little prepared for this morning. It was like doing homework! 

This is an example of one of the slides I had to translate:

I definitely feel like a bad Johns Hopkins student, because I don't know what any of the medical words mean! To all my premed friends - what you're studying is HARD!

The presentation went really well, and when I stumbled over the complicated stuff, there were enough people who spoke some English to fill in the gaps. 

Here's a picture of Joyce presenting and me standing there trying to figure out how to translate what she's saying:

After the presentation, we went to get salteñas at Sol y Sombra (the place Nate recommended on our first day). I think I have, unfortunately, developed a taste aversion to salteñas and empanadas after the charque meat, because I can't even think about eating them anymore. It was fine, though, and I'm glad we made it there before Joyce and Alexa left.

Church

We wandered around again and ended up at a beautiful church; there was even a man singing and playing the guitar when we were there!

The outside:

And the inside:

CEA Again

Later, Blanca drove the three of us to the CEA so we could help out, since we didn't have anything else scheduled today. The Oxford group was working on preparing the water cisterns they're going to install in a few weeks; the first step was to create a sort of lip on all these sheets of metal so that they can be welded together. 

Here's Johnny (from Oxford) and Alexa working on one:

Despedidos

We came back to the city so that Joyce and Alexa could catch their flight to La Paz. It was so sad saying goodbye to my blonde travel buddies! They have a long day of travel tomorrow: La Paz to Lima to Miami to Minnesota. I hope it goes well! And now I'm the only gringa in the entire city - at least that's how it feels. 

On the bright side, the Oxford group and I are going to Toro Toro National Park for the weekend! There are dinosaur footprints, swimming holes, hiking trails, and a rare species of macaw! We're leaving at 4:30 in the morning, and there are 8 people going in a 7-seat car, so that should be a fun 3+ hour drive. 

Here's today's cute street dog:

Ciao! (It's kind of a pun because this dog looks like it's part chow. Can't help myself.)

 

  

 

Charque

La Cantonata

Two nights ago, while the Oxford group was moving into the CEA, Alexa, Joyce, and I walked around the parades and street vendors for a while. 

We saw some cute babies:

This baby is being carried the traditional way here. The mom wraps the baby in the blanket and then swings it over her shoulder - I'm sure it's very safe, but it looks a bit scary for the kid:

We then met up with Nate for dinner at an Italian restaurant in the city. We had wanted to eat along the Prado, but everything was very loud, and we wanted to get away from the parades a little bit. (After all, they'd been going pretty much since we arrived.)

The food was AMAZING, and a nice break from all the potatoes we've been eating. I got spinach ravioli with a bolognese sauce, Joyce and Alexa got pasta with prosciutto and mushrooms in a cream sauce, and Nate got lasagna. 

I forgot to take a picture until I was done, but here's the plate if you're interested:

We all just went to bed after a long chat and a lot of food.

Hospital Viedma

Yesterday morning, Blanca took me, Joyce, and Alexa to visit Cochabamba's largest public hospital. We met a doctor who works at the nearby university, and the chief of staff of the entire hospital! Basically, since Joyce is an anesthesiologist at home, they wanted to talk to her and share experiences. She was also interested in seeing what sort of equipment is most needed here for the hospital, so we got a quick tour. 

Our first stop was the dialysis unit, which was my first really sad experience since being here. We learned that, due to a lack of equipment and a long list of patients, people who come in for four hours of dialysis are only able to stay for three at a time. When some of the patients heard that I speak Spanish, they motioned me over to talk. They were all very friendly, but they just kept saying, "Help us. Help us. We need equipment. We need money. We don't have enough." I couldn't do anything but tell them we would try, and that we are sending what we can through Mano a Mano. 

This is me talking to some of the patients and a nurse:

We then went to the oncology unit and met one of the nurses there. She showed us a hallway that had been turned into a nursing center, because there simply wasn't enough space for it anywhere else. They have patients as young as 18 years old who come in with lymphoma or breast cancer, and they just don't have the resources to see everyone. Also, in the patients who travel from rural areas to this hospital, the cancer is often too far advanced for any treatment, because the rural farmers simply don't know that they need to come sooner. 

We saw the room where they make the medications for the oncology unit, and the nurse told us that she has to make them herself. She's been working there for about 6 years and never had any formal biochemistry or pharmacy training, but she's the only person who can make the medicines. She optimistically said, "Practice is the best teacher."

The hospital only has 194 beds, but serves over 4,000 people in Cochabamba and Potosi, a neighboring province. Right now, they only have four surgeons, and only one available for emergency service at all times. They need space, they need supplies, and they need training for their staff. All in all, a very powerful, but very sad, morning. 

Mano a Mano Bolivia 

After the hospital, we went to meet the Oxford group and Nate to tour Mano a Mano Bolivia. It was really cool to see the place where all the planning gets done!

This is a map of all the projects:

And the wall of brochures! This is 

While we were there, we even saw some people come in to pick up orthopedic supplies!

We even got to visit one of the clinics that is just outside Cochabamba! We met the doctor in charge and saw the different things they do there. 

Llama Meat

After visiting Mano a Mano Bolivia, we went to a popular restaurant which serves empanadas and ice cream. Everyone tried an empanada de charque,  which means it was made of llama meat! It was pretty dry and similar to turkey in taste - I'm glad I tried it, but I don't think I'll ever get it again. 

Here's a picture of the menu:

Mano a Mano Nuevo Mundo

After lunch, we took a quick break and then went to the offices of MMNM. These are located on the first floor of the building where I'm staying!

This is the secretary's desk and some posters depicting a few of the projects MMNM has done. 

Mano a Mano Apoyo Aereo

Our last stop on the Mano a Mano tour was the aviation program. We saw the hangar and the planes, and even got to watch Ivo Daniel (the pilot in charge of the program) check the engine of one of the planes!

Here's the airplane hangar - anyone flying into Cochabamba can see the URL for our website!

Here's a picture of one of the planes:

And the view from the hangar:

Food Court

On the way back from the hangar, we all stopped at a food court for dinner! It was really funny to see something that seems so quintessentially American in Bolivia!

Everyone there was watching a soccer game. The two teams were the Peruvian national team, and a team called "The Strongest." It was pretty funny. 

Also funny was this menu, which lists a bunch of Bolivian food as well as "Hot Kid."

And we all got a kick out of this advertisement for pizza cones - who wouldn't want to look just like this girl?

After dinner, the Oxford group went to the grocery store next door to get some groceries for their time at the CEA, and the Americans went back to the city. I wasn't feeling the greatest, so I went to bed at 7 pm and didn't move until 7 this morning!

Hospital Viedma Otra Vez

This morning, we returned to the hospital to observe an operation! The patient was getting a kidney transplant, but was actually in dialysis at another hospital because there wasn't enough space for him to receive it at the same hospital. Eventually, he arrived, and Alexa and I stood outside peeking through the windows. Joyce actually went into the operating room!

After that surgery, we got to see the pediatric/maternity ward, the medical school, and meet the director of another neighboring hospital. 

This is a picture of the medical school:

Tomorrow, Joyce is giving a presentation for some of the staff and medical students on patient safety, and I have to translate! Luckily, I'll be able to look at her slideshow before so I can practice. 

Right now, the three of us are eating lunch at Caffeina. We all needed a break from traditional Bolivian food, so we're eating burgers and chicken!

To conclude, here's a cute puppy we found at Mano a Mano Bolivia!

¡Feliz Día de Independencia!

Hello! Today is Bolivia's independence day, so much of the city is quiet. The Prado, though, is full of marching bands, street vendors, and men in uniform. Today's parades (desfiles en español) are mostly the different branches of the military. To be honest, it's a little intimidating walking around as a tourist with the entire army walking around as well. It's all been great so far though!

Here's a picture of the military marching to the parade:

Updates on the rest of day three:

CEA

Yesterday, after my morning coffee, I met up with everyone so we could all go to the demonstration center to do some work. Half of us worked on creating watering devices for the fruit trees (apple, peach, and grape) out of empty plastic bottles (they're really cool in theory, but pretty difficult to make with the limited resources available at the CEA). The idea is to create a device that will let water into the soil directly onto the plants' roots, one drop at a time. If done correctly, a 2-liter bottle can last up to a week. About half of our bottles seemed to be working, but the rest drained within minutes. Oh well; it's all a learning process. (This is a link to a similar irrigation system: http://www.providentliving.org.nz/bottle-drip-irrigation/)

The other half of the group worked on moving rocks to create a biological pool which sanitizes liquid waste from a farmer's home. We all took a much-needed break to have lunch in the shade - it was REALLY sunny! Someone brought us fried chicken, which came with french fries and rice (of course there were two starches - this is Bolivia, after all). Then, it was back to work. I got to hang out for a bit with David, a Mano a Mano volunteer from Illinois who's been here for about 5 weeks, and his friend Ivan, who is super funny! I felt like we were best friends after a three-minute conversation. He and I are going to help each other with speaking English and Spanish, respectively.

The work we did after lunch involved uprooting some vegetables (we're pretty sure they were turnips, but it was never 100% clear) that had rotted, putting in compost as fertilizer, watering the vegetable garden, planting onions, and putting straw around the vegetables so that the water didn't evaporate right away. We all definitely needed a shower after that! Blanca and Ben came to pick us up, and we all drove back to the city to rest for a bit. 

This is what we all wore on our heads:

(Sorry I have no pictures of my own - everything was super dirty so I didn't want to risk breaking my phone!)

Graciela

After a quick shower and nap, Joyce, Alexa, and I decided to wander around for a bit before we met the Oxford students for dinner. 

This is bread made of quinoa from a health food store across the street from their hotel - really delicious! Rolls shaped like this are called pancitos, and usually eaten for breakfast. 

This is the church at the old plaza in the center of the city:

Parades were everywhere last night! They caused a lot of traffic jams, but were cool for us to see!

Here comes one across the intersection of the two main streets in Cochabamba:

On our way back to meet the others, we found a cute little pottery shop and went in to look around. The owner's name is Graciela, and we talked for a while about our trip, Minnesota, and her products. I ended up buying a keychain, and she told us to come back anytime we needed anything! I'll definitely be visiting her again. 

Cafe Paris

For dinner, we and the Oxford students went to a really cute little cafe which served crepes. 

My dinner from last night:

(Don't worry, mom, that's just grape juice.)

We all chatted for a really long time, and then everyone went home to sleep, since we had an early morning today!

Water Projects 

We had all planned to meet at 8:30 this morning so that we could drive out to a rural community to see one of the water reservoirs Mano a Mano has built. The Oxford group had some trouble checking out of their hotel, though, so we actually left around 9:15. We had a great time waiting around, though, because we made some friends!

This guy came and sat right by Alexa!

This one smelled really bad, but had the sweetest face!

Eventually, we made it out of Cochabamba to the Ucuchi reservoir.

The landscape was a bit different, and it was much cooler, because we were up pretty high in the mountains:

Here's the reservoir (about 2,000 cubic meters when it's full):

This is an abandoned house we found near the community. It's really neat!

After seeing the Ucuchi reservoir, we went to see the Sancayani reservoir about 45 minutes away. The drive was a little terrifying, because it was all narrow mountain roads with super sharp turns, but Ben handled it like a pro and we arrived with no problems at all!

We even stopped on the way to see some lambs that were hanging out near the road:

This is the Sallamani Grande reservoir (the Sancayani project is made up of this and Sallamani Chico, which is higher in the mountains):

We found many more sheep by the reservoir: 

These community members were doing their laundry in the reservoir! They only spoke Quechua, so I couldn't understand anything, but seemed super friendly:

We came back to the city to eat lunch, and the Oxford group is currently moving into the CEA for the next two weeks. I'm going to miss them a lot, but they're coming into the city for the weekend! Hopefully we can do a lot of fun stuff, especially since I'll be all alone once Joyce and Alexa leave on Friday. 

And, I leave you with this: since I am so directionally challenged, my lock screen is now a map of Cochabamba. It's been quite helpful.