Last Friday was one of the most fun days at work I’ve had. I went with my boss to go buy about 40 saltenas because we were having a press conference at the alcaldia (mayor’s office). The press conference was a little strange, though. I think I was there for decoration to make it look like the room was full because nothing actually ever happened. The people in the audience at their saltenas, and then there might have been something going on in the front of the room. The president of CADEPIA and IDEPRO (another MFI) were there talking into some recorders, but no one in the audience heard any of the questions the press was asking and no one could participate at all. It was a little different—and definitely much less violent—from the mock Hershey’s / Townspeople press conference that my block had just this past semester. Then in the afternoon, Esteban and I walked around Cochabamba in search of affiliates’ businesses so we could distribute a survey to learn more about opinions, sentiments, and feelings toward CADEPIA. Nothing could have been more frustrating! The addresses CADEPIA had on file were all wrong. Some of them didn’t exist. Some of them were not the right business. Put simply, all of them (except 1) could not be found! But it was ok because we got to walk around La Cancha, and we eventually ate some pastel to calm our anger (Pastel is this delicious pastry filled with cheese that is puffy and has confection sugar sprinkled on top… pictured below… yummmm)
After work, I went to the FSD office where I learned about applying for grant money for my project. I really didn't need the talk though since my project doesn't require any grant money, but I was forced to stay through the 2.5 hour long discussion about... I'm not really even sure what. Lately, FSD has been a little bit disorganized, but I guess that's just the Bolivian way. Friday night was spend sleeping on the bus cama on the way to La Paz with Luke and Mansi. It was definitely the most comfortable bus I have ever been on.
Saturday morning- spent in the La Paz bus terminal.
Saturday afternoon- spent on the bus to Copacabana + lunch in Copa + boat ride to Isla del Sol.
On the boat ride, we met a tour guide from La Paz who was on vacation with his girlfriend, but he liked talking to us better. So he told us stories about Lake Titicaca the entire 1.5 hr. boat ride. Then we arrived in Isla del Sol in the town of Yumani and hiked to find our hostel which was at the very top of the hill. I was exhausted and sweaty by the time I reached the hostel, but the hostel was amazing. It definitely had the best views and we had the entire place to ourselves. The rooftop balcony was also great for relaxing and looking at the beautiful snow covered mountains on the other side of the lake. We watched the sunset, ate some dinner, and then went to sleep.
On Sunday morning, we woke up at 6AM to watch the sun rise which was so beautiful. The sun came up directly over the mountains. Then we had home-made crepes and mate de coca before we set off to hike across the island. We spent about 4 hours hiking across the ridge of the mountain with beautiful views on all sides of us.
By the time we reached Challapampa on the other side of the island, we were definitely exhausted and ready to take the boat back to Copacabana. In copa, we bought some pan for the bus ride back, and then we were ready to head back to La Paz. As soon as we reach La Paz, we went to Hostal Wild Rover where we checked into a 16 person dorm room to store our stuff. We showered and then immediately headed out to catch a bus to Tiwanaku where there are famous ruins and a big party every year for the Amayra New Year (or the winter solstice). Midnight to 4AM was spent dancing to live Bolivian music (there were famous bands there... I should probably figure out who they were...) and then we walked to see the spectacle of the sun in La Puerta del Sol. We were given student tickets for 15 Bs each, and then told that we actually had to pay 80 Bs since we were foreigners! We refused and ran away with our tickets that they had already given us. We snuck in through the student entrance by keeping our faces low and pretending to be Bolivian university students. It worked! However, it pretty much went downhill from there. Mansi and I were so cold by 6AM that we just couldn't take it anymore. I think it was the coldest I had been in my life and I was not dressed nearly warmly enough. We left Lucas and told him he could tough it out himself. Good decision, because an hour and a half later we get a frustrated call from Lucas saying, "the sun spectacle didn't even work because there were too many clouds!" But he did get to see Evo Morales speak which is kind of cool. Here is what the spectacle is supposed to look like:
By the time we got back to La Paz, I was so exhausted I could not even think about trying to sleep in a 16 person dorm room or even sight-see through La Paz like we were supposed to do all day Monday and Tuesday (I had asked for Tues. off work). I jumped right on a bus and slept all the way to Cochabamba. When I opened the door, my mom was so happy to see me and so happy that I had decided to come home early. She made me a quick dinner and I went to sleep at 7PM, and slept all the way until 7AM when I had to get up for work. It was much needed sleep.
On Tuesday, I worked. I made some calls to get some surveys answered. I walked through La Cancha a little. And I also researched some more pools. I found one I liked (but I actually went yesterday and it was not that great, it was too hot and you couldn't see anything in front of you), but now I am going to try the Olympic Pool next to the stadium.
Wednesday was Dia de San Juan. I got work off in the afternoon so I could go to a party with mi familia. In the morning at work though, I watched the U.S. beat Algeria 1-0 in the World Cup putting us first in our group and qualifying us for the next round. YAY! After a lunch of hamburgers and home-made papas fritas, we went to my cousin, Katarin's house where we had a huge bonfire. We roasted hot dogs and had marshmellows dipped in chocolate.
We had Tequila with fresh lemons off the lemon trees in the yard, sparklers, singani, abejas (bees) that fly and turn green like a firework when lit on fire, rum, bread, vodka, cookies, and whiskey.
The problem is that in Bolivia, as soon as you take a shot, they fill your glass again, and as soon as you have more alcohol in your shot glass, they expect you to drink it. It is a never-ending cycle which reminds me a little bit of Uncle Rick and his habit of filling everyone's wine glasses as soon as they are near empty. We were all very happy, especially my sister, who was very photo-getic = obsessed with taking photos all night long (they are coming soon).
She did end up getting a little sick at the end of the night, though, so Laurita and I fell asleep in front of the TV in one of the bedrooms until 1:30 AM, when Ronald (Karin's friend/co-worker/boyfriend/I don't really know what) drove us home. This was definitely when of the most fun nights since I got to dance with a cute boy (he was 5 and my cousin and adorable), party with my favorite people in Bolivia, and eat delicious food.
I really did not want to get up Thursday morning, but I pushed myself to do so. Thursday was boring at work. I watched the World Cup. We got some surveys completed. I swam at night, as I said before in that pool I found. It happened to be a pool atemporada (which I think means a hot pool). It was definitely hot... like a bath tub! It was so hot that the water was not clear, so I couldn't really see where I was going. I definitely could not do my flipturns. Oh well, still searching for a pool...
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