This weekend I "tasted" the poverty

So this weekend, I finally got to relax in Cochabamba. Friday evening, I went to the gym and then got ready to go out con mis companeros. I met up with Luke and Mansi and Becca at Becca's homestay family. We played some Cacho which is a Bolivian dice game kind of like Yatzhee, drank some tequila, and then went out to a bar cerca del centro. The bar was really cool because on the second floor there was a balcony that you could climb over and then slide down a fireman's pole, which we all did multiple times. We danced and had some Huari's and then took the party to La Pimienta. Luke had work the next day, so we put him in a cab to go home around 1:30, and then 15 minutes later Becca had to go home since her sister was also leaving. Mansi and I really wanted to stay and dance longer, though so we did! About 15 minutes later, the boys that we had been dancing with at the first bar showed up at La Pimienta, so we danced all night long with them (well until 3:30 AM). It was definitely a fun night.

Then Saturday I walked around in the morning, read in a park, watched some movies with Laurita, and then went out again at night!!! But it was a relaxed evening with just one glass of red wine. Sunday was fun too because I went to La Cancha in the morning and then hung out with the family in the afternoon. At La Cancha, I bought a llama/alpaca/wool sweater that is really warm and cozy and also some pretty salmon/orange colored fresh flowers for my mom. I did a couple hours of exploring before I realized I was completely lost and didn't know how to find my way back to catch the right bus. But I figured I would just take a cab, and I continued to wander around. Finally I asked someone if they knew where the "U" bus came, and they told me, "aqui!" I was really shocked and excited that I just kind of wandered into the right area and jumped on the next U micro that came down the road. In the afternoon, I studied English with Laurita and then taught her how to jump rope (here they have exams in PE and have to know how to do things correctly!) Then we went and played on the playground in the park across from the house. It's really good for me to hang out with Laurita because I learn a lot of new vocabulary whenever I'm around her.

New words I have learned:
Crust = corteza
Blink = parpadear
Shuffle = barajar
Swings = columpios
Slide = resbalon
Headband = huincha
Purple = purpura