On Wednesday, the Internet at work was just so incredibly horrible, that Esteban and I decided to go to a café where there was wi-fi. Esteban walked out a minute or two before me, and when I walked out of the office, I didn’t see him, so I looked around and heard someone shouting my name to run just as a brick went flying past my head… so I did just that, I ran! I ran towards the 20 or so policemen standing next to the Plaza holding plastic shields above their heads. When I was safely out of reach of the flying bricks and burning sticks flying from the sky, I turned around to see what was going on. CADEPIA is situated right next to the prison in Cochabamba, even sharing a wall, and the prisoners had all broke loose of their cells and climbed onto the roof. They were throwing whatever they could find off the roof onto cars, towards pedestrians, and especially towards the policemen. They were even tearing their own clothes off their backs, burning them, and throwing them off the roof. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, but then again, TIB (This Is Bolivia). So after about 30 minutes of watching the riot ensue, Esteban and I… no, we did not leave, we saw my boss walk out of the building. He saw us and laughed and stood with us for about another 15 minutes just watching the burning, the attempts at jumping off the roof to escape, and the policemen doing absolutely nothing. So I guess we finally made it to an internet café where we did manage to get a little done on the website. Then I left a little early to do a little shopping for my trip where I got all the essentials: sunglasses, suitcase, and $10 speakers which function both as portable speakers as well as fabulous disco lights. Then after lunch, I got a call from work telling me that we were ordered by the police to not come to work since the riot had worsened and it was too dangerous for anyone to be in the building.
So Wednesday afternoon, I went to TAM airlines with Mansi to buy plane tickets to Sucre (15 minutes-$30), but they were full, so we decided to take the bus on Friday night (10 hours-$7). Then after, we walked to La Recoleta to get some artisan ice cream. Well, I got a frozen drink thing, and there was a promotion, so they gave me two. I went home with a frozen drink in each hand in a cab—one was for my niece. Well, as soon as I got into the cab, I could tell from the questions he was asking me that he was interested. First he wanted to go on a date on Saturday, and then he wanted to go on a date on Friday, and then he wanted to know where in Brazil I was from… I wasn’t even aware I looked Brazilian. As I got out of the cab, my drink spilled all over my crotch, so luckily this wonderful cab driver was there to hold the door open for me from the front seat as I tried to scootch out of the cab. As I was managing my drinks and myself, the cab driver made me feel more awkward than I have felt in a long time, he said to me, “que lindos pechos tienes.” Well, translate it for yourself if you don’t speak Spanish. It was an end to an eventful day, and there were just two days of work left!
The next day, work was pretty boring because the web developer had not been working like he said he would. We didn’t have much to do, but Esteban did tell me why the prisoners were rioting. They were mad at the people running the prison because they weren’t giving them any respect and were randomly not allowing family to visit, etc. for no apparent reason. After work, I went out with Mansi and Natalia to get some margaritas at Paprika. Esteban met us just as we were heading to Tirana to dance. Natalia wanted to go home, so Mansi and I took her home and went back to Tirana where we met Yudozca and her sister. We danced for a good while and then headed home around 1AM so that I could prepare for my last day of work.
On Friday morning, Yudozca took Esteban and me with her on a field trip. Her project was to work with 18-26 year olds who wanted to learn how to sew and then set them up to work with CADEPIA’s affiliates in the sewing industry. We went to one of the affiliates factories where the affiliate, Beatriz taught me how to use a sewing machine! It’s surprisingly similar to driving a car, and I was actually not bad. Then we visited a school and then I went home for lunch. After lunch, I went to Dumbo’s to buy a cake for the office since it was my last day. Turns out my boss bought us all drinks and Esteban bought my favorite, chocolate milk!!! We had two hours of reminiscing… about Richard, about Esteban’s nagging, about Beren, etc. It was a great way to say goodbye, and I still can’t believe it’s all over.
On Friday night, Mansi and I boarded the bus at around 7:30 to head to Sucre. It was an uneventful ending to an eventful week. But my Bolivian trip and adventure was at my fingertips and just about to begin!
Showing posts with label La Cancha. Show all posts
Showing posts with label La Cancha. Show all posts
Monday, August 9, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
A new week a new project? Just maybe
Well last week turned out to be extremely fun. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights were all spent in the pool. Hopefully I'll make some more friends at swim practice this week, though. On Wednesday, it was Aliya's birthday who used to live with my host family, so I guess technically she is my sister too. Her brother and sister came down from the U.S. to celebrate with her. We all had a great big birthday lunch in her honor on Wednesday and everyone opened presents. Then on Wednesday night, there were festivities, singing, dancing, instrument playing, and plenty of tragos to go around. Aliya works for a group called Katari, which specializes in helping young students pursue their musical and other artistic talents. Therefore, pretty much EVERYONE was singing and playing an instrument. It was great listening, although I couldn't participate because, unfortunately, my parents did not give me vocal cords that would sound good to anyone.
On Thursday, work was once again tiring and boring, and pretty much nothing got done. However, we did figure out a new project to work on. We are going to update the website and put more information about internships, volunteering, and most importantly, making donations to CADEPIA. Right now, the organization is a little lacking in cash. My favorite person in the entire office, Berinice, is leaving at the end of the month because CADEPIA just doesn't have the funds to pay her, and it's come to a point where she just isn't going to work for free. But Thursday night after work, I went to Mansi's house where she cooked for Natalia, her Spanish tutor, and me. She made delicious vegetarian Indian food. Yummmmm.
Friday was a little better, we finally got revisions back on our submitted project. They all really seemed to like the model that we built in Excel because all you really have to do is enter in some numbers, and BOOM, you've got an interest rate. We do have a few things to edit, however. For example, we need to create a guide for future volunteers to follow when they are conducting follow-ups with borrowers. Also, we need to create a job description and criteria for volunteers. But they pretty much liked everything else, and will be presenting it to the Board of Directors today. After work on Friday, I went to a charla at the FSD office where they talked about emigration from Bolivia. Apparently it is a pretty big problem, because 1 in every 5 Bolivians doesn't actually live in Bolivia. Also, once a Bolivian leaves the country, it is very very unlikely that they will ever return either because they have a stable situation elsewhere or because the cost of returning is just too much. I also met the students who had just arrived on the Northwestern service learning trip. I helped them avert a disaster as well. I was talking on Skype to my mom when I heard that chatting about meeting up at Mandarina for dancing at 10 or so. I went down and told them, "no no no" discotecas in Bolivia don't open until midnight, so you better find something else to do before then. I told them about the discotecas, the bars, and basically the nightlife... and they seemed pretty thankful that I was there. (I was the only summer intern there because everyone else was in various places either traveling on their own, with their family, or with work.) I decided not to go out on Friday, though, because I was tired from the week at work, and my sister was sick, so I decided to cuddle in bed with her and watch TV.
Saturday was a bit more fun. I got my hair cut in the morning = $5.50. Then in the afternoon, I went to La Cancha with my sister where I got a mini tour (it is impossible to ever get a grand tour unless you actually stay in La Canch for a week!). I also bought a belt since my pants were falling down... real leather belt for $5, WOW! And then I bought the new Shakira CD for Tricia... except its actually a DVD which is kind of cooler! Then at night I was supposed to go out dancing with Karin, but she felt sick again. Luckily, right after she told me she was sick, Mansi texted me and said she was coming home tonight! So I met Mansi at Dumbo's on the Prado, and then we finished an entire bottle of wine between the two of us at Casa de Solar, and then we went dancing at Pimienta. We met two people, and now we have two Bolivian friends that we are going to eat pizza with this week.
Sunday morning was tough. I needed to sleep. Until 12:30 PM. At 2, we at lunch. Then after lunch I met up with Mansi at Hotel Portales where there is a gorgeous pool. I sat by the pool and read while she worked on writing her grant proposal. Also, since the World Cup final was on, I was up and down from my spot where I was basking in the sun to see the score of the game. It was always 0-0! But I kept hearing screams and shouts, so I kept wanting to see the score of the game. FINALLY, Spain scored. All I could hear was: Espana, Espana, Espana!!!!!!! Viva Espana! Then after the game, and after the pool, I showed Mansi the best supermarket in Cochabamba where we got our share of American food to hold us over for the next week. We then headed to the Prado to search for the best chocolate cake in Cochabamba which I had just tried the night before. It is from a placed called Alexander's and my sister told me it was on the Prado, and there were two stores also in the South. We couldn't find the cafe, though, and we kept asking people, and no one had heard of it, and when I called my sister she didn't pick up. Finally, we decided to head to Cine Center to watch a movie. On the way there, Karin called me... and what did I find out? Alexander's actually has the BEST chocolate cake in Bolivia, not Cochabamba. And what ELSE did I find out? Alexander's is only located in La Paz. Well, I guess it turns out I hadn't really been listening too well when Karin had been telling me where it was earlier. We were a little far from La Paz, so I guess no chocolate cake anytime soon.
On Thursday, work was once again tiring and boring, and pretty much nothing got done. However, we did figure out a new project to work on. We are going to update the website and put more information about internships, volunteering, and most importantly, making donations to CADEPIA. Right now, the organization is a little lacking in cash. My favorite person in the entire office, Berinice, is leaving at the end of the month because CADEPIA just doesn't have the funds to pay her, and it's come to a point where she just isn't going to work for free. But Thursday night after work, I went to Mansi's house where she cooked for Natalia, her Spanish tutor, and me. She made delicious vegetarian Indian food. Yummmmm.
Friday was a little better, we finally got revisions back on our submitted project. They all really seemed to like the model that we built in Excel because all you really have to do is enter in some numbers, and BOOM, you've got an interest rate. We do have a few things to edit, however. For example, we need to create a guide for future volunteers to follow when they are conducting follow-ups with borrowers. Also, we need to create a job description and criteria for volunteers. But they pretty much liked everything else, and will be presenting it to the Board of Directors today. After work on Friday, I went to a charla at the FSD office where they talked about emigration from Bolivia. Apparently it is a pretty big problem, because 1 in every 5 Bolivians doesn't actually live in Bolivia. Also, once a Bolivian leaves the country, it is very very unlikely that they will ever return either because they have a stable situation elsewhere or because the cost of returning is just too much. I also met the students who had just arrived on the Northwestern service learning trip. I helped them avert a disaster as well. I was talking on Skype to my mom when I heard that chatting about meeting up at Mandarina for dancing at 10 or so. I went down and told them, "no no no" discotecas in Bolivia don't open until midnight, so you better find something else to do before then. I told them about the discotecas, the bars, and basically the nightlife... and they seemed pretty thankful that I was there. (I was the only summer intern there because everyone else was in various places either traveling on their own, with their family, or with work.) I decided not to go out on Friday, though, because I was tired from the week at work, and my sister was sick, so I decided to cuddle in bed with her and watch TV.
Saturday was a bit more fun. I got my hair cut in the morning = $5.50. Then in the afternoon, I went to La Cancha with my sister where I got a mini tour (it is impossible to ever get a grand tour unless you actually stay in La Canch for a week!). I also bought a belt since my pants were falling down... real leather belt for $5, WOW! And then I bought the new Shakira CD for Tricia... except its actually a DVD which is kind of cooler! Then at night I was supposed to go out dancing with Karin, but she felt sick again. Luckily, right after she told me she was sick, Mansi texted me and said she was coming home tonight! So I met Mansi at Dumbo's on the Prado, and then we finished an entire bottle of wine between the two of us at Casa de Solar, and then we went dancing at Pimienta. We met two people, and now we have two Bolivian friends that we are going to eat pizza with this week.
Sunday morning was tough. I needed to sleep. Until 12:30 PM. At 2, we at lunch. Then after lunch I met up with Mansi at Hotel Portales where there is a gorgeous pool. I sat by the pool and read while she worked on writing her grant proposal. Also, since the World Cup final was on, I was up and down from my spot where I was basking in the sun to see the score of the game. It was always 0-0! But I kept hearing screams and shouts, so I kept wanting to see the score of the game. FINALLY, Spain scored. All I could hear was: Espana, Espana, Espana!!!!!!! Viva Espana! Then after the game, and after the pool, I showed Mansi the best supermarket in Cochabamba where we got our share of American food to hold us over for the next week. We then headed to the Prado to search for the best chocolate cake in Cochabamba which I had just tried the night before. It is from a placed called Alexander's and my sister told me it was on the Prado, and there were two stores also in the South. We couldn't find the cafe, though, and we kept asking people, and no one had heard of it, and when I called my sister she didn't pick up. Finally, we decided to head to Cine Center to watch a movie. On the way there, Karin called me... and what did I find out? Alexander's actually has the BEST chocolate cake in Bolivia, not Cochabamba. And what ELSE did I find out? Alexander's is only located in La Paz. Well, I guess it turns out I hadn't really been listening too well when Karin had been telling me where it was earlier. We were a little far from La Paz, so I guess no chocolate cake anytime soon.
Monday, June 14, 2010
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
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
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Where are all the Mormons? And when will I ever need a pigs hoof?
So I arrived in Cochabamba last night after 5 different flights, an 8-hour layover in Lima, and a total of 26 hours of traveling. However, I did get some important things accomplished: I read the entire guide book so I know exactly where I want to travel while I'm here, I bought a book I have really wanted to read (Three Cups of Tea), and I got a little bit of sleep in sprawled across four chairs in the Lima airport.
I was driven to a local hostel that is used for groups, but the rest of the interns were out at dinner since I arrived later than the rest of them. I showered and got in my pajamas, and they came back to the hostel right after, so I got back into normal clothes and we went out for a beer to get to know each other a little better.
This morning we woke up for breakfast and travelled to the top of the mountain to see the Christo. We got some history about Cochabamba and the contradictions of the city: north vs. south, poor vs. rich, tradition vs. modern, etc. When the Bolivian government shut down every single mine in the 1980s, about 45,000 Bolivians were out of work and many moved to Cochabamba where they lived in shanty-towns. These towns and people are STILL not recognized by the Cochabambino government, and, therefore, can't access basic public services like sanitation and water. The Christo is the largest one in all of South America (4 meters taller than the one in Rio)... also, Cochabamba has the largest Mormon temple in all of South America, but there is a very tiny Mormon population... hmmm... I was confused too.
We also visited the local market which is the largest market in all of Bolivia and is 3 miles by 5 miles. It has everything you could ever possibly need: furniture, pets, pig hooves, cars, etc. Following the market was lunch, then calling my mother to let her know I was safe, and then we saw the local Cochabamba soccer team, La Aurora, which won 2-0 against El Oriente. YAY!!! Then dinner, then a long search for wireless internet which failed miserably, and ended in me needing to use my flash drive that I fortunately bought right before coming.
I was driven to a local hostel that is used for groups, but the rest of the interns were out at dinner since I arrived later than the rest of them. I showered and got in my pajamas, and they came back to the hostel right after, so I got back into normal clothes and we went out for a beer to get to know each other a little better.
This morning we woke up for breakfast and travelled to the top of the mountain to see the Christo. We got some history about Cochabamba and the contradictions of the city: north vs. south, poor vs. rich, tradition vs. modern, etc. When the Bolivian government shut down every single mine in the 1980s, about 45,000 Bolivians were out of work and many moved to Cochabamba where they lived in shanty-towns. These towns and people are STILL not recognized by the Cochabambino government, and, therefore, can't access basic public services like sanitation and water. The Christo is the largest one in all of South America (4 meters taller than the one in Rio)... also, Cochabamba has the largest Mormon temple in all of South America, but there is a very tiny Mormon population... hmmm... I was confused too.
We also visited the local market which is the largest market in all of Bolivia and is 3 miles by 5 miles. It has everything you could ever possibly need: furniture, pets, pig hooves, cars, etc. Following the market was lunch, then calling my mother to let her know I was safe, and then we saw the local Cochabamba soccer team, La Aurora, which won 2-0 against El Oriente. YAY!!! Then dinner, then a long search for wireless internet which failed miserably, and ended in me needing to use my flash drive that I fortunately bought right before coming.
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