"The Bolivia"

Once again, I don't even know where to start! I had an amazing weekend in Copacabana, a Bolivian tourist town on Lake Titicaca, but last week was eventful as well.


First, it was another pretty touching week at the orphanage. I went on my own on Tuesday and had such a good time getting to know the girls a bit better. When I arrived, Dana immediately took me to their common room to play airplane. We laid next to each other on a mattress like we were sleeping on the plane, and she kept snuggling up next to me and whispering jokes in my ear...so cute! Then two of the older girls joined us, and one started braiding my hair and asking me about myself, boys, the United States, and how to say a wide variety of things in English. I left there so happy (and with a head full of braids), feeling like I finally really made a connection with them. I returned with Abbey on Thursday, and we had another great time playing cards with Maria Elena, a 10-year-old who is so friendly and a lot of fun. To know they really enjoy our visits is so rewarding and something I look forward to every week. As expected, it's been an extremely eye-opening experience, especially when it comes to comparing the younger girls to the older girls. The younger ones are always playing and so happy despite their situation, while some of older girls seem to have more of a hopeless attitude. However, I've also talked to a couple who plan on going to college, which was really uplifting to hear, and I hope they get the chance to do so. Ultimately, my time at the orphanage has made me so thankful for everything I have, family more so than anything. I can't even imagine being in their position, but I'm also glad they have a safe place to stay with caretakers and friends who have become like family to them. On Thursday, Abbey and I also witnessed a tough situation on the way back to the institute. We were in a trufi (basically a taxi with a designated route) and stopped at a stoplight. At the intersection, there were several little boys who did cartwheels in front of the stopped cars and then walked to the windows asking for money. It was so hard to see such young kids doing literally anything they could to make some money...Bolivia is a constant reminder to appreciate all the luxuries we have in the United States.


On to a happier subject, Wednesday was the 4th of July! Admittedly, it was one of the only times I was a little bummed to not be in the States. With Independence Day being one of my favorite holidays, I had to rep the red, white, and blue, although subtly so as not to draw attention to myself as a gringa. I also told my host mom how much I love it, and she decided we would celebrate with wine after dinner. It was actually pretty funny, because she hates Bolivia's president (Evo Morales, a very controversial figure) and said we would celebrate in spite of him, because he thinks America is the reason for all the problems in the world. It ended up being a really great bonding night for Betty, Nayra, Merijke and I...I think the wine loosened us up a bit, and we ended up talking for a couple hours about all sorts of things, some pretty serious and some more light-hearted topics. It felt like we were kind of a real family - pretty cool!


Thursday was our second soccer game experience! It was against the same rival and even crazier than before, because it determined their seedings for the Bolivian league winter tournament. Plus it was a night game, so they turned off all the stadium lights for a pre-game show, including fireworks and girls in light-up bikinis - it was pretty incredible, and the game was so much fun to watch! However, one of the highlights of our night had nothing to do with the game. Just like any major league game in the US, they have vendors who walk around selling food and drink, but many of them are young children. This little boy kept coming by us with pop, and Abbey told him to come back in 2 hours, then an hour, then half an hour, and so on. Finally, she bought a $4 Coke from him, giving him $10 and telling him to keep the change. He didn't even know how to respond (tipping isn't very common here), but he came back about 10 minutes later with a sandwich and soda in hand. We invited him to sit with us, and he seemed so content to just watch the game, eat food, and tell us some jokes that we couldn't really understand - very well done by Abbey. We returned to the stadium again on Monday for the first round of the tournament...we've really become invested in our Wilsterman boys!


Now, finally to Copacabana! We flew to La Paz right after classes on Friday and spent the night there before making the four hour drive to Lake Titicaca. Although we got into La Paz pretty late, it was a beautiful city and fun to experience a little bit of the nightlife. The city has a lot of hills (somewhat San Francisco-esque) and some very cool architecture. It's also at a much higher altitude, so it was quite chilly. We walked to one of the main streets to find somewhere to eat and ended up at a restaurant with an antique ambiance, eating (llama) by candlelight. Then we headed back to the hotel, where I shared a room with Sam and Abbey. Despite the fact that we had to be up at 5am, we stayed up for hours talking about all sorts of things like we were middle school girls. Thus, we now refer that night as "The Sleepover" - in case you haven't noticed, we like to name a lot of random parts of this trip. Anyway, on to Saturday. After the drive to Copacabana, which included a short boat ride across the lake due to the lack of a bridge, we settled into our hotel, ate lunch at a delicious restaurant, experienced another incredible church, and got ready for yet another hike up a mountain. Of course the views didn't fail to wow us! We looked out over the lake and the surrounding town, which had a Mediterranean feel to it. Copacabana is much more of a tourist town, so Sam and I spent the afternoon shopping at stores along the street with all the Bolivian accessories and clothing you could ever want! Everything was handmade and really beautiful, so I wasn't shy about spending some bolivianos. That night, we had dinner at a nice restaurant, where Abbey and I had a momentary emotional breakdown when we realized we only had two weeks left. I'm definitely going to go through some Bolivia withdrawals when I leave, but it's pretty amazing to know I've made some lifelong friends here. Also, no worries...we cried and rallied, and I'll be good until I have to say the real goodbyes. On Sunday, we took an hour and a half boat ride to Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun). Unfortunately, it was rainy and cold almost all day. Regardless, we walked along the island and saw some impressive ruins from thousands of years ago. It finally started to clear up as we headed back, just in time for "The Couples Retreat." Once again, the title only refers to the fact that there were four of us (two guys and two girls) sitting on top of the boat on the way back. We really enjoyed ourselves, chatting, joking around, and taking in even more breathtaking views of the mountains of Bolivia, Peru, and Lake Titicaca between them. Overall, Copacabana is just one more Bolivian weekend that will be hard to forget!


That's about all for now. Time is flying here...I still can't believe I'll be back in the States in 11 days! Hope everyone is doing well :) chau!

Yo amo a Bolivia...I love it here!

I honestly don't even know where to begin. I've been putting off this post for some time now, both because I've been super busy and because there is so much to tell! I'm going to ignore chronology here and talk about the best stuff first...all of which happened this past weekend!


On Friday night, a group of us went to dinner at an Italian restaurant, where I ate a ridiculous amount of delicious pizza once again! Afterward, I went with another group to the concert of a really popular Bolivian band, “Los Kjarkas.” Unfortunately, it started about an hour late and we had to leave early to be rested for our climb on Saturday! Still, it was pretty fun to see them perform a few songs, especially because there we so many ecstatic Bolivian fans around us.


On to Saturday...a day I will always remember! We had yet another early morning bus ride that took us part of the way up Mt. Tunari, the highest peak in Cochabamba at 16,600 feet! We were dropped off at about 13,000 feet, and the climb began. We had all been told that the hike to the top was pretty tough, but I don't think any of us anticipated just how challenging it would be. I've never been so appreciative of the amount of oxygen intake I get at an Iowan altitude. The climb consisted of working our way up a steep grade of grass, dirt, rock, and shale for 5-10 minutes and then taking about a 5 minute break to catch our breaths. We also consumed a ton of water and chewed our fair share of coca leaves, which were surprisingly helpful with the altitude problems. After about 3 hours of hiking, we finally made it to the summit...something I will never be able to describe. There were never-ending views that were beyond breathtaking and seriously cannot be justified with pictures. Although it was one of the most physically challenging things I've ever done, it was also hands down one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Plus, the extreme difficulty of it all made it a pretty cool bonding experience for everyone who pushed themselves to the top.


Tunari could've been the only adventure I had in Bolivia, and I think I would've been content, but the weekend only got better from there. After descending the mountain, I spent the rest of Saturday showering, eating, and sleeping, all of which were much-needed. The majority of Sunday consisted of relaxing with my family and watching the Euro Cup final. It was really nice to hang out with them for good chunk of time, not to mention the fact that the adopted daughter of Betty's sister spent the day with us...she is 1.5 years old and SO cute! Later in the afternoon, I headed to the institute to meet up with some friends and go to a huge Bolivian soccer game! It was between the two Cochabamba teams of a professional Bolivian league, so it was a super intense rivalry! The fans were crazy, shooting off fireworks and smoke bombs and constantly cheering. Despite being gringos, we did our best to fit in by decking ourselves out in jerseys and scarves before the game...and we got more into it than most of the fans around us! It was soooo much fun and made even better by the fact that our team came back to tie the game with 30 seconds left! For the amount of enjoyment we got out of it, it probably could've been a world cup game. The second leg of the series is on Thursday, and we are all beyond pumped to cheer on the Wilsterman Red Fury! After the game, we took a taxi to “Las Islas” to get our grub on at Cochabamba's famous “Choko Burguer.” It was a good burger, but the more eventful tasting of the night was that of cow heart. Needless to say, I was a little hesitant, but it ended up being pretty delicious.


Besides this past weekend of a lifetime, we spent the previous weekend at the Jesuit missions in a small town about 4 hours outside of Santa Cruz. The landscape on the drive from the airport to the town of Chiquitania was absolutely incredible...miles upon miles of tropical grassy areas and forests (for those of you who have read The Hunger Games, all we talked about was how we felt like we were living it out). While we were there, we toured some amazing churches with incredibly ornate architecture and decor, as well as eating several really tasty, authentic Bolivian meals. On Sunday, we went to mass at one of the huge mission churches, relaxed by the pool, cracked open a couple coconuts, and did a little shopping around the town. After dinner, we headed to the karoake bar across the street from our hotel and had a really good time singing, dancing, and just enjoying each others' company. We stopped at a place called “Las Piedras” on our way back from the airport on Monday and had a bit more time to relax and enjoy the vast beauty of the land around us, including more forest, a lake, crazy rock formations, and wild bulls. Overall, it was yet another extremely fun weekend that we now refer to as “The Retreat.”


Other than some really exciting weekend adventures, the weekdays have more or less been the usual...classes, volunteering, soccer, volleyball, and good times with friends and my host family (GTs cada dia...shout out to my girl, Sam)! However, my good friend, Abbey, and I had a pretty touching experience at the orphanage on Thursday. We ate lunch with the girls, and I sat with the younger bunch, who all wanted to know so many random things about the United States...it was really endearing, but also somewhat tough to talk about knowing how much less they have here. After lunch, Abbey and I spent about an hour playing with the cutest 6-year-old, Dana. She was in her own world, but so happy to have friends who were excited to play with her. At one point, we were playing dolls but with 3 flowers she had in a jar of water. She was so bummed when we told her we had to leave and gave us 2 of the flowers to take home with us. It was absolutely precious and heartbreaking at the same time...all I wanted to do was stay and play with her all day. However, at the same time, it was such a rewarding feeling to know I made her day a little better for that hour. And, now I'm so excited to go back and continue getting to know them tomorrow.


Since I've been staying busy with so many amazing activities, I've really come to love it here and made some wonderful friends. When I first arrived, I was nervous and a little homesick thinking about spending 6 weeks of my summer in an unfamiliar place. Now, as cheesy as it sounds, Cochabamba has become somewhat of a home to me, and I cannot believe my time here is already halfway over! I have some new, incredible friends to thank for making me love it as much as I do...I'm still looking forward to coming home, but saying goodbye is not going to be easy. While on the topic, I have to give a shout out to my boy Z for putting up with all the sarcasm from the girls, as well as to Bri for always making me laugh! I have seriously made the best friends in Bolivia.


My apologies for the length of this post, but there were just too many great pieces of Bolivia to include! Keep an out for a “day in photos” post later this week. Thanks for reading :) chau!

Nuevas experiencias

Monday was a day of firsts, starting with pizza for lunch! A Bolivian woman came to the institute during lunch time with homemade pizza that was SO delicious! This may not seem blog-worthy, but it definitely felt like I was in America again for the approximate 2 minutes it took me to devour it. Then, after my morning classes, I went to a nearby children's hospital with my Marquette professor and one other student to volunteer. Although our director called ahead to let them know we were coming, it was obvious they weren't really prepared for us. We ended up spending an hour or so in a hospital room with six children recovering from various treatments. To me, it didn't seem like we actually did much to help, but it was difficult to seem them struggling. There was a little girl just over a year old with respiratory problems, so she had a tracheotomy and could not eat. Sadly, every time a nurse entered the room to feed another child, she cried and pointed at her, making it clear that all she wanted was real food. It broke my heart when she looked at me with teary eyes and there was nothing I could do but try to comfort her. However, the hospital seemed to be safe and reliable for the community, and I found out that all children under the age of five receive free healthcare for basic needs. It was obviously different from American hospitals, but it comforted me to know they were getting proper care (at least those who could afford it). We returned from the hospital for afternoon class, and then it was soccer time! We played on a cement court right next to the institute, and it was so much fun! Quite a few of us participated, including some faculty, and it felt great to get a touch on the ball again!

Since I didn't feel like much of a beneficial volunteer at the hospital, I decided to try somewhere else on Tuesday. After lunch, two other students and I headed to what we were told was an after school center called ¨Nuestra Casa.¨We were greeted at the gate by the cutest little 10-year-old girl who took us to one of the employees. We were then given a tour of the center and got to meet some of the girls, ranging in age from six to 16. Afterward, we realized that it's definitely not just an after school center - all of the girls had beds there, so we assumed it was an orphanage. If that is the case, it's devastating to think that all these precious girls are without parents, but it was also uplifting to see how happy they were there. They were all very friendly and wanted to know a lot about us. For me, it was a much better service opportunity, because I was actually able to interact with these girls who don't have much in their lives. I'm really hoping we will be able to return next week, but it depends on my class schedule (it changes every two weeks, so I could have classes in the afternoons starting on Monday).


Today was yet another day of firsts. It is technically a national holiday in Bolivia, but I set my alarm for 2:52am in order to be at the institute by 4am. Then, a large group of us headed up to the Cristo once again to celebrate the Aymara New Year. The Aymara are a large group of indigenous people in Bolivia, and June 21 marks the end of their harvest season and the beginning of planting season. Across Bolivia, these people climb to the top of mountains to receive the first sun rays of the new year on their palms. For them, this signifies luck and energy for all their farming in the coming year. It was breathtaking (although a bit chilly) to look out over the lights of the city before the sun rose, and equally as interesting to observe the indigenous people's activity as it came over the mountains, which was also very beautiful. However, there was still one major aspect left to this holiday...a llama sacrifice. While I know it is very meaningful to them, it was definitely something I chose not to watch, especially after petting the clueless llama before it's time came. Afterward, they also put some of it's blood on people's hands as a blessing. Regardless of avoiding the sacrifice, it was a really incredible and unique celebration that I feel honored to have witnessed.


Lastly, I finally made it to ¨La Cancha¨today. As I said before, it is a huge market in downtown Cochabamba...but I would've never imagined just how huge it was before experiencing it for myself. We didn't spend much time there, but I was easily lost after turning down the first street. There are stores and street vendors everywhere! I was overwhelmed enough as it was, but then some of our group led us to one ¨hallway¨that passes between some of the open-front stores, and it was like another world existed beyond the stores on the streets. It was somewhat like a flee market, but crazier and bigger! I seriously felt like I was in a maze of stores that sold everything under the sun. I didn't end up buying anything, but I will definitely be returning to purchase some traditional Bolivian goods to bring home with me.


Looking forward to this weekend, we leave for the Jesuit Missions early on Saturday morning (yet another early day with a lot of traveling) and return Monday, so I will be sure to take plenty of pictures and post about it when we get back! Thanks for reading :) chau!

Altos y bajos en Cochabamba

Wow! What an amazing weekend! On Friday night, I had my first restaurant experience in Cochabamba. It was...interesting to say the least. Seven of us went to ¨La Casa del Gordo,¨as was recommended by one of the Creighton professors. We were told that one dish could serve 2+ people (AKA Bolivian portions), so we ordered one carne (a variety of red meats), one chicken and one fish dish. They all came on large plates with rice, french fries, potatoes, and vegetables underneath. I've been very open to trying new things here, but this meal didn't give me much confidence for future Bolivian restaurants. I mean, the fish came whole on the plate, head and everything - not that this was much of a surprise, but it was my first time experiencing this ¨delicacy.¨ Regardless, I'm doing my best to put it behind me and hope for the best next time.

Saturday was easily the best day I've had here so far! We all arrived at the institute at 8:30am to head out for a tour of the city...it was INCREDIBLE! First we went to a few different places ¨downtown¨- there were some really nice grassy areas with benches and flowers, as well as some cool Spain-esque architecture. We also went into a Catholic cathedral from the 18th century that had some beautiful interior decr. After exploring the center of the Cochabamba, we headed to the much-anticipated (probably a little too much from my end) Cristo de Concordia. I have been admiring it from afar since I got here, so it was definitely been the highlight of my trip to this point. Our tour buses drove us up the mountain, and then we climbed some stairs to reach the monument. For me, it was absolutely breathtaking. It overlooks the city, enclosed by incredible mountain ranges in every direction. The view is something I will remember forever...and not just because I took a ridiculous amount of pictures of it. It's hard for me to put into words just how wonderful it was to be in the presence of this powerful statue of Christ looking down over the city of Cochabamba. We even got to climb up the inside, which quickly led to an ongoing ¨we're in the body of Christ¨ joke. After several narrow spiral staircases, we reached the top (arm level) and looked out over the city once again through small holes. I was in awe the entire time - everything about this experience was amazingly indescribable. I thought the day couldn't get any better, but then we ended the tour at ¨getaway¨ on the outskirts of Cochabamba called ¨Tiquipaya.¨It's a place where a lot of wealthier Bolivians go to spend time with family on the weekends, as it has multiple cabins, a pool, a playground, and beautiful grassy areas with a lot of fruit trees. I tried guayaba and an orange straight from the tree, both of which were delicious! We enjoyed the sun and the best meal I've had yet, consisting of chicken, potatoes, vegetables, and my new favorite, fried yucca. It was soooo good!

After the tour, I returned home for dinner and to get ready for another night out on the town. It was an interesting night, but so much fun! First, we went to a karaoke bar in a popular pedestrian mall but quickly left as they told us they didn't have cups for beer...so weird! Anyway, we then brought the party to a bar called ¨Gossip.¨There weren't many Bolivians there and by the time we left, it was just us, but it was a really good time! It was like they pulled their playlist directly from the Summer Hits of the 90s station on Pandora, which was awesome! Bolivians love American music...it's great! Lastly, we headed to a discoteca (AKA dance club) called ¨Devil.¨It probably wasn't the classiest place in Cochabamba, but we made it our own and danced the night away. It was a blast, especially hanging out with so many new friends from the institute!

Another highlight of the trip...I finally got to sleep in on Sunday! Then Merijke and I went to mass at a beautiful church just around the corner. I understood almost everything, including the homily, but I knew very few of the response phrases. However, it was still a really neat experience, because mass is obviously universal, so it was kind of like having a little piece of home in Bolivia. After that, I went for my first run here around Parque Lincoln, a beautiful park that I pass on my way to school. It was great to see so many families and kids playing there, and it felt good to work out, but it was definitely more difficult at such a high altitude. Hopefully I'll gradually become more accustomed to it and come back in fighting shape (shout out to you, Elise). Finally, three of us came back to the institute to do an ab workout and ended up reflecting quite a bit on our time here.

It was really interesting to hear others' experiences and thoughts about the trip. My time in Cochabamba so far has been somewhat of a surprise to me. Although it is obvious that this is a Third World country, I expected to be experiencing it as such a little more often, whereas I feel like I'm living a pretty good life right now. However, after talking to one of my friends who is living with a much poorer family (her host mom is a cleaning lady at the institute), I realized that the poverty and inequality is all around me, it's just hidden a lot of the time. For example, we were told about ¨street people¨who are known as ¨cliferos,¨because they spend the day doing whatever manual labor they can find and then spend most of their money on glue to sniff at night. I saw two adults getting high on it for the first time during the tour, but kids of all ages take part in it as well, mainly because it is all they know. There is also a large population of orphans, and I was hoping to volunteer at an orphanage, but unfortunately the risk of contracting a disease is too high. Regardless, to know that it is fairly common for parents to simply leave their child behind because they can't afford to take care of him or her is pretty difficult to digest. Thus, despite the fact that I am living in a nice apartment and attending a nice school, Cochabamba is definitely opening my eyes to the extreme poverty here and the idea of relativity. This is directly reflected in the exchange rate - 6.8 bolivianos to the dollar. Put simply, everything here is ridiculously cheap to us ¨gringos¨and what they consider to be something of high quality would be completely different in our eyes. It's an extremely sad reality that continuously makes me grateful for everything I have in the states. Like I said before, hopefully I'll be able to get a little more involved in the community this week and have the opportunity to help in whatever way I can, but there will always be a huge amount of need in Bolivia.

That's it for my weekend of really fun times and some difficult realizations...thanks for reading!

La primera semana

My first few days here have been so much better and different than I ever expected! After getting settled in and taking a much-needed nap on Sunday, I woke up and got ready for my first Bolivian fiesta! It was a birthday party for Nayra’s grandpa, and I quickly learned that Bolivians know how to throw a party. The house we went to was extremely nice and set up for a very large dinner party. There were several round tables and chairs with white covers and bows…I felt like I was at an American wedding reception. It became obvious that the grandparents are part of a high class, as they had a cooking/serving staff consisting primarily of indigenous Bolivians. Merijke and I sat at a table with some of Nayra’s cousins and their spouses – they were all very nice and seemed to be in their 20s and 30s. With it being my first day in Bolivia, I was pretty apprehensive to interject in conversation, but I really enjoyed myself, especially because it reminded me of my own family gatherings at home. It just felt very comforting to be amongst such a big, loving family that was so happy to spend time together (plus the little kids were SO cute). After dinner, a 3-person band arrived to sing happy birthday and play a few other songs – what I thought would be great way to end the evening, but I had no idea it was only just beginning. Shortly after the band finished, I heard the trumpeting of “Feliz Cumpleaños” and looked into the dining room to see a full-blown mariachi band entering. We spent the rest of the night enjoying their incredible music, and Merijke and I even joined in on the dancing a little bit. It was one helluva party and definitely blew my expectations out of the water…and that was only the first night!

Monday was orientation at Maryknoll. Merijke and I headed out the door by 7:30am for my first 25-minute hike to school. Our route is about a mile walk on Avenida América, a pretty busy road with a lot of small, open-front shops along the way, and then we turn onto the road that takes us directly to the institute, about another half mile uphill. Although I sometimes dread the walk so early in the morning, there are constantly beautiful views of the mountains and El Cristo de la Concordia (check it out, it’s even bigger than the one in Brasil… http://www.dimensionsguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Biggest-Jesus-Christ-Statue.jpg)! However, we did have our first stray dog incident yesterday…a rather large one approached us, I’m assuming lured by the lunches in our backpacks. It actually jumped on us a few times and followed us as we crossed the street multiple times in attempt to get away from it. Eventually it ran away with no harm done, but the threat of a dog bite and potentially rabies was pretty scary at the time. Anyway, back to Monday…we eventually reached Maryknoll and joined about 30 other students in the conference room to meet with Sister Kathy and Katie, the two primary directors of our program. They provided us with some very useful information and gave us a tour of the institute before we headed to our first class.

Classes have been going really well so far. Everyone is either one-on-one or two-on-one with a Bolivian professor, and I am lucky enough to have both of mine to myself. I have a more of a conversational class with Señora Teresita, discussing some social issues and literary works, as well as a class focused on grammar with Señora Viviana. They are both extremely nice and have already been very helpful with refining my communication skills. I don’t think I will be fluent by the end of this trip as I had hoped, but I feel like I am improving substantially every day. I’m also taking a class with all the other Marquette students and the professor who came with us, which has been really interesting so far. We’ve been discussing the controversy surrounding immigration, which was also the topic of our first “Conferencia” – a meeting we will all have every Wednesday to listen to a speaker and converse about current issues.

Now, on to the fun stuff! Monday night was my first experience out in downtown Bolivia, AKA “El Prado.” Seventeen of us met at the institute so we could all take taxis together. I was a little nervous, just because I’m obviously not familiar with the city and it can be risky at night, but it ended up being really fun! We just picked a random restaurant, sat outside, and enjoyed some cervezas. I got to know some of the Creighton students pretty well, and we all had a great time. However, the fact that we were foreigners was obvious to say the least, as we walked the street, unsure of where we were going and not shy about speaking a lot of Spanglish. Regardless, it was a wonderful way to start our time together, and we did the same thing last night (at a different restaurant) to watch the NBA finals!

I also have a lot to look forward to in the coming week! Tomorrow we are going on a tour of Cochabamba to see El Cristo, La Cancha (a huge outdoor market), and a few more of the city’s hotspots. I’m really excited, and I’ll be sure to include the best of the best in my next post! Also, I will hopefully be starting some service work at an after school center next week, which is guaranteed to be a very powerful experience. Other than that, I will just be continuing with the normal routine and doing my best to avoid hungry dogs. I’ll try to update again a little sooner next time. As usual, I miss everyone and hope you’re all doing well :) chau!

¡Bienvenido a Cochabamba!

After 24+ hours of traveling, I have finally arrived in Cochabamba! It was quite the trip just getting here...spent about seven hours in the Santa Cruz airport near an automatic door that opened and closed on its own the entire time - it was surprisingly cold and difficult to get any sleep, but provided some comic relief to the stress of traveling. Not to mention the fact that there were several horses just hanging out in the street right outside! Regardless, the long flights and layovers gave me a lot of time to chat with my classmates and reflect on my thoughts and emotions.

At this point, there are many emotions going through me and pulling me in different directions. I feel so blessed to have this opportunity, and I am beyond excited for everything that is in store for me, but I can´t help thinking about being this foreign country for a month and a half. Sometimes that doesn´t seem too bad, but then I think about six weeks of so much unknown without the people I love the most around to make me feel comfortable - it´s a little daunting. I know it is going to be such an incredible learning and growing experience for me, but a small part of me wishes I was spending the summer at home with my family or in Milwaukee. I just need to stay positive and remember that this is truly a once in a lifetime experience, and I have to make the most of it!

The little bit that I have experienced of Cochabamba so far has be absolutely amazing. Of course the shortest flight from Santa Cruz to here was the most beautiful - looking out over the Andes was breathtaking! As we arrived, it was incredible to take in the view of this large city built into the mountains. However, the very poor conditions of so many houses became apparent as we neared the ground - a reflection of Bolivia being the poorest country in South America. When I got off the plane, I was warmly greeted by Nayra, who is 26 and will be my host for my time here, along with her mother, Betty. We left the airport and were whisked into a taxi before I could even say goodbye to my peers.

Driving through the city was crazy enough with lots of horns and very little braking, but it was even more interesting to take in what will be my surroundings for the next six weeks. The first thing I noticed is that there are stray dogs everywhere - it´s the strangest thing! Beyond that, the majority of the city appears very worn down. However, this environment is juxtaposed against very nice buildings randomly place amongst all the others, with Betty´s apartment being one of them. A guard at the gate let us into the "Plaza Real" and another man carried my bags to the elevator for me. Although I knew the institute would provide us with stable families, it is much nicer than I expected. I soon found out that Betty is a doctor, and Nayra is in marketing. The food we have eaten so far hasn´t been anything too out of the ordinary and overall pretty good.

Lastly, I was very nervous about my Spanish when we were surrounded by Spanish speakers on the planes and in the airports, but so far it has gone really well, and I can tell my communication skills are improving already. There is another student from Creighton, Merijke, living with us as well, which is really nice! We are both speaking Spanish almost all the time, but it´s comforting to have someone else in the apartment who I can relate to so easily. We have orientation at the Instituto de Maryknoll tomorrow, and I am excited to explore the city further and find out a little more about how I will be spending my time here.

Hopefully the homesickness will quickly wear off as I become more acclimated and begin classes and volunteering. I miss everyone so much, and I cannot express how much I appreciate all the support I have received! Email will be my main mode of communication, so feel free to get in touch with me at mfrancees04@gmail.com ...I would love to hear from anyone and everyone! I will be updating this blog (hopefully with pictures) as much as possible. Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer :) chao!