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!