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!
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