Last blog post??

Well, my study abroad experience is winding down, and this may be my last blog post....depending on the internet/free time I have during our "evaluations and re-entry orientation."  It's been a crazy week....sick on Friday and throwing up all night, recovering Saturday and Sunday and stressing about my ISP, being healed with Reiki by my academic director's wife on Monday, writing my ISP Monday and Tuesday, today sending it to my advisor adviser and Spanish prof to look over.  I also watched the Hannah Montana Movie today, while I was waiting for the corrections to come back.  (It was in Spanish, obvi.  But not the songs.)  And coming up....
Tomorrow-- last day in Cochabamba/with my host family (YIKES!)
in 2 days--head to Tikipaya for ISP evaluations, Spanish "exam" (I believe it's actually just a conversation in Spanish with one of the Spanish profs), "re-entry orientation"
in 5 days--I'll be in-transit to Santa Cruz via bus, to catch my flights home
in 6 days--I'll be in the USA

Unreal.  How did that go by so fast? 

I got an email from my advisor, aka the directora of the guardería, who started off her email "hola princesa."  How adorable and nice is that?  Everyone here has been super nice and it's awesome.  I think it's a cultural thing....I feel like it's easier to be uber-loving in Spanish, whereas in English it just sounds forced or cheesy.  But that's a cultural thing too, no ve?  Think about the number of people you know who use "terms of endearment" for family and friends.  Not that many....but also our terms of endearment really aren't satisfactory--dear, honey, darling, buddy, hon, sweetie.  Whereas Spanish has mamita/papito, amor, amorcita/o, mamacita, princesa/princesita, mi vida, hijita/hijito.  Maybe this is why I need re-entry orientation.  I also have more munchkin moments I didn't update because I was sick....but I will now!

Reasons to Study Abroad

So I've been kicking around a lot of reflectionary (is that a word?  blogger thinks not.) end-of-semester posts, so here's my list of  cheesy  deep and profound things I've learned about the world, myself, etc etc etc.

1. My problems aren't so bad.  But seriously.
There are loads of people who have way tougher problems than I do.  My problems mostly consist of being too full for that tasty empanada or not having time to watch TV and do homework.  Even when I feel overwhelmed, I know where my next meal is coming from, and that I have a safe place to go home to every night.

2. Being different can be a pain in the neck.
After getting cat-called, whistled at, etc. (because of being white and the stereotypes that go with that) all semester long, I can only imagine what it would be like to face actual racism or discrimination that debilitates my life.  I get annoyed by attention from random strangers who think I'm loose because I'm white and female.  But has that actually impacted my life?  No.  Yet I'm also really sensitive to it--I always feel like people are watching ME, and did that car just honk at ME? and why did he say hi to ME?  Being clear--NOTHING like actual racism that inhibits your life.  But I can understand where the sensitivity comes from.

3. Being different can be really awesome.
In the US, people are not too open to "foreigners."  People can be really jerks to "foreigners," even if they have lived there for years.  But in Bolivia, people are mostly curious.  They're curious about me and where I come from and what it's like there.  That kind of curiosity is healthy, I think.  But tons of people I've talked to are more than happy to just chat about our cultures, which I think is awesome.

4. Phone calls really aren't that big of a deal.
In the US, I've never liked making phone calls.  With my friends it's slightly better, but still not my fave.  With strangers, forget it.  (Insert hours of practicing what I'm going to say, pacing around before/during/after the call, etc.)  In Bolivia I've had to call many a stranger, in Spanish, to explain who I am and ask them for help on my ISP.  And I procrastinated, yeah, but I did it.  Multiple times.  And everyone was absurdly nice and helpful.

5. Talking to strangers isn't that big of a deal.
I've never been the type to start up random conversations with waiters, people on the bus, etc.  In Bolivia, I've not only had plenty of interviews with former strangers, but we also had "classwork" once where we had to go talk to a street vendor.  (Read about it here).  And none of it was a big deal.  I had interviews today with two moms whose kids go to the guardería where I volunteer.  I've seen them drop off their kids, but never talked to either of them more than just a hello.  And they were incredibly nice and I think all of us enjoyed our conversations.

6. Don't assume you're right.
There's lots of stuff that's just different here.  One day the kids in the guardería got to "read" books.  They all went off with their books, but one of the kids stayed with me.  I tried to actually read the words to her, but this child really wasn't interested--she wanted to tell me what happened based on the pictures (to varying degrees of accuracy based on what the words said).  I was shocked.  "These kids are 4 years old and they don't know how to listen to a story!  How are they going to succeed in school/life???"  Later, I started thinking about it/talking with friends, and I realized reading for fun really isn't a big thing here.  And THAT'S OKAY.  Who says that reading is the way to prepare a kid for success?  The kids in the guardería are AMAZING at doing puzzles.  Kids who are only 2 know how to rotate the pieces and try them different places, and the 4-year-olds can do puzzles with 20 pieces.  Isn't that another way of exercising the brain?  Who knows which one works better in the long run?  But just because things are one way in the US doesn't mean that that's the right way.  (Also, kids in the US are being prepared to be adults in the US, and same with Bolivia.  So what's important is also based on that.)


That's all I got for now (that I can compile into something coherent and snazzy.)  Getting down there, friends!  Only TEN DAYS left in Bolivia...

Thoughts on food....

I've written here about my love of empanadas and my lack of self control when it comes to food.  But I've been thinking about that more and trying to figure out exactly why that is.  I am not always hungry when I eat.  I do enjoy the taste of fresh bread and empanadas and ice cream, but is there something more?  And then I wondered....what if my eating habits were things I learned as a vegan, which no longer apply but are still habits? 

First, I eat constantly in the US as a vegan.  I'm pretty much running year-round, and that takes up a lot of energy.  When I first went vegan, I was hungry a lot, until I figured out how to change my eating habits--eat more often.  Snack a lot.  Etc, etc.  And when I'm hungry as a vegan athlete, I get a snack instantly, since I know waiting will just make me hungrier, and I'll be closer to my next running event.  (Running soon after eating=bad idea.  Moral of the story=eat RIGHT NOW.)

Second, vegan food is not as heavy.  I don't eat most things that are dense in fat/calories, like cheese, milk, hamburgers, etc.  I eat things that are dense in vitamins and minerals, like vegetables, soy, more vegetables, rice, etc.  So that means I eat less "stuff" at once and then eat again sooner.  (P.S. This is based on my experience and my feelings, don't try to call me out on any of this.)  So my stomach isn't accustomed to eating lots of cheesy things and things that are "heavy."  So I eat some, but then want more later on because, hey, snacking is a vegan's best friend!

The thing that brought this all on way when I was standing waiting for my micro, SO CLOSE to an empanada store.  I wasn't hungry....so I decided I didn't need an empanada.  Novel idea, eh?  But why the sudden self-control?  Could it be that my old habits are changing?  (Of course, since I'll be returning to the US on the 15th of May, gotta switch back to vegan-habits.  So I did get the empanada.)

When in Bolivia, don't be surprised to see....

People protesting something.  When people are unhappy about something, they take to the streets.  Blockades, marches to the capital, protests.  There are tons of words for stuff like that: bloqueos, paros, marchas, protestas, huelgas.  I haven't heard "huelga" (strike) used except for hunger strikes (huelgas de hambre).  But when people march, blockade, etc, it's also implicit that they aren't at work.  Why would they just strike when they also can march or blockade and get more publicity?
*Also, don't be surprised if you have to walk instead of taking your normal public transit.  You might even have to walk 15 blocks to pick up a trufi when the medical students are blocking all the bridges.
  Just as an example.  :)

Medical students blockading the bridge

Cows/Horses grazing by the river as you cross the bridge (might I mention this is IN the city?)

EXTREME nasal-y voice going “PAPAYA. BANANA. FRUTIA…”  That’s the fruit vendors.  They always talk like that.  My host sister had to translate when they were actually saying.

A lecture that’s supposed to start at 7pm actually start at 8pm.  That’s hora boliviana (aka Bolivian time).  Also, I arrived at the lecture at 7:30pm because I assumed it would start late.

All the buses and trufis FULL at lunchtime when everyone is going home to eat.

Bus tickets for 8-10 hour bus rides that go for under 10 US$.  (Supposedly if you buy right before the bus leaves, it can be as little as US$4.  That’s what I call a bargain!)

Very few white people.  Even fewer black people.

ALL the kids in their little uniforms!  All the schools—public, private, whatever—have them.  So cute!

Bajillions of types of fruits.  We have a massive fruit stand five blocks down the road, and one of these days I’ll take a picture of it.

Women with babies on their backs.  Sometimes unrecognizable as babies because they’re so swaddled.  If it’s a young baby (under 9 months, maybe?) it’s always in a laying-down position, and you never can see its faces.  Just gotta recognize the shape.

People don't stop at quiet intersections--just honk the horn and keep on driving.

Tons of people on motorcylers.  My host dad said they can go for US$700-3,000.  Not that that means a lot to me since I don't know what they cost in the US.  (And often US imports are equally/way more expensive here than in the US.)

People making money on the streets.  No, no like prostitutes.  As in candy vendors, ice cream carts, jugglers, beggars, clowns, orange juice carts, etc.  Here's a sassy clown that entertained us for a while.

He had a whistle in his mouth so instead of words he just "whirrrr"-ed

My Week M.I.A.

Only 11 days left until my ISP is due?!?!  (Which is why I'm writing blog posts instead of sorting data/photos.  Hehe.)  So this week has consisted of:

On Tuesday, going back to Guardería #2 to observe the art teacher with the older kids (3 and 4).  I only stayed part of the morning because one of the classes had a birthday, so they had a little party instead of art class.  In the afternoon I went to a fiscal (public) kindergarden that had almost 300 4- and 5-year-olds.  Overwhelming doesn't cover it.  I helped out in one of the 4-year-old classes, which had around 30 kids and one teacher and one assistant.  The kids ALL wanted my help and to tell me random things about their lives ("My dad's name is XYZ!" "I have a little sister and I'm going to share my juice with her!")  Definitely have sympathy for the teachers and kids there.  Thirty is A LOT of 4- or 5-year-olds.  Some kids didn't even come that day because there were blockades in the city.   I was really popular--especially at recess, when I "invented" a game of helping the kids jump off the bleachers.  Some of them also gave me food!  (I also got a free school snack like the kids, of a muffin and Pilfrut, aka fruit juice in a little bag.  Seriously, google it. But bagged juice is really normal here.)  That night I went with my friend Ayoola to a modern dance class.  It was hilarious....there was a lot of booty-shaking, which I epically failed at.  There was a surprisingly even mix of ladies and gents.  I think dancing might not have the female image it does in the US.  But it was fun!

The rest of the week I spent at Guardería #1, the main one I'm doing my ethnography on.  One thing I've noticed there that's really different is snacktime.  The guardería provides some food (but not from the government like at the fiscal school) but also the kids bring things.  The professor pools all the snacks together for everyone to share.  The kids all wash their hands, and go sit at their little tables and sing a few songs, ending with "sleeping."  When their heads are down, the professors put out the snacks, which come on a communal plate for each table and juice for each kid.  Then the kids "wake up" and share all their food.  They are actually pretty good at sharing, and the professor always reminds them that they have to take one at a time (as opposed to shoveling).  On Friday we went to a farm with all the kids, and they had snack in a long line on the floor of the pavilion (like I did during my village stay in Tocoli).  They had bread (ripped in pieces), rice, grapes, oranges, pizza (ripped in pieces), and sandwich ripped in pieces (all stuff the parents had sent with their kids).  One of the kids took the last piece of pizza, and his neighbor asked if he would share.  And he did--no argument!  All the professors were shocked when I told them sharing snacks wasn't allowed in the US.  Maybe if we were a little more chilled out about legalities, people might learn some important lessons.

I was careful to make sure you can't see their faces, but trust me, they're cute.

Here's my kitty Peluza, cause he's my favorite.  He's sleeping on the spiral staircase!

On my ISP

It’s been a while.  Whoops.  I’d say I’ve been busy, which is true, but also nothing has been feeling really urgent to blog about.  (I also have to write down everything I do/observe/think/feel in my work journal.  And that gets tiring….

So, we’re a little over a week and a half into ISP.  So far, the main stuff I’ve done:

1. Decide on a topic.  I’m putting this first not because it happened first chronologically, but because I’m benevolent and don’t want to confuse my faithful readers (also mild OCD tendencies).  First I was going to look at social class and early socialization and how that works with young kids in Bolivia.  After explaining this to my mentor at the daycare center/preschool (I’m just going to call it the guardería because that’s the Spanish word and I keep writing it accidentally anyway), my SIT (program) advisers said it was a little too big of a topic to do in 4 weeks.  So enter my next idea—focusing on how the preschoolers relate to the written word (in the classroom, books, activities, etc.)  My guardería mentor said that was good, but that how kids learn is studied all the time.  She suggested looking at the teachers at the guardería and why they chose to work there, despite less-than-awesome pay (the teaching profession in Bolivia operates outside of minimum wage).  And to also look at the parents, and why they send their kids to this particular guardería even though it’s not the cultural norm here to have other people care for one’s kids.  So we set off on that topic, until this Friday I talked to my SIT adviser, who said that I probably wasn’t going to get really deep answers from parents and teachers.  (ie. Why did you become a teacher?  Because I like kids.  Why did you send your kids here?  Because I want them to get a good education.)  So now I’m doing a general ethnography on the guardería, which is great because it can incorporate all of my previous topics to some extent, but also lets me wait and see what info I discover.

2. Volunteered at the guardería where my mentor works, with the prekinder kids.  They’re adorable.  I help them with their book work, where they trace and color (and sometimes paint and glue).  I join in their cute games of pretend on the rug or do puzzles with them (this guardería does a LOT of puzzles—twice a day for all the ages—so these kids are GOOD at puzzles.)  So the kids think I’m fun, which is always nice.  It also means they come up and tell me things, and I have to pretend to understand or extrapolate since they’re too little to explain what they mean using other words.  (The worst is when they ask me what something is, in a book, puzzle, etc.)

3. Visited another guardería today, as a reference point.  This one had a surprising number of white kids (Cochabamba doesn’t have a big white population, except foreigners, and there aren’t a lot of those either.  When I see a white person on the street, it’s like a rare animal sighting.  “Look!  A white person!”).  I sat in on two art classes with 2 year olds and almost-2 year olds.  They were also pretty adorable.  A few of them thought I was HIL-A-RI-OUS since I made some fun animal noises.  Winning.  (Although it’s not as easy as you’d think, since animals make different noises.  Like dogs say “Gwow” instead of “woof.”

I also should mention that my project has involved calling many strangers on the phone, in Spanish, to ask if I can interview them.  It’s gone pretty well so far.  Granted, they’re all people who know my SIT advisor, but they’re still remarkably friendly considering I’m a stranger/foreigner/person they have no obligation to help.

Dogs and Bolivia

Bolivia has a different relationship with dogs.  Fact.  There are lots of street dogs.  They are generally viewed as a nusience nuisence nuisance or potential danger.  But they generally don’t bother people.  Going for a run is a different story…once I enter their “territory” they will bark at and possible also chase me (usually for a few strides until I’ve left their territory.  Like in those adventure video games.)  But for the occasions where dogs actually continue the chase (often in groups) the only way to get rid of them (I’ve tried others) is to bend down and mimic picking up a rock and throwing said imaginary rock at the dogs.  This almost always works, except for once or twice where the dog noticed that I was not actually throwing a real rock.  At that point I picked up a real rock and threw it in the dog’s general direction, and it backed down.  I’m not sure how I feel about this.  Maybe it makes me feel a little superior, that dogs know not to mess with me.  After all, it’s not like I actually hit them with rocks, right?  But the thing is, the only way they’d react like that was if someone actually had hit them with rocks.  And that makes me sad.

So on to another dog-related theme.  I have 2 dogs in my house here.  Coco is the “well-behaved” dog who nonetheless barks at everything if he’s outside.  Lukas is the dog my family found on the street, who has bad manners and bites everything, but just wants to befriend the stray dogs that go by.  I have decided to teach Lukas “manners,” starting with “sit” and “down,” but now including “leave it” which I think will help him behave better.  I’ve enlisted my host sister to help me, and we’re really excited because Lukas is a fast learner.  He also loves food, so that helps him learn better.  But in the 2 ½ weeks (WHAT?!?!) that I have here, I think we can get Lukas to be much better behaved!  So there's my legacy to leave with my host family.  Ayni!