The Drop Off

[Okay, this was actually written on Friday, about my day on Thursday.  I didn't proofread because I have lots of better things to do!]

Yesterday we had a "drop-off," where our group was divided into groups of two and sent into the city of Cochabamba with a name of a place to go find.  My partner Ali and I had to find la Cancha San Antonio (San Antonio Market), more specifically el Mercado Artesanal.  So we set off with our map, which didn't have either place marked (or the hotel where we live).  We asked about 5 or 6 people for directions on the way, and ended up walking about 8 or 10 blocks.  (Maybe more…it took about 50 minutes to walk.)  We considered taking a micro (bus) but weren’t sure if that was dangerous, since we were told not to flag down taxis EVER.  So we walked.

In Bolivia, stores are organized by what they sell.  We walked down a paint area, a pharmacy area, etc.  Finally we got there!  When we left it was lunchtime (1:30) so the streets were really empty.  By this time it was pretty crowded.  Once we found la Cancha San Antonio, we looked for el Mercado Artesanal, which turned out to be a little part of the market that sold traditional things like guitars, dolls, rugs, colorful indigenous ponchos, etc.  We were supposed to talk to some people there and learn about the market, so we talked with a man selling rugs for a little while, but he clearly wanted us to buy something so it was a little weird and we weren’t sure if what he said was really true (he said it took his wife a whole year to make a rug—they were maybe a foot by 2 feet).  I have a picture but the internet is seriously struggling, so I can’t post it. 

Then we hung out at a shop on the edge of the market and people-watched.  Then we talked to the two women who ran the stand.  They were probably around our age and said that they took the micro to the market and most of their customers are tourists.  They asked where we were from and when we said the US they got really excited!  They asked if we had markets in the US, and if people take micros, and if there are pickpockets.  Then they got really serious and told us that there are a lot of pickpockets in Cocha and we should always watch our purses.

At this point it was 3:40 so we decided to walk home.  I was pretty sure I knew the way, but we wanted to check just to be sure…too bad neither of us had the hotel’s address.  Oops.  Luckily, we made it back, only ten minutes late (which is no big deal because Bolivian time is way different.  “Ahorita” (literally “right now”) can actually mean just about any amount of time.)

The food here has been really good!  I think the hotel knows that some of us are vegetarians.  (I think there are 5 or 6 of us and one of our program directors is a vegetarian.)  So we’ve had lots of potatoes and yummy soups, and different juices (pineapple, I think papaya, etc).  One soup we ate had papas fritas (fried potatoes) so it was like eating french fries in soup!  Also lots of flan and tea.  Lunch is a big meal—soup, a main course, sometimes a second course, and dessert.  Dinner is just one course, although so far they’ve been buffet style so I can eat plenty.  (Large dinners are not typical in Bolivia.)