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