Feliz Pascua!

Today I write this blog heart-warmed by the small town of Padcaya, Tarija and saddened to have to say goodbye to it.  I only spent 3 days there, but they were 3 days that I won’t forget.

The adventure to Padcaya actually started last Tuesday, 3 days before we arrived there, when my host mom offered to let me go to Padcaya, accompanied by a friend so that I wouldn’t travel alone.  I did not even hesitate before saying yes and inviting my friend, Bryce, on this last-minute adventure.  That night I scrambled to pack my clothes, run my errands and say my goodbyes before waking up at 7am the next day to buy the tickets. 

To add to the chaos, the bus that I bought tickets for was the ONLY bus going to the department of Tarija all weekend due to blockades of protestors.  This bus said that it would take a 5hr detour that went through Paraguay to avoid the blockades, but it didn’t.  About 10 hours into the trip (that should’ve been 25hrs long), the bus was stopped and the passengers were told to get off because there was a blockade.  Turns out the bus driver went ahead and drove the main, blockaded route for supposed storms along the detour and wanted us to wait out the blockade for an extra day or two.  For a couple hours the passengers discussed what to do, while some walked through the blockade to find additional transportation since this bus driver was not willing to do anything else.  Luckily, my older sister and her boyfriend had also come on the trip and went to see how dangerous the blockade was once the sun rose.  When they got there all of the protestors had left and it was fine to walk through.  So the 4 of us, and a new friend we met, crossed the blockade to search for transportation.  However, by this time the buses and vehicles on that side had already boarded new passengers and left for Tarija.  By stopping motorcycles and cars that passed by we eventually found out that the closest town was more than 20km away and not many troofis (taxis) were coming our way.  One gentleman was kind enough to give my sister a ride back towards the blockade to ask for a troofi. Soon enough, she was back and the 5 of us crammed in with a family of 3.  7 hours later, we arrived in Tarija. 

Tarija is like the Napa Valley of Bolivia.  Known for its wine, this department is full of vineyards.  And since it is fall here in Bolivia, it was especially gorgeous with the ripe grapes and leaves getting ready to change color.  That evening, at my abuela’s house in the city of Tarija, we all snacked on grapes from the vines that shaded the patio along with cheese and decided to spend the night there before taking off for the family’s town of Patcaya an hour away.  While there we enjoyed some tarijan street food, celebrated Bryce’s acceptance into UC Berkley and admired the city from a large wine glass.

The valley of the department of Tarija

The beautiful wine glass and its' view of the city

Me and Bryce in the main plaza the next day

The next day we explored the main plaza of Tarija and then took off for Padcaya.  We arrived in Padcaya just in time for lunch with about 20 of my relatives.  First we had soup, and then some delicious river fish, potatoes, corn and vegetables.  After eating that (and the seconds that my Abuela insisted I eat) my Tia took us out for some coffee and empenadas to warm up.  Soooo much food! That night I was absolutely stuffed, and my body was completely warmed up for the procession that the little town put on.  14 houses spread out through the town were decorated with marigolds and paintings, to represent the 14 different times Jesus fell and got back up.  Everybody in the town followed this route while singing, and stopping at each station until it lead us back to the church in the main plaza.  Some people continued to walk that route all night until the 5am mass.  I went back to the house to visit with the relatives that were there.

Too good to say no

Station #13 put on in by my family

On Saturday the whole family slept in.  There were plans to go to the mass but I didn’t get up until 9, when most people were still asleep.  Instead Bryce and I enjoyed some hot coffee with a couple of tios, one of which later took us hiking up to the family’s favorite waterfall and the sentimental “Piedra Grande” which had a view of the valley.  The water in the waterfall was the clearest I have ever seen. My tios used to always bathe in it and drink out of it it was so clear.  I wanted to do the same, but it was too cold for that.  After that day’s big lunch a family friend took me, Bryce, Laura and Juan Mario to another town nearby to explore.  The winding road there with the fog rolling in over the mountains and the cute, abandoned houses alongside of it reminded me of Hwy 1, except there was no ocean L .  That night we met a bunch of people our age for a churrasco, and then at midnight much of the town met at my tio’s house to surprise my tia for her birthday.

Secret waterful -- usually much fuller

all the old graffiti from "La Piedra Grande"

the view from on top of "La Piedra Grande"

Abandoned Plaza connected to a gorgeous church

The next morning, Easter Morning, the whole town gathered at the church for mass. We did another walk with stations, this one only going around the main plaza.  Afterwards everyone split up and began preparing for the kermesse.  The kermesse was a festival put on by the church in the main plaza, where everyone ate lunch, danced to live music and visited with friends and family.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay there for very long though.  The blockade was down for Easter Sunday and would go back up by Monday morning, thus we had to go before being trapped in Tarija. 

Watching the town set up from the bell tower window

By this time I had already gotten to know many family members very well whether it be over coffee in the morning, or hooking arms with them for the processions, or celebrating with them at night.  Each person was especially friendly and inviting to us; it felt like I had known them forever.  When it was time to go, each one of my abuelos/tios gave me a big hug, life advice, and sweets for the road before wishing me a good life.  Some even started to cry.  I swear, some of the most beautiful people and places are the hidden ones.  I hope I can return one day. 

5 Months in Bolivia

January 21st marks the 5 month anniversary of the day I arrived in Bolivia.  It also marks the half-way point in my year abroad and I cannot believe it.

Within these past 5 months, I have begun dreaming in Spanish, seen 7 out of the 9 departments in Bolivia, and have made Santa Cruz a home to me.  While I knew beforehand that I would be creating a new life in Santa Cruz, I did not believe that it would become a 2nd home to me like it did.  Over the holiday season, I felt particularly homesick being away from my family in California.  However, that feeling went away whenever I was with my family here.  First my host brothers came home from Germany and Argentina, which made the house feel all-the-more homey having siblings, especially when they treated me like their own.  Their loud singing, sleeping in, and weird jokes that I did not understand reminded me of my sisters in California, and made it easier to get to know them. A few days later, while picking up my aunt from the airport, I received a HUGE hug accompanied by a "Mi sobrina favorita!" which I continued to receive from her every time the family got together.  On Christmas Eve I was overwhelmed in heart warmth when I received a generous amount of thoughtful gifts from the family, and I wasn't even expecting one. Even my 9yr/old twin cousins bought me hair accessories and earrings with their allowances.  Over the holiday, I got to know a lot of my family pretty well and finally recognize them as more than my host family.  This became clear Wednesday night, when the whole family went out to dinner.  I didn't realize this before, but there were 30 of us.  We were that table that made everybody else's food late :)  While a group that big would've overwhelmed me normally, I felt completely at home at that dinner.  Looking around the table, I had developed a relationship with each person, and felt great being myself.  My brothers and I sang some Eminem, I got made fun of for being a terrible cook, I exchanged tastes of food and drinks with family members, and I felt at home.  

La Navidad con mis hermanos y padres

La Navidad con mis primos (minus the younger ones)

mas familia

Unfortunately, that dinner was also my despedida, or going away party.  It didn't hit me until the next day how long I had been in Bolivia: almost 5 months.  That's half of my exchange. And to make it al-the-more real, it was time to change families.  I have said "hola" quite a few times since I have been here, always meeting new people, but I had never had to say goodbye until Wednesday night, unsure when I would be able to see everyone again.  This week, my "favorite aunt" and her family went back to Texas, my brother took off for Argentina, and I changed houses.  While I am grateful to still be in the same city as most of my host family, I already miss those who aren't.  It has only been 5 months and moving down the street is this sad; I can only imagine what will happen in July.

Until then, I am lucky enough to be living with another great family.  Right now, I live with 2 sisters (18 and 23), and my host mom.  My abuela and tia from out of town are staying for a few days, and at the end of the month another sister comes home from the Philippines.  As you can tell, it is a house of all girls (just like my home in California), and everybody is super sweet.  Yesterday we had a giant shopping day and today they took me to a festival of their favorite fruit.  My host mom told me, "Estoy segura que nos llevaremos muy bien.  Noo tenemos grandes lujos pero tenemos un buen corazón y te esperemos con loz brazos abiertos."  Basically put, she told me that they don't have many big luxuries, but they do have a big heart and they welcome me with open arms.  To me, a generous and loving family is the biggest luxury I can get, and I am lucky enough to have 3 of those.  Thanks to my 2 new families, Santa Cruz is now a home to me.  I cannot wait to see what the next 5 months in this home bring me!

 Festival de Achairu

 Festival de Achairu

El Viaje a Toro Toro

It's 4 weeks later and that unexpected trip to Toro Toro is still on my mind!  I keep looking at the incredible photos, wishing I could go back because those photos do not serve the hidden treasure it's justice.

That adventure started Thursday, the 24th of September when my host parents, me, and the 8 friends hopped on the plane headed for Cochabamba, ready for a relaxed getaway in the countryside -- a very inaccurate description of that weekend.  When we landed, there was a rickety, 12-person (or so it said) bus waiting for us outside the airport.  That bus drove us 4 hours on a dirt road toward Potosí, where we got out and entered a mud-caked building/home where we were served homemade lunch as well as the biggest and sweetest papayas any of us had ever seen/tasted.

After lunch was a 4km hike full of incredible, incomparable views.  At the top, past all the oceanic fossils and fresh water pools was a small swimming hole and waterfall where I unhesitatingly jumped in along with Kilian from Germany.  It was beyond refreshing and the water was unbelievably clear, however the rest of the group called us insane for swimming in what they consider to be hypothermia-causing water.

After the hike back and 3 more hours on the dirt road that meandered through 3rd-world towns, over canyons and into the mountains, we arrived at a hotel.  This hotel was only 6 rooms with a casual courtyard and dinning room in the center.  Every night for dinner and morning for breakfast the group would meet up in the dinning room and be served fresh, home-made, 3-course feasts that the women of the hotel worked on all day while the men served as our tour guides/handy men.  The doors to our rooms didn't close, each room was lit up by a single lightbulb hanging from the ceiling, the showers didn't have warm water and the blankets on the beds were hand-made and uncoordinating, yet this was by far the best hotel / resort I have ever stayed in solely for the hospitality.  It felt like a 2nd home -- an aspect that cannot be found at beach resorts and Hilton Hotels.

At 6AM Friday morning, the 11 of us met up at the dinning table to find hot bread from the bakery up the road waiting for us on our plates with cafe con leche on the side.  After that cozy meal, we all piled in the bus and drove up the mountain a ways.  When we got out, I thought I was on top of the world.  Turns out I wasn't even on top of the mountain . . . yet.  That morning, we hiked for 6hrs exploring old homes of cavemen.  There were astonishingly clear paintings still on the cave walls as well as areas for recreation, areas for praying/worship and areas for sleeping, all of wich were 4000km up with a view of nothing but the sky.

After that hike, we all ate the home-made, packed lunches on the dirt ground.  From there, we drove a ways to the 2nd destination where we hiked 2km to get to the 7km-deep cave.  This cave was enormous and went on forever. Every time we thought we found the end there would be a rope waiting for us to climb down/up, a sliver in between rocks to crawl through, or a hole to jump into.  This cave had water running through it and used to be home to hundreds who lived off the fish.  The fish in that cave have never been found to live anywhere else in the world.  The cave was also so dark that even with our headlights on, we couldn't see much more than 2meters ahead.  At one point, the tour guide had us all turn off our lights and stay silent. I thought I was sleeping,  I couldn't even see the shadow of the person I was touching and it was dead silent. I don't understand how people could have lived in this cave.

We returned to the hotel at 8 that night with the first course of dinner already waiting for us.  Despite our apparent exhaustion, the group visited and shared many laughs until 1AM, when the tour guide gave us the plan for the next day and told us to meet up at 6AM.  Here in Bolivia I have learned that family and friends are priority,  It doesn't matter how late it is, or how busy you are, you always have time to "charlar" with those you care for, and that time is priceless.  Nobody is on their phone and everyone talks to everyone. It is quality time that much of society seem to have forgotten about.

On Saturday we hiked down into the canyon.  Along with all the fossils and incredible views, there were also several more waterfalls.  The biggest waterfall was in a canyon that was 3km down.  Just to get down there was 2000 steps along a 1-person pathway carved into the sides of the canyon.  At the bottom we trekked a couple more km, weaving between boulders, following a small stream until it opened up and deepened into the ultimate diving hole with an incredible waterfall.   Kilian and I immediately dove in, jumped off rocks, did flips, and rejoiced as if it was Christmas. 

That weekend was a beautiful, yet long one which none of us were prepared for.  By this time, my legs were shaking from tiredness and my feet were sore from wearing converse all weekend, but as soon as I got in the water, my energy was renewed.  Afterwards I was able to race up those 2000 steps and then an additional hill where I found a snack bar.  10, 15, 20 minutes later more of the group arrived, collapsing alongside me.  We were all ready for bed, but stayed at the shack drinking our water and talking until sunset, when we trekked back to the bus and drove home.

That night was our last night with the incredibly generous and helpful staff.  During the journey, I was able to bond with the tour guide through our mutual passion for travel.  He is currently studying tourism, as I plan to do when I return to the US.  We shared the same perspective in that it is not the scenery that makes a place what it is, but rather the inhabitants, their culture and all the stories behind it that makes a place "rica", or rich in beauty/life.  Unfortunately, he had class and wasn't able to go out with the group when we all bought the hotel owner and bus driver coffee (a very social custom) to thank them.  That night was another late one with card games but not as much talking, mainly being left in awe.  We went outside and admired all the stars that can't bee seen from the city, then said goodbye to our 2nd home.

Sunday was travel day that started at 6AM and ended at midnight.  We get home around 4 or 5, but visited with both sides of the family to make up for the lunches we missed.  It would've been rude not to share about our weekend.

"Travel: it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller"

The Cathedral's 100th Birthday Celebration

Tonight, the 21^st of September 2015, I was lucky enough to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the opening of Catedral Basílica Menor San Lorenzo, located in the very center of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. 

Circa 1887 – 1897, 110 years after the original cathedral of Santa Cruz (St. Francis Church) was damaged, two missionaries took the incentive to re-erect the cathedral, and created a plan.  Two generations of Bishops later, in 1915, the plan was finally finished and the cathedral was in use.  In 1984, Pope John Paul II through a special decree, “Constat Sane Templum Sanctae Cruci”, raised the cathedral’s status to the status of Basilica because of its historical importance and antiquity.

Tonight I, along with a thousand others, sat in the Catedral Basílica Menor San Lorenzo to celebrate it’s 100th birthday with a traditional concert, and speeches from the mayor of Santa Cruz as well as the governer of the Departamiento del Santa Cruz (one of the 9 Bolivian regions).  The artistic framework and details of the church left me in awe and the concert was exquisite. 

After the performances, my host parents and I were escorted to a decorated and closed-off courtyard on the side of the building where the servers walked around with wine and fancy hors-d’oeuvres.  While socializing we were surprised by a celebratory firework show right over our heads; it was gorgeous.  Towards the end of the firework show, I received a tap on the shoulder from Ruben Costas, the current governor of the Departamiento del Santa Cruz.  I was quite startled to be shaking hands with the same man who received a standing ovation while being escorted to his seat prior to the performances.  However, once I got over the initial shock, I enjoyed talking to him and received a kind welcoming to Bolivia.  He told my host parents that I would be a Camba (a local Santa Cruz person) in no time. 

Overall, tonight was a spectacular night.  ¡Felicidades, Catedral Basílica Menor San Lorenzo!

Traditional Bolivian Food

Tonight I was blessed with the wonderful opportunity to try traditional Bolivian dishes.  These dishes are neither lunch, nor dinner; they are more like what one would eat at a British tea party: small servings of sweet and savory treats.  

Starting at the front of the plate, there are 2 Masacos de Platanos, or banana mixtures.  Here in Bolivia the bananas are sweeter and richer than anywhere else, thus they are used as a principal ingredient in many dishes, or as a refreshing snack. (I eat them right off the tree at my abuela’s house).  The Masaco on the right (Masaco de Platano Verde con Queso) is mixed with cheese and is more savory whereas the darker one on the left (Masaco de Platano Maduro con Carne) is mixed with meat and has a sweeter taste.

Behind the Masacos de Platanos is a Masaco de Yuca (mixture of yuca).  Yuca is a specific type of potato grown here with a unique texture.  It is also a principle ingredient in many traditional Bolivian dishes.  Tonight’s Masaca de Yuca was a mixture of yuca and pork.

In the back left is a traditional, and very popular, Empenada de Queso.  Empenadas are pastries/breads with different combinations of cheese, meat and vegetables baked inside of them.  Tonight’s empenadas were classic ones consisting of only cheese inside of a sweet, croissant-like pastry.

Finally on the far right is a Sonso.  In order to make a Sonso, one must cook the yucca until it is soft and then with her hands mix in the butter, cheese and a pinch of salt.  This usually takes lots of upper-body strength.  Once it is mixed, she divides the dough in half, puts the first half on the plate, then tops it with a layer of grated cheese and the second half of the dough.

I enjoyed each one of these treats thoroughly, especially when accompanied by a cup of hot tea, and many laughs.  Tonight was a great learning experience and memory for me; I can't wait until next time!

23 Agosto 2015

Within the last 4 days I have had more than 24 hours of travel time (first class woop woop) and only 12 hours of sleep in total.  The rest of the time has been spent running errands for my Papa’s HUGE 50^th birthday party, meeting ALL of my family, and receiving more love than I could’ve asked for. It seems as though every time I sit down there’s another toast to me, another kiss on the cheek, another niña holding my hand, another heartwarming welcoming from a family member who cannot pronounce my name or whose name I can’t pronounce, all of which is in a language that I can barely understand or speak, just feel.  These last 4 days, and tonight especially, I have felt so much love and had so much fun in Santa Cruz disproving all of my pre-judgements.  It is 6:08 in the morning and I am still in my dress and heels from the party.  I am beyond exhausted but don’t want to go to sleep.  Why would I want to go to sleep when I can watch the sun rise on my balcony, representing the arrival of a new adventure, while listening to all the honking horns and party music that I learned to love on the last one? 

“sleep is for dead people” ~un amigo boliviano