out and about

I got to graduate...again :D

Graduating class 2011 Kepleff DEA

Little odds and ends from my trip to Brazil, this was at a mountain called el Morde del Diablo, which translates to the devils tooth,  as far as the eye can see it was just flat, then all of a sudden this pops up out of no where? hhhhmmm.

I love Being an exchange student! 

you feel on top of the world!

At the Border:) finally after waiting FOREVER we made it through to Brazil!

Half in Bolivia Half in Brazil

feeding the fish, they come right up to you! both me and Jazmine got bitten by these hungry slimy creatures

Did I mention there were Crocodiles!!???

I found this on my computer and almost died of laughter!
the benefits of borrowing someone elses computer
Oh how I miss my sibblings

Passando tiempo con mis amigas bolivianas <3

Bolivian Prom 

Stone cold Turkey

It is kinda really crazy how much can happen in a short amount of time; for instance, I am coming up on my 4 month mark, where has the time gone!!!????? Over the last 2 weeks I have gotten to partake in quite a few Bolivian experiences, on the 16th I got to put on my cap n' gown and graduate with KEP'LEFF DEA, I didn't think that it would be able to compare with my Pen High Grad 2011 but it was every bit as awesome and more! The ceremony was every bit as significant but about 1/3 the length (but i guess if you calculate the time it takes to get everyone to the school then it takes about the same amount of time....the invitation said 7.....it started at 10....WELCOME TO BOLIVIAN TIME) I think that because my 2 grads were so different, I got to enjoy each one equally! In Bolivia the ceremonies MUST be held at the school (it is law), when you go to recieve your diploma you walk down an isle in front of everyone with your parents and together you get your diploma as well as a rose. Then there is the typical speeches and then there is a prayer and then another and then another and then a marichi band preformed for us and then the students preformed a song for the audience and the teachers. The next day was the Bolivian version of prom, you get all dressed up and go to a hotel for a big dinner and dance, but this prom is for everyone, each student gets 10 tickets to give to family, friends, hobos on the street if they so desire. Each of the grads has to walk down the isle in front of everyone with either their date or their parents and then there is a toast and the opening dance. Little did I know that I was going to have to waltz...borderline disaster! All in all it was a great graduating experience, I got to spend it with my chickas de intercambio, my family and my friends from school...great combo:D

Between Gradding and Christmas only left a few days of down time which I filled with last minute trips to the market to do some shopping and Baking, lots and lots of baking! I taught my sisters how to make gingerbread houses(borderline fail :S), chocolate balls, snowmen cookies and sugar cookies, it was a good couple of days accompanied by an amazing Christmas..yet for some reason it felt nothing like Christmas. On the morning of the 24th I went with my dad and my brother to an orphange to give out christmas gifts to children who otherwise wouldnt have gotten anything for christmas, to see the look on their faces when we surprised them...well it was awesome! we Gave out 200 toys and volunteered out time cooking them a nice dinner, that is what Christmas is all about!
Christmas was celebrated all together with my entire family on the 24th, it is tradition to set off fireworks at midnight and to have a great big dinner.We had turkey and it was stone cold because we picked it up at 9 and we ate dinner at 12 but it was still good. After dinner there was the gift  exchanging and felicidades and then it was off to bed. On the 25 there is not much of anything going on, most of the shops are closed but it is otherwise a normal day.

Loving life, living every moment and experience to the fullest, I'm so privelaged to be here!
Merry belated Christmas to everyone and have a Happy New Years!

A little Politics...with a Kirsten Point of View

WARNING: the following facts are just the gyst of what i have heard in regards to Bolivias government

So the Bolivian Government is far from stable and just, our president Evo Morales is about the worst thing that could have happened to Bolivia; he is an uneducated, radical leader who only represents the indigenous people of Bolivia (as he is an indigenous himself). You might be thinking, How did he get elected then? and that answer comes with a story. Elected in 2003, Carlos Mesa  became a president that was actually trying to benefit Bolivia. He started controlling the economy and also the production of coca ( a drug illegal in other countries but not in Bolivia). In order to control the coca production and to stablize the economy Mesa enlisted the help of the American government and well that caused an uproar among the indigenous. Because Bolivia is 75% indigenous people, there was a huge problem, they started a march from Cochabamba all the way to La Paz in order to get Mesa out of the government, there were riots and police baricades to prevent the people from actually entering the government buildings to come after Mesa; they left him with no choice, in 2005 at the time of the protests, Mesa fled to the United States where he is now living due to Poiltical Exile, had he stayed in Bolivia, he would have been executed. 

Now after Mesa fled, Bolivia was without a President so the vice president Eduardo Rodríguez stepped up, he only lasted 7 months though before stepping down, therefore opening up a new election period. Did I mention that the person who lead the protests with the indigenous was Evo Morales? Yeah well with his radicalness and the 75% of the population behind him, he won the election and has been dragging Bolivia backwards since. Morales has made it illegal to have certified religious schools, you are not aloud to hold graduations at hotels for some reason, certain types of people are no longer certified to get licence plates, even if they were before, he has changes all the laws so that he can be the highest of power in all aspects; such as Judicial and political and he has an complete veto right to everything. The worst part is that everything that he does only benefits the indigenous and makes everyone else (like the people who pay their taxes and dont suck up government funds) suffer. He is also making a mockery of Bolivia in other countries because apparently i can speak better spanish than he can. GGGGOOOOO BOLIVIA!~ 

tra la la la la, la la BRAZIL

Nine days until Christmas and it has never  felt so little like the holiday season! There is a chance that it has something to do with the fact that A: there is no snow, B: I don't watch TV so I havn't seen any adds nor heard any carols C: it is about 36 degrees on average, and D: there is no snow! Oh well, I think that is part of adjusting, we do have a Christmas tree up so that brings a bit of the holiday feel to the house. This last week, I got the pleasure of vacationing with my family in Brazil! It was amazing and Beautiful, the roads on the way there were a little less than desirable but all in all it was totally worth the 12 hour drive, 2 hour wait to cross the customs and immigration lines, and the three hour wait for the gas protest to be over|!
We left Santa Cruz early in the morning and drove straight to the Brazilian Border about 6/7 hours away, with the exception of stopping at a really tall mountain also known as "Devil's Tooth" we took pictures, explored the cathedral and ate some amazing Cunape, then we were back on the road. We got into Puerto Suarez (also known as la frontera) and spent the night there, It is a town right on the river and it is pretty much infested with frogs! The fact that we were experiencing a torrential downpour just added to the froggyness of it all, they were everywhere! The next day we were off and into Brazil, we didnt need to do anything to cross the border from Bolivia into Brazil just for the day because we were only going into Corumba which is the "frontera" in Brazil and there is no control there. It was crazy to see the difference between the 2 countries even after only passing a 200m distance across the border. Bolivia is all dirt roads and park wherever you want and there are beggars and garbage and no order but on the Brazilian side there are sidewalks and paved roads and garbage cans and painted taken care of buildings...not to mention that within that 200m gap, there is a total change in the language! Brazil= Portuguese, Bolivia= Spanish.
Bonita was our final Brazilian destination, about 6 hrs away from the Bolivian border, and let me tell you it sure was BONITO! There was scuba diving in rivers and we river rafted down waterfalls, there was ridiculous amounts of food involved and I was mistaken for food by a fish, apparently blue nail polish is yummy...according to the fish that bit my toe. There was sun and Portuguese and family and laughs and fish and rivers and sunburns and killer rain and monkeys and toucans and crocodiles and giant spiders/ cockroaches not to mention shopping and red mud everywhere!
It was a vacation well worth remembering, I love Brazil and will deffs be back. This trip was not only a super great vacation, it was an opportunity for me to get to know my family and to grow closer and more comfortable with them, it was the start of a new step in my exchange!

so many reasons to smile!

totally normal to see these cute little guys bopping
around in a tree, eating mangoes!

The fruity joys of the parket

The not so wonderful meat part of the market

Baking bread! ready for the oven!

Goldy con una manga sandia!

Because Exchange students let other exchange students cut their hair :)

View of the plaza from the Cathedral

Last day of school, It's tradition to have pant wars...it also includes
flour and eggs and water and an all around messy good time!

The view from my balcony = my back yard, complete with
cabana, Mango and Coconut tree :)

I made this! its Pan de Arroz!

Street view from my house

view from the front of the house down
the other side of the street

Pink tong = consequences of eating Pipoca
sweet popcorn:)

My city

It may be poverty stricken and super sketchy...
but you have to admit it is beautiful from above!

Saltenas...we learned to make them!!!
too bad they were horrible :P
maybe second time's the charm

Cunape, by far the best Bolivian food i have come across,
cheese bun yucca heaven!

All The Difference

Today is my 3 month mark here in Bolivia, these three months have not been a walk in the park but at the same time they have not been unbearably difficult. More than anything, these months have been learning experiences; I have learned about myself, this country, cultures, religions, languages, traditions,and so much more. Bolivia ,already in this short time, has made a life changing impact on me, I now see things in a different light and I have a new perspective on everything. I appreciate my family, friends, country and culture more and never have I been so proud to be a Canadian. 

It's strange how even the smallest things can make all the difference in the world, for instance; the other day my 28 year old host brother moved out, taking my bed along with him. I got my host sisters bed who is on exchange now just the look of the bed in my room made me feel actually at home, instead of a guest out of place. My room is now a home and not just a place to sleep! 

I have been out of school for the last 2 weeks and in that time I have been suffering of boredom. I was in a bit of a depressed phase where all I wanted was something, anything, familiar. I decided that it was time to change something because being bored and miserable...well it sucks! So as of last Monday, I signed up for some cooking classes and I am totally loving them! Also next week if all goes according to plan, this girl right here is going to "Bonita" Brazil for a week or so. It finally seems that everything is looking up and getting better!

My grade 6 teacher once told my class something that has really stuck with me over the years, and that I have found to be totally true. He said "life is a graph, it fluctuates and has it's up's and downs but even when you feel like you have hit rock bottom, it will always climb back up again." Who would have thought that getting a different bed that would make the graph start climbing back up again?

Si o si una experiencia

Im really starting to understand the ups and downs of an exchange. Being away from your friends and family, its hard, especially when you are thrown into an area where you don't speak the language and where you are a total outsider. I have been in a bit of a low lately, starting to miss my family and friends  and also it is possibly because the "shininess" of being here is starting to rub off and everything is loosing the element of excitement and surprise. I am becoming familiar with the city and the culture and the routine therefor leaving me with yet another obstacle to overcome. That should be a good thing right? I'm not so sure about it,  it is different because I am starting to get bored :S I am officially out of school for the next 2 months on summer holidays and I think that will be a real challenge for me, simply because there is no routine anymore and it is up to me to find thing to do to occupy my time. I think I'm going to start taking Churrango lessons(a mini 8 string guitar that is very significant in Bolivian music), so that should be good, and it should keep me busy :) There is a quote that my mom has been telling me ever since I was little; "If it's to be, it's up to me". I'm really starting to take that into consideration lately. If I'm not happy or if I'm bored, it is me and only me that will be able to change that, so get set, get ready and here I go!

Being Different

People told me that being white would be the factor that turned peoples heads, for me that is totally not the case. In fact that is not the case at all, sure my skin is a few shades whiter than most but because there is such a variety of skin colours in Bolivia, it is hardly even noticed. Im not known as the white girl,as many suspected i would be, i am the tall Canadian with light hair and green eyes. its the Hair, height and eyes that draw all the staring. i think i know about 4 people in Bolivia with eyes that are not super dark brown, all four of these people are exchange students... the hair is not a huge factor strictly because people can dye their hair but in my school not many people do, the fact that i have naturally light brown hair changes the way people look at me, i wonder what would happen if i told them it was died that way and that it was naturally the same colour as all of theirs....hmm
Im the odd one out in this country, with the green eyes, the light hair, the English accent and the fact that im a good foot taller than most, it draws attention, but not only that, it is like a sign on our head that says "Test Me".
Just because im different and out of place here does not mean that i am stupid, so to all the vendors, taxi drivers, busses and random people who think that they can rip us off or convince us that we need to do something, nice try.

ISMS

Did you know that people here use spray deodorant? i thought that was strange and i really dont like it because spray cans give off CFC's which are VERY BAD for the environment. Not like people are concerned with environment here, garbage cans dont exist really, but the streets sure do and trust me they are covered in garbage! Know what else doesnt exist here? Recycling, for someone who likes the environment and hates seeing people destroy it, it is very frustrating, trying to explain to my family why it is better to use non spray deodorant...well it was kinda like a ball of confusion for them, but still, i guess spray deodorant is better than no deodorant, strictly on a BO level. This whole environmentally friendly thing goes right over peoples head, they say its because the city is already too far gone for good practices to make a difference, i think that is a load of crap. if everyone stopped using plastic cups and forks and knives for EVERYTHING then that would make a huge difference all on its own. putting things in the garbage would make the city like 5000x prettier and it is way better for the environment! just the attitude that nothing can be changed kinda irks me.
when it comes to eating, there are lots of little isms that Bolivians have. lets see, for starters they dont use plates for breakfast nor snacks, unless they have something liquidy, then they use a bowl. theses non plate meals are also accompanied by no cuttlery except for a spoon...if needed. lunch we always use plates and forks and knives but even when it is finger food like sandwiches or chicken wings, people use forks and knives, its all backwards!
MEH, whatcha gonna do.
SAVE THE WHALES and the wetlands AND THE WORLD...or whatever.

Shocked

Yesterday was probably the hardest day i have had since i arrived here, not because it was Halloween and we did absolutly nothing (dont you know, its a demonic holiday where people worship satan, safe to say that with all the religious influences here it is not celebrated or approved of) or because i  missed my friends and my family but because of an activity that we did at school.Some students from the Psychology department in the university came and did some exercises to promote their department in our school. I learned more about my classmates and Bolivian Culture in the 45 minutes of exercises we did than in the entire 2 months that i have been here. We were told two statements and you would choose which statement was best suited to you and you would move to that side of the class. they started getting more specific and i started to see the reality of what people believe here. There was a question that asked us to go to the right if you supported Homosexuals and thought they deserved the same rights as everyone else, then you were to go to the left if you neither approved nor respected homosexuals. I was among six of the peoplee who were on the right side of the class. there were around 50 in the class yesterday, i was absolutly horrified and shocked, but what caught me most off guard was that people were more shocked at me! This was by far not the worst reaction i got. when they asked us about believing in god, i was THE ONLY person in the entire class who doesnt believe in god, people were yelling at me saying that im going to hell. then when i was once again the only person who said that i was pro choice when it comes to abortions people were horrified. i took this day as aHUGE learning experience. i learned that religion and the rules that come along with it are the most important thing here, its just part of the culture. its like everyone is brainwashed by (in my oppinion) archaic ways. It was really hard for me to see how everyone reacted to me and my opposite beliefs and ideals. i was among one of the only people who thought that living with someone before marriage was ok, that is a big no no here because it implies that there will be sex before marriage and that is considered HORRIBLE. i had to explain that it is a normal thing in my culture and that was hard for them to wrap their heads around!

Every culture is different and i know that but the culture here is VERY different from that back home, religion and god are the basis of everything , what they are told in the bible and in church is what is correct, i tried explaining my reasoning for not believing in god and i was straight up told that i was wrong. there was no compromizing or agreeing to disagree, there was not even an opportunity for me to ask questions, i was just wrong. Defending myself and my beliefs in spanish is really difficult, especially when you have 50 people looking at you like your satan. It got to the point where i just yelled at everyone to shut up so i could explain myself. I did a good job of hiding it but i was really hurt about the fact that no one supported the fact that i could believe in something different. 

I finally was able to talk to everyone and explain, i explained that i have no problem with religion or religious people i just wasnt on and that i hoped they could respect that. i explained the differences in the cultures in Canada and was able to explain that things there are alot more easy going than here and that i was not raised with a very religious back ground so i grew up with different morals and beliefs. i told them that just because i support the decision to be able to choose whether or not you can have an abortion doesnt mean that i like the idea of them or wish they wern't necessary for some people. by the end of my little rant, i asked them that if i can accept them and their different beliefs, why cant they accept me?

despite how hard and shocking and horrifying and terrifying and upsetting yesterday was, i am really proud of myself for being honest and for defending what i believe in and for making them understand where i am coming from. yesterday was a learning experience that is for sure but i know that it made me alot stronger!

My Life In Pieces

Warning, none of these pictures were taken by me, simply stole them from my killer exchange student frends:)

 This is a traditional Santa Cruz dress called Tipoi, it was worn way back when by all the Cambas, since i am a little Cambita our school made us wear them for the feria we had for the day of Santa Cruz!

 Cabanas were made in the middle of the school for the feria, this is me during my night classes on fridays, with my friday unifrom:)

 Cake here is a huge and important thing for everyone on their Birthdays. this is me with Charlotte from Belgium and Issac from NY we ate the cake and it turned our mouthes black...exchange student fail!!!!!

 My Host dad, me, my host mom and my Host Brother all went to a small town to do some volunteer work with Rotary, we stopped for some Jugo and took a picture:)

 We are exchange students, its what we do. Putting a bowl of ice in front of us eventually leads to an ice war which results in water wars which escalates into a full on cake war!...I lost

 Santa Cruz de la Sierra exchange students:) all in the beautiful mountains near Conception for our first Rotary trip.

 My grad class, yes we all have the same class together, in the same room, at the same time, there is around 70 of us, there are lots of people missing.

 This is the sad reality of what people outside of the City live in.

 Proud to be an exchange student!!!!! living life in the fast lane, it leads us to the top of a beautiful mountain where we can feel on top of the world.

 Flora and I in our promo monday uniforms with the Santa Cruz flag ready to get our defiller on!

 Baking Party at my house, Hailey (Wisconsin USA), Sara (New York USA), me, Mathilde (france) and Charlotte( Belgium), we all missed things so we went to my house and had a running around, party filled, baking good ol time.

I feel bad for my family and friends, my Best friend sent me this picture after a skype sesh, this apparently what people at home see when skyping with me...weoo. goooo bolivian Internet connection!

This is my life here, not better, nor worse than  it was back home, its just different. it has its ups and downs but that is what makes it so exciting. Everything is totally random, mostly because i dont know what is going on, but awesome people, friends and family both near and far are helping me make the most of this life her, its my life in pieces!

... >:S

Dear Mosquitos,
As much as im sure you enjoy sucking my blood, the 45 bites a day is getting a little old. If you would please all go die in a hole somewhere, that would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely;
Miss sick and tired of being itchy!...ALL THE TIME

Such an Exchange Student

Being away from home, in a third world country, where you dont exactly speak the language, and youre not with anyone that you know... is difficult to say the least. It has had its ups and downs but there is one thing that totally keeps me grounded...the other exchange students! People who are going through the same thing that you are and who can understand what no one else can. The things we get up to as exchange students would make anyone else think we were crazy but to us, we can justify anything with the sentence "Im in Bolivia". Last weekend i had a bunch of the exchange students over and we had a baking day!!!! all of us made something from home that we missed, we had guacamole and nachos, nutella pie, deepfried oreos, petitebeurre cookies and tea!!! it was one of those days tho that by the end of it we needed to be rolled out the door and undo the buttons on our jeans. even running laps around the house or dancing the kevin couldnt fix the food baby we were all nursing, none the less tho, we had a blast.  This last week has been especially eventful for me, Hailey, a girl from Wisconsin moved houses like a block away from me so we have been having lots of city exploring adventures together, we even did some volunteering at a school helping with an english spelling bee. we've gone shopping and figured out the best buss line ever and the other day we went to the plaza and shotgunned sodas with Sarah...because were cool like that and the fact that its in Bolivia makes it that much cooler. This is only a taste of all the random things we have gotten up to, and there is a list of things yet to be accomplished.

i learned the hard way never to walk under a mango tree in the spring...they hurt when they fall on you. its like there should be a sign WARNING; FALLING MANGO ZONE. meh, all part of the Bolivian life.

Puedo Probar?

Foods are an essential part of what makes up a culture,and Santa Cruz is known for its interesting "Comidas Typicas". In Santa Cruz we are  Camba, meaning that the majority of the people are of Spanish/ Bolivian decent, due to the Spanish ancestry there is more of a European influence on the foods here...or atleast thats what ive been told. All i know is that the food is one of the things that i have realized to be the most different between Canada and Bolivia. Lunch here is the most important meal of the Day, there is ALWAYS  soup to start, either with chicken, carne, or platanos and then there is the main course that follows.I happen to love the soup here but it is not very popular among my family, regardless we have it everyday because thats just what you do here. For our main course there is always rice and then some kind of meat, usually chicken or beef. then there is "salad" which they consider to be any sort of diced/cubed vegetable on a plate or plain lettuce. salad dressing here, oil and salt, yuck. i just stick with the plain veggies, i like it that way. For breakfast we usually have bread or cereal, occasionally Saltenas which are like a pizza pocket minus all the salt and instead of being filled with pizza, they are filled with chicken or meat stew. they are super messy to eat but they are really good. Tea and chocolate milk are searved in my house with every meal, i usually stick with water because the tea tastes like the smell of llama and the milk here is like whipping cream, but at lunch  there is usually some kind of fruit juice, somo (a drink with a special puffed corn in the bottom, made with water, cinamon and corn flour), chicha (the same as somo minus the corn in the bottom and with lots of spices),  or bitter ( its like a bitter prune/grape/rosewater juice). Desert here comes after lunch , not after dinner, unless your at a dinner party but thats not the point because there you get cake no matter what so yeah. but after lunch it is really common for everyone to eat jello or a slice of cheese ( that tastes like olives :S) with Dulce de Leche or Mahablanko ( camba version of dulce de leche but without any milk.)Dinner here does not exist, my family will have a light snack at like seven but that is only if you want, usually it is either arepa ( cheese and blended corn all cooked together in a frying pan), sandwich (that means cheese and mayonaise...no veggies...occasionally mortadella), bread with butter, or masacko (fried plantains or yucca that have been mashed into a million pieces with cheese and meat). dinners are nothing substancial unless you are going to a party, in that case you eat alot and it is usually at like 11 or 12 at night, everything here starts really late! when in bolivia, try everything, that is my advice, there are so many new things here, Im loving that!

Red uniform, Red skin.

For someone who has only been here for a month and two weeks, it sure has been going by quickly!! I started school the day after i arrived, therefore leaving me litterally no time to adjust to anything but whatever. I am going to "Colegio Dios es Amor", it is a tiny private catholic school from kindergarden to grade 12, it has about 500 students and we have to wear uniforms:S I am in Promo which means that im gradding this year along with my 70 other classmates, and yes we are all in the same class...at the same time...all together...in a small room. lets just say its a zoo, but its my zoo and i love it.
Aside from school and Rotary and Spanish,  i havnt been up to a whole lot, that has been changing tho :) a week or two ago, all the rotary students went on our first trip, we went to a wild orchid festival in a town called Conception, it was about a five hour drive but we stopped a few times to eat lunch and to go swimming in a lagoona! that was really fun but i jumped into the water that was shallower than i thought and ended up really hurting my knee again. its gradually getting better but i think i just over streached the healing ligaments. meh. In conception we toured around the local missions and jesuits sights, we went into historic churches and marveled at the beautiful plazas. Our second day we went for "a light walk" that is what they told us. turns out a light walk here is a 2.5 hour hike up a mountain in the 36 degree weather. I happened to have loved it so that was good, the view was beautiful and we got to see orchids in their natural environment. others on the trip were not so content about the exercise and made it very clear, dont worry tho, i held back the urge to strangle people. After hiking, shopping, running away from HUGE beetles, seeing typical dances and tasting typical comidas we loaded up the bus and headed back to Santa Cruz. I considered that to be a very successful trip; got to know the exchange students, learned some new games, didnt sleep much, ate cunape, saw a tucan and an ostridge for the first time and got ridiculously sun burnt. Could have lived without that last one, but on the plus side i now match my red school uniform:P

A Bolivian family

Families play a major role in the life of an individual, they are there through the good and through the bad, they teach you and annoy you and push all your buttons, but they are family all the same and you would do anything for them.When i first got here i was worried about entering into a new family, more so than anything else about getting here, i was afraid to be an intruder in the lives of these people who so generously welcomed me into their house. When i got here i was an outsider, that is for sure, but with time i have been able to learn and grow and become part of this family that i now call my own.

coming from a big family myself, adjusting to my family here was not as difficult as say an only child adjusting to being in a family of 8. I have 5 sibblings here all of them whom which i would do anything for. Jasmine, she is the youngest and is such a daddys little princess, she ALWAYS has soo much energy and is curious about everything, but i guess that is to be expected for a person of 7 years old. Next is Alfredito, he is loco but it is with him that i have the best relationship, he is 16 and we joke around all the time, i think he is the one person who understands my sarcasm :S Dulce is 17, she is going to be going on an exchange to Canada as soon as she gets her visa back, with Dulce things are comfortable and we mesh well with eachother:) Goldy is 19 and is studying to be an architect, she is brilliant and is soo caring and compassionant, not to mention hilarious. Beto is 27 but he still lives at home, he is studying at the university in managment and is also working in the family buisness, he likes to party and use hair gell. My parents here i really do consider to be like my real parents, they are always there if i need them, sure its awkward sometimes because i feel out of place in the family dynamic but if i want something to change i have to work at it and it comes along. doing things together like going to church or having family day bring us closer together and make me more comfortable, i really like it here and im glad ill be with them for the whole year.
I live in a house in the city, it is rather large and has a gate out front as a security measure. Inside there are 6 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms, i have my own room and own bathroom. we have a cabana out back with a grill and gathering area not to mention a massive mango tree! love that despite the fact i hate mango but soo not the point.
the life i live here may not be realistic to the life of the normal class society but i am loving every moment of it,family is important here, they are really close to each other and i am envious of that, the dynamics are closer and they never argue, something im not really used to but it is something that inspires me!

So you want to see the world? Look at a pigeon, they're world wide and look the same everywhere!

If someone would have asked me what i expected my exchange to be like before I left, i would have probably said something along the lines of it being difficult, interesting, exciting, life changing blah,blah,blah. I have come to see that my exchange is all that and sooo much more. words are not able to describe everything that goes through my brian on a daily basis, my emotions and moods change hourly, i go from having a crappy day to the best day all with a trip to the grocery store with my family. i have come to apprecieate small things, like being asked if i want to help cook, or a kiss on the cheek. things that were never a big deal at home suddenly mean the world. I know that i have changed in the short time that i have been here, i like to think for the better, i have a new apprecieation for good friends, my family, simple gestures and acts of kindness. manners and gratitude are something that i express alot of here, my parents taught me well, but i have come to see that that is not always a common practice here, please and thankyous go a long way, but sadly they are not very common.
I like to believe that i am representing my country well, i am the only person from Canada in all of my club and district. There are 15 of us total, 6 from the United States (4 of which are all from New York), 4 from france ( yes i get to speak french with them), 2 from Bermuda..., and 1 from Belgium. Every Tuesday and Thursday we have a spanish class with some other exchange students, they are with a Program called AFS, they are all from Belguim or Gremany and are all super awesome, they like to have a good time and that is a good time! as of lately our spanish class is more like a social get together than a learning experience but it is still educational...ish.
On Wednesdays we have Rotary meetings at night, we all show up with our blazers in toe, we eat yucca (it is a root from a tree that is like a potato but sooo much better), listen to people and talk, we get dinner and dessert( people always eat dessert here, im not complaining but my jeans might soon) then we get to go home. I like it mostly for the socializing part...and the yucca!
we have all gone to the plaza together and hung out, we have gone to parties, and we have hung out at eachothers houses and had random goodtimes that will be for another time. bottom line, i love these people and they are a major part of why i am loving my exchange so much!
In the city there is one thing that i have really noticed that is different from alot of places in Canada, there are plazas everywhere! Each "barrier" which is like a giant neighborhood has a plaza, it has chairs and trees and little stores and usually a church in it, they are great social places and are occasionally really sketchy but they are one thing that i have not seen much of back home. in the center of the city and in the big important regions there are huge central plazas where all the stores and important things are and they are absolutly beautiful. BUT COVERED IN FREEKING PIGEONS!
i don't like pigeons! i dont even know if that is how you spell pigeon, i thought there was a d in there somewhere but the little autocorrect man says otherwise. meh!
Today was election day in the city, that means that EVERYONE who is 18 or older MUST vote, if not all cellphones,bank accounts and anything else is shut down for that person for 3 months, unless they vote by the eloted time. its serious stuff here, there are fines and huge messures taken on and before election day. For example, for the last 3 days no one has been able to legally buy or cell alcohol, not even in restaurants or bars. also as of midnight of last night, all cars were prohibited from driving on the roads, no busses and no taxis. strictly motorcycles, quads, bikes and walking. Im not sure why but it was a huge deal, there were a few taxis that had permission to drive but they costed about 5 times as much as they usually would. after the election closed at 6 the cars were aloud back on the road tho. in order to vote everyone had to walk to the closest school to their house, which is like nothing because there are schools EVERYWHERE! and there are like a million of them!
feel free to ask questions, not sure what you want to know about this crazy place, after all this is a blog for you guys not me, it just helps me from repeating myself like a million times!
xoxo
P.S no comenting on spelling or grammar, we all know i suck at it!:P

A crazy place i like to call Bolivia!

Today is my six week mark. September 1st i stepped off the plane into this crazy country. Bolivia is a place like no other that i have seen, not even in pictures. Highways consist of two single lanes carved out of the dirt and covered in asphalt (only on the "nicer" highways), each lane going opposite directions. Cars pass on the shoulder  when they can't get the opportunity on the road that is how scary it is. speed limits are around 80Km/h but i don't think i have ever seen a car going below 110km/h. it is terrifying, especially since the conditions of the roads are, lets say less than idyllic and there are so many cars that you are lucky if you have a meter between cars. Seat belts?...non existent, and the amount of seats you have in the car does not mean that is the max amount of people you can fit in that car. I think my record has been stuffing 9 people into a taxi, 10 if you count the driver.
I know that driving was the first major difference that I noticed when i got here, it took me about five seconds to pick up on that one and about ten to figure out that parking is almost as bad as the driving. as long as there is not a driveway that you are blocking, people here park wherever they like, including in the middle of the street, cars have to weave through open spaces in order to make it down the road and usually it ends up being a one way street just by the amount of space left.
although Santa Cruz de la Sierra is the largest city in Bolivia, it is nothing like a city i expected to see. there are hardly any big skyscrapers and it is not very dense, well that is just me comparing it to Canadian cities and what i have seen before. the city functions in rings, there is a plaza and the downtown area in the middle and the main roads are called rings, they make circles around the plaza and go out into the country. there are 5 rings considered to be inside the major part of the city, after that you get into really poor areas and that is where there starts to be gangs and problems. Even in the safest neighborhoods in the city, all the condos, apartments and houses have huge locked gates on them and all parking lots have security guards watching them.
Im still getting used to this city, the poverty and the begging, the amount of security measures in place to prevent car theft and burglary, the caution you must use when hailing taxis or going on the micros (buses). Every day i learn something different or try something new. Im discovering more about myself all the time and im taking it all in stride. Being in this country has its challenges but in the end it is overcoming the obstacles that makes the successes even greater.