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!