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?