I have been in Bolivia for 5 months, 24 days, 7 hours, 53 ish minutes and some-odd seconds yet today was the first time that it actually felt totally completely happy. Ever since we got back to school my life here in Bolivia has taken a significant turn on the positive side! This year is so much better than last, I understand everyone and I can converse with them, I can understand the jokes and can make them myself, I am making friends that are actually friends (kinda hard to explain but when you're the exchange student everyoneish wants to be your friend, sometimes only for the sake of saying that they are friends with the exchange student, now im starting to make friends who actually act as friends!)and everything is just better! I no longer am afraid to make a fool of myself ( I have learned that it is going to happen whether or not I want it to) and im more confidant and all that jazz, not to mention the fact that I am pretty much fluent! HURRAY
Today at school I got to teach my entire class a game that I learned in Canada and everyone loved it, it is now working its way around the school and I am proud to say that I got to share that with all of them. More than anything else, I realized that I am no longer on the outside of the glass looking in, I am now part of the scene. Like yesterday for instance, 2 of my good friends from school just showed up at my house and from there we went to the market and hung out in the plaza, that is something that I would do with my friends back home. It is just that everything clicked into place and I am more happy than I think I have ever been on my exchange and I didn't even realize it! Before I was happy but now it is different, its like happy and home and comfortable all at the same time!
Not to mention Carnaval blew my mind! but that is for another story :)
Friday 24 February 2012
Tuesday 14 February 2012
Today we set off Fireworks!
...In the classroom durring first period...welcome to Bolivian schooling
Saturday 11 February 2012
Starting to sink in
I was the kind of exchange student that left their home country without the teary goodbyes and the crying yourself to sleep in your host country every night. For the longest time I thought that there was something wrong with me because even though I was sad that I had to say goodbye to my friends and family, there was no emotional breakdowns nor depressions, not anything. I have still not cried a single tear since getting here, not even when I left.
I've been waiting for this experience to "hit me" for me to realize all that I have left and that Im here in Bolivia. I've been waiting for the breakdown and the fallout but nothing has come and I am starting to think that it might not be at all what I thought would come! Over the course of the last few days I have really been seeing the changes in myself and I really do think that the whole "me being in Bolivia" thing, is sinking in...but its nothing like I expected it to be! I thought it would be a sad, depressing, teary moment but instead it has been a feeling of pride and excitement!
It all started 2 days ago when I met a 49 year old man from the USA who was asking ME for help with Spanish; since when do I know Spanish?! It got me thinking about how much I have learned, how different I think, how I do things and how I am! That was the first shock to the system. Then came yesterday, I was at the movies watching "viaje 2" It is an american movie but we were watching it in Spanish, at first I didn't even realize that it was in Spanish, then I caught myself thinking "why isn't anyone being polite and greeting eachother with ' besos' (kisses on the cheek)"? Then again I realized that it was not a Bolivian movie and that in america saying hello is greeting enough!
Ever since these moments I have been really thinking and reflecting and pondering all that I have accomplished over my exchange and how much I have grown, I am now excited to Skype my parents where as before I was all "whatever", I am different and I am in Bolivia and it is strange but it is hitting home now and its all coming into perspective!
Who would have thought that it would take over half the year for the fact that I am here to sink in? And who knows what the rest of the year will show?
I've been waiting for this experience to "hit me" for me to realize all that I have left and that Im here in Bolivia. I've been waiting for the breakdown and the fallout but nothing has come and I am starting to think that it might not be at all what I thought would come! Over the course of the last few days I have really been seeing the changes in myself and I really do think that the whole "me being in Bolivia" thing, is sinking in...but its nothing like I expected it to be! I thought it would be a sad, depressing, teary moment but instead it has been a feeling of pride and excitement!
It all started 2 days ago when I met a 49 year old man from the USA who was asking ME for help with Spanish; since when do I know Spanish?! It got me thinking about how much I have learned, how different I think, how I do things and how I am! That was the first shock to the system. Then came yesterday, I was at the movies watching "viaje 2" It is an american movie but we were watching it in Spanish, at first I didn't even realize that it was in Spanish, then I caught myself thinking "why isn't anyone being polite and greeting eachother with ' besos' (kisses on the cheek)"? Then again I realized that it was not a Bolivian movie and that in america saying hello is greeting enough!
Ever since these moments I have been really thinking and reflecting and pondering all that I have accomplished over my exchange and how much I have grown, I am now excited to Skype my parents where as before I was all "whatever", I am different and I am in Bolivia and it is strange but it is hitting home now and its all coming into perspective!
Who would have thought that it would take over half the year for the fact that I am here to sink in? And who knows what the rest of the year will show?
Saturday 4 February 2012
The life I love!
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| Bruises from water attacks in Sucre |
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| Muis and I at Cristo in Cochabamba |
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| Cochabamba |
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| Yes we brought a watermelon on the Plane :) |
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| Cholitas and Tanks...a Casual sunday in La Paz |
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| Estado Plurinacional |
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| La Paz |
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| Vallea de la Luna...La Paz |
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| Isaac being awesome and Back flipping into the water |
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| Waterfalls in tarija |
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| Llamas in Boats...Isla del Sol |
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| Muis on top of the world...Isla del Sol...Lago Titicaca |
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| I might have fallen just a little bit into the waterfall... |
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| Sunsets on the Isla del Sol |
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| Isla del Sol |
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| Sucre with real Dr.Seus trees |
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| Inside the mines in Potosi |
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| Salaire de Uyuni |
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| Train Graveyard...Uyuni |
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| Muis stepping on me in Uyuni |
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| It hurts to walk on salt! |
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| Muis in Uyuni |
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| BOLIVIA!!! exchange student style! |
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| Inside the Mummy caves...Uyuni |
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| Salty buts after the flats |
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| Potosi...I was inside that giant mountain! |
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| Nice clean running water in Tarija |
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| Familliar looking...I first thought of the Okanagan, but nope this is Tarija |
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| Muis went to the Waterfalls, Tarija |
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| Look mom, Emily cut my hair...I have Bangs! |
Tiempo es oro
"Time is gold" that is what our guide would tell us on an hourly basis as all 15 exchange students from around Santa Cruz were traveling through Bolivia. We left Santa Cruz on the 21st at 7:30AM, and from that point on it was go go go until 7:30 PM when we arrived back in Santa Cruz on the 31st.
We flew from Santa Cruz to Cochabamba where we spent the day walking around, trying new foods and hiking 'Cristo" a giant mountain with a statue of Christ on top, it was safe to say that by the end of the day all of our legs felt like jello and we were all a few shades darker! From Cochabamba we flew to La Paz, but that was not without a few difficulties, we were stuck in the airport for 4 hours due to delays, but being the amazing exchange students that we are we made the best of it and goofed off. In La Paz there were a few problems with the altitude for a couple of people and while they were getting some O2 the rest of us had a sleep deprived bus party!
January 22 is a holiday in Bolivia to celebrate el estado Plurinacional. For most of those who are not indigenous, this day is not warmly welcomed. We were lucky enough to be in the capital for this day so we got to see the parade and the ceremonies and all that jazz, there were tanks and soldiers and music and tons of cholitas but all in all it was a great day. The altitude made walking up the hills a lot difficult but fortunately enough for me, exhaustion was my only side effect! In La Paz, we went to museums, shopped, saw la vallea de la luna, and explored the city, in no time at all we were off to Copacabana and on our way to the Isla del Sol.\
Isla del sol was BEAUTIFUL, im pretty sure it was my favorite part of the trip, it was the most natural part of Bolivia i had seen, there were no cars on the Island and lake Titicaca was so nice,I hiked with my friend Emily (from the states) to the top of the mountain when everyone else was swimming and it was soooo beautiful, we even made an inukshuk to mark our presence there! That night at the hotel there was a power outage so to avoid the terror of being alone in the dark we had 8 of us all bunk up in one room on three little beds!It was by far the best night of the trip!\
After Isla del sol we went back to La Paz then headed out to Sucre where we spent the afternoon touring around and getting pegged by water balloons then we bused out to Potosi where we spent the night and then went into the mines and explored the city some more. After Potosi we bused to Uyuni , we saw the famous train cementary, come mummies and the infamous Salaire de Uyuni...which was stunning. There was sooooo much salt! 12000 squared kilometers to be exact! the one thing that i didnt expect was how much it hurt to walk on the salt! do not be fooled by the idea that the salt you get in your house is the kind on the flats...it is not!
After our sunburnt salty experience in Uyuni we went back to Potosi, went to some museums and Hailey had some Credit Card Problems that me and Lou helped her out with, then we were on our way back to Sucre where we spent the next 2 days. Being the group of Gringas that we are, it was only natural that we would be the targets of the pre carnival water balloon wars, what i was not expecting was that it would get so totally out of hand to the point where I hurt my knee and am now covered in gross bruises. None the less it was a fun time in Sucre but it was not a dry one! we got to go to some little textile markets, a dinosaur museum and to a lights show we hit up the plaza, ran into some friends from SC and bought chocolate then we were off on our way to Tarija for the the final days of the trip :(
Tarija is alot like the Okanagan, I mean it is simmilar in the ways that it is smaller, has mountains and lots of wineries and it felt like home, for that reason i am glad that i am not living there. we went to some wineries, and to a beautful waterfall where we could swim and go exploring, I loved being able to climb up stream and explore the different nooks and crannies of the falls. I did unfortunately fall in the stream so despite the fact that i was planning on staying dry...that didnt really happen.
This trip was AMAZING I laughed harder than i ever have here, I made new friends and became better friends with everyone, I got to see more of my new country and develop my spanish. I saw the differences in culture and finally got to feel the cold!
best 10 days ever!
"No solviden nada!?" creo que no puedo!
We flew from Santa Cruz to Cochabamba where we spent the day walking around, trying new foods and hiking 'Cristo" a giant mountain with a statue of Christ on top, it was safe to say that by the end of the day all of our legs felt like jello and we were all a few shades darker! From Cochabamba we flew to La Paz, but that was not without a few difficulties, we were stuck in the airport for 4 hours due to delays, but being the amazing exchange students that we are we made the best of it and goofed off. In La Paz there were a few problems with the altitude for a couple of people and while they were getting some O2 the rest of us had a sleep deprived bus party!
January 22 is a holiday in Bolivia to celebrate el estado Plurinacional. For most of those who are not indigenous, this day is not warmly welcomed. We were lucky enough to be in the capital for this day so we got to see the parade and the ceremonies and all that jazz, there were tanks and soldiers and music and tons of cholitas but all in all it was a great day. The altitude made walking up the hills a lot difficult but fortunately enough for me, exhaustion was my only side effect! In La Paz, we went to museums, shopped, saw la vallea de la luna, and explored the city, in no time at all we were off to Copacabana and on our way to the Isla del Sol.\
Isla del sol was BEAUTIFUL, im pretty sure it was my favorite part of the trip, it was the most natural part of Bolivia i had seen, there were no cars on the Island and lake Titicaca was so nice,I hiked with my friend Emily (from the states) to the top of the mountain when everyone else was swimming and it was soooo beautiful, we even made an inukshuk to mark our presence there! That night at the hotel there was a power outage so to avoid the terror of being alone in the dark we had 8 of us all bunk up in one room on three little beds!It was by far the best night of the trip!\
After Isla del sol we went back to La Paz then headed out to Sucre where we spent the afternoon touring around and getting pegged by water balloons then we bused out to Potosi where we spent the night and then went into the mines and explored the city some more. After Potosi we bused to Uyuni , we saw the famous train cementary, come mummies and the infamous Salaire de Uyuni...which was stunning. There was sooooo much salt! 12000 squared kilometers to be exact! the one thing that i didnt expect was how much it hurt to walk on the salt! do not be fooled by the idea that the salt you get in your house is the kind on the flats...it is not!
After our sunburnt salty experience in Uyuni we went back to Potosi, went to some museums and Hailey had some Credit Card Problems that me and Lou helped her out with, then we were on our way back to Sucre where we spent the next 2 days. Being the group of Gringas that we are, it was only natural that we would be the targets of the pre carnival water balloon wars, what i was not expecting was that it would get so totally out of hand to the point where I hurt my knee and am now covered in gross bruises. None the less it was a fun time in Sucre but it was not a dry one! we got to go to some little textile markets, a dinosaur museum and to a lights show we hit up the plaza, ran into some friends from SC and bought chocolate then we were off on our way to Tarija for the the final days of the trip :(
Tarija is alot like the Okanagan, I mean it is simmilar in the ways that it is smaller, has mountains and lots of wineries and it felt like home, for that reason i am glad that i am not living there. we went to some wineries, and to a beautful waterfall where we could swim and go exploring, I loved being able to climb up stream and explore the different nooks and crannies of the falls. I did unfortunately fall in the stream so despite the fact that i was planning on staying dry...that didnt really happen.
This trip was AMAZING I laughed harder than i ever have here, I made new friends and became better friends with everyone, I got to see more of my new country and develop my spanish. I saw the differences in culture and finally got to feel the cold!
best 10 days ever!
"No solviden nada!?" creo que no puedo!
Wednesday 1 February 2012
Half Way
WTF SINCE WHEN IS IT FEBRUARY!????????????????????
The fact that I have been here for 5 months is kinda blowing my mind! the time and the memories flash before my eyes and it feels like it has only been a few days, yet at the same time a lifetime. Thinking back and reflecting on all that I have learned, experienced and discovered...it makes me proud to be able to say that I made it this far and that there is still so much to come.
Being at my half way point just totally baffles me. To know that there are more tomorrows than yesterdays, more "remember whens" than "we shoulds", it kinda breaks my heart a little bit! Don't get me wrong, I am very excited to be going home, to see my family and to get back to "real life", but it is going to be so much harder to leave this place than it was to come here! Bolivia will forever be a part of me and it pains me to think that I wont be here forever!
The fact that I have been here for 5 months is kinda blowing my mind! the time and the memories flash before my eyes and it feels like it has only been a few days, yet at the same time a lifetime. Thinking back and reflecting on all that I have learned, experienced and discovered...it makes me proud to be able to say that I made it this far and that there is still so much to come.
Being at my half way point just totally baffles me. To know that there are more tomorrows than yesterdays, more "remember whens" than "we shoulds", it kinda breaks my heart a little bit! Don't get me wrong, I am very excited to be going home, to see my family and to get back to "real life", but it is going to be so much harder to leave this place than it was to come here! Bolivia will forever be a part of me and it pains me to think that I wont be here forever!
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