Full Fiesta

I am at the stage in my exchange where everything is just normal now. I have overcome the awkward stage and the language barrier, I have made friends and learned my way around the city, trips and new beginnings have all come and gone and now that being here has lost its luster, I am just living a normal life. It is strange, now that I am past the middle of my exchange and no longer have any big things in the future; I have started to think about coming home and all the goodbyes to come. It is depressing and makes me see how much I love it here, im just hoping that these next 4 months go slowly! tengo que disfrutar de todo el tiempo que falta!

I am very glad to say that all the colour has come out of my hair, the only down side of that is that it means that carnaval is officially gone:( Pretty much Carnaval is a giant festival and party week where everyone gets all their partying and schenanigans out of their systems before the start of lent. Tons of the  super religious people get out of the city on retreats in order to avoid the chaos but everyone else is ready for 4 days of pure fun and fiesta! Every weekend in Feb leading up to the 18th there was a parade of people dancing and preparing for Carnaval, that was known as Pre-Carnavelara, there was only foam and water at these events and it was a family rated events, on the 17 there is the corso de las ninos, which is the Carnaval parade for all the children and that aswell was early and was very tame. Then came the 18th of February and that was when all hell broke loose, not actually tho, just kinda! All the major streets in the city were shut down and it was impossible to get anywhere without traffic jams but that was all because the Giant parade floats were getting ready for that night where there was the most impressive parade I have EVER seen! it was amazing with floats and costumes and music and bands and dancing and foam and water and cervezas and sooo many people! The parade is the kick off to Carnaval, from that point on everyone is spending time with family in the mornings and going to party in the afternoon and the night, people have water wars on the streets and everyone is an open target! Every day the streets get a little more dirty and the wars escalate from water and  foam to paint then mud then pee and finally the worst is either animal fat or shoe polish. Every day I came home covered in paint and foam and water, i was very fortunate not to have any of the others thrown on me! It was due to the people throwing paint and ink in my hair that it was pink and red and blue and green and yellow and purple for the longest time, it took three weeks to come out of my hair and it is not coming out of my clothes, fortunately i had my Bata for that! A bata is a long robe that people wear in order to prevent their clothes from getting ruined, they come with your comparsa. I was also lucky enough to be part of a Comparsa, which is a group of people who all have a parking lot to party in and where there is security and music and people my age, it was so much fun and it was alot safer than going out to party on the streets! Carnaval is known as the most dangerous time of the year in the city! But it was SOO much fun and I am really hoping to come back for it again!

It was an experience that I have never had before and it was probably one of my favorites in Bolivia