My Best Friend

The fact that I have not made a post about Goldy kinda shocks me! Goldy (AKA Paula Andrea Genesis Llanos Flores) is my older host sister here in Bolivia, she is 20 years old and is 3rd year university studying to be an architect; she is my best friend not only in Bolivia but I think in general too.
 It was strange because when I first arrived here I hardly saw Goldy because our school schedules were opposite but it was with her that I had alot of my Bolivian firsts. First time going to the market, First time on a micro, First day at school she went with me to the class, first time going to the plaza first time going to the movies first time hanging out with someone alone! Because I was a lot closer with Dulce when I got here, I thought that after Dulce left things would be totally weird with me and Goldy but that turned out to totally not be the case. After Dulce left I was sad and kinda in a down part of my exchange and it was Goldy who turned that around for me, we got really close over the Christmas/Summer holiday and we are now pretty much inseparable!
Goldy is the person that I tell everything to she is the one person in all of Bolivia (including my exchange friends) that I can actually confide in. She asks me about my exchanges and we can talk for hors, we laugh and talk and have so much fun together; we are total opposites but for some reason it works really well. I am kinda crazy and all over the map where Goldy is cool calm and collected, she gets nervous really easily and doesn't like to make a fool of herself, she is super smart and studious and when you first meet her she comes off super quiet and shy; I have learned that that is not the case AT ALL! I think the fact that we are so different is a good thing, I have learned a lot from Goldy and according to my host parents Goldy has changed a lot too since the 2 of us became junto.

Inside jokes, contests, gossip, sleepovers and adventures, we do it all and we always have a super good time doing it! I can actually never think of a time that I was with Goldy where I have not been totally and completely happy, I am going to miss her most of all when I have to go back to Canada; without her my exchange would not have been the same.

Te Kiero Mucho Mi Hermana, Nunca Voy A Poder Olvidarse, Y Nunca Quiero.

Bolivians racist against other Bolivians? Doesn't make sense to me.

For a country with lots of different races, skin colours, accents and social statuses, there sure is a lot of racism!! Bolivia is essentially devided into two regions that are devided by the mountain lines. The south East of the country is one region and then the North West is another region. I the north you have all the cities like Oruro, Pando, La Paz ,Potosi and Cochabamba, then in the South East you have Santa Cruz, Beni, Chuquisaca and Tarija. The people in the south are known as Cambas and that is something that we are all very proud of and is taken as a compliment!The name given to the Northern people is not so much a compliment as a great insult. They are called Coilla and generally  when you call someone a Coilla it is because you are either mocking them or you are being racist. Coillas are the indigenous people that dont have any European roots. The word Camba comes from the verb Cambiar which in english means "to change", when the europeans first came to Bolivia they settled in the South East because it was flat, had good agricultural potential and it was close to the borders of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, the northern part was too cold and had nothing really that the europeans wanted. Because of the altitude and mountains the Europeans didnt settle there and so the wealth that they brought with them never made it to the north. Cambas became recognized as superiors and the  Coillas got the reputation as poor  filthy people. Even to this day there is extreme racism against the Coillas and it is disgusting.
When my family went to La Paz my host dad would make comments and my classmates were appalled that we even wanted to go to La Paz for Easter.  Then when they found out that I had no problem with the Coillas they actually tried to make me see why the Coillas are "disgusting people" I was apalled with their efforts and made that very clear.

Tongue Tied

Being and living in Bolivia, it is something that is becoming harder and harder to describe. There are so many different components that make it up and then there are emotions and points of view that change all the time. Talking to everyone, they all want to know what it is like and how it is going, but the truth is, there is no way to possibly describe it accurately, at least not to someone who is not here with me doing and feeling the same things.
I keep trying to think of sufficient answers to questions that I know that people are going to ask me, but I cannot find the words to sufficiently describe my experience here. I know that everything can be going amazing but the dumbest and smallest thing can make you plummet downwards but then the smallest thing can bring you right back up again. For instance, the last few weeks have been awesome and things have been getting better and better all the time and then I bought peanut butter that tasted terrible and all of a sudden I was mad and sad and depressed and it was super strange. But then a few days later I make an inside joke with my sister and I feel on top of the world again.
This life is a roller coaster that is so difficult to describe but it is amazing and I know that I am not ready to get off the ride.

Saliendo

Im not sure if it is everywhere in Bolivia or only in Santa Cruz, but on the weekends everything and everyone comes alive! Going out to the clubs on Thursday Fridays and Saturdays are just part of the life. It depends on the person as to where you go but generally it is either to a bar, a club, a churrasko or a boliche (pretty much the mix between a bar and a club...its is middle class casual.).
When people go out to the clubs, it is not a joking matter, everyone gets super dressed up in short dresses, high heels and inches of make-up, then they go to an overly expensive club and dance all night long. These places are very formal and you generally need a reservation to get in, not really my favorite Bolivian night scene. It seems that for me the best place to go are to the boliches, they are casual and you dont have to worry about spending a fortune to get in. There is always music and it is fun to go out with your friends! When I go out with my friend Emily from New York we have found a way to make friends that has never gone wrong. We bring little packets of glitter and sprinkle it around, for some reason people always try to find the source of the glitter and we make new friends :)
Because everything runs on Bolivian time nothing opens until 10PM so people usually dont end up going until 11, it is late but for me it is always a good time!

Vallegrande

This past weekend I got the opportunity to travel with my family to a small town in Santa Cruz called Vallegrande.  Rotary Grigota was going there in order to help the Vallegrande club get some projects off the ground. It was a great trip filled with fun, adventure and rain. We left on Friday morning and drove the entire 6 hours through the mountains to get to Vallegrande which is on the border of Santa Cruz and Cochabamba...that pretty much means that it is in the mountainous region of Bolivia but fortunately not as bad as La Paz. The trip was a lot treacherous, the roads were a little less than idyllic, they wind and climb through the mountains and they are pretty narrow, at least for the most part it was paved and if you didn't look over the edge it was not that bad. My Host dad does not understand the concept of taking corners slowly so as a result my 7 year old host sister was a little green and Sarah (my friend from New York who went with us) and I weren't feeling to great either. When we finally got to Vallegrande, we went with all the Rotarians to a home for children with mental disabilities and we gave them an oven so that they could finally cook for the children there. It was actually heart breaking to see how little those children had and then to top it all off they all had disabilities, it felt great to be able to contribute to something that can make them smile.
Sarah and I were a little unprepared for the weather in Vallegrande, we thought that because it was in Santa |Cruz that it would be hot, so the both of us only brought shorts and t-shirts, unfortunately it was cold and raining the entire time...on the plus side everyone thinks we are super hardcore because we told them that we were not cold because we are from up north...we decided it was better to tell them that than to have them think that we were idiots for forgetting to pack warm clothing.
Day 2 of our trip Sarah and I got almost the entire day to go out and explore on our own because all the rotarians had a meeting that we were not invited to; that was not a problem for us though. Vallegrande is the grave sight of the Cuban revolutionist Che Guevara. He was hiding in Vallegrande when he was captured brought to the hospital  (ironically) where he was executed.
 Anyway Sarah and I went out to see where he was originally buried after his execution. It took Cubans 7 years of digging up a HUGE field in order to find his bones but then they were brought to Cuba where they are now. It was a cool thing to get to go and see, we also got to explore the town and check out some of the markets. In the afternoon we went with the Rotarians to a Bolivian equivalence of a soup kitchen except it is specifically for seniors who have no way of supporting themselves. We distributed blankets and food  were welcomed by them with tears and besos and they even sang to us. Weekends like this make me really happy but at the same time they make me feel overly privileged.
We went to the grand opening of the first PUBLIC school in Vallegrande which Rotary funded and then we headed back to Santa Cruz exhausted and content...and very terrified, the roads are not a joking matter, it was terrifying.

Fotos!!!

Day 2 of Carnaval. With my sister/best friend Goldy...things are got more colourful:)

My bata before Carnaval...it got a bit messier.

Day 3 of Carnaval...mucho mas pintura!!!!

Aftermath of Carnaval...my hair is a mixture of red green, blue and purple. It took about 2 weeks before it all washed out.

Just a taste of the floats in the Parade for Carnaval, this one had the "Reina de Carnaval" aka the queen of carnaval.

Some more amazing floats for the parade

Almost of all of my Grigota Girls for the Rotary Carnaval Costume Party, I was a Pacena (person from La Paz) 

Our Rotary went out to a really small town to help the families there, here we are distributing clothing to the locals.

This is my room and I am wearing the skirt of my school uniform.

After Day 1 of Carnaval

Santa Cruz is not very prepared for heavy rainfall, the streets flooded.

borderline fail trying to keep up a family tradition, Gingerbread houses, but not exactly like back home, they still tasted good tho!

FELIZ ANO NUEVO

typical Bolivian churrasko (barbeque)...this is my aunt Linda.

this pretty much sums up my relationship with my brother, Im always crazy and he is like WTF

The final result of my Carnaval experiences

Left Behind

Today my host parents forgot about me...they left me behind at our Rotary meeting. I know its not the end of the world but it still doesn't feel too good to be forgotten about, especially after you have been living with them for almost 8 months.