New Adventures

"I’ve been incredibly sloth-like in getting around to writing this blog post. It has been about two weeks and a lack of motivation, waves of sickness, and not knowing what to write about led me to putting off writing all together. Though fret not, my waves of sickness have not prevented me from having fun, and enjoying some new experiences which I will share with you here.

The weekend before this past weekend I had a “come to Jesus” moment. Meaning I literally went to Jesus. He looked as fresh as a Colgate commercial, in all his white statue glory. I had the pleasure of realizing that the spot in the mountains where the Jesus statue stands is really the best vantage point of the city of Cochabamba. Many describe the city in words and phrases you would normally reserve for your middle school pictures such as “generally unattractive,” “not quite developed,” or “it will be better in a few years.” Frankly, I rather quite like the grittiness of Cochabamba. It may not have pristine streets and phenomenal urban planning, but a general welcoming feeling supplants those unavoidable flaws. So Ava, my fellow volunteer and housemate, and I took a few good too many photos and I even climbed a tree and almost got stuck. It should be noted I was only a few feet off the ground when I managed to get stuck, though slightly frightened nonetheless.

I’ll take a paragraph here to further explicate something about Bolivia I have come to love. This small country really can have it all, as long as you believe. Never mind the giant Christ statue in Rio, Bolivia can have its own over-sized Jesus too. And how about Incan ruins? The Peruvians certainly don’t have an exclusive right to them. In fact, just a few hours away is the “Maccu Piccu of Bolivia.” How neat is that? And, oh yes, this may be a landlocked country, or so you thought. If you travel to the extremely cold mountains in Oruro you will find the magnificent salt flats which basically double as a beach because it looks rather sandy and magical. So were you looking for the authentic South American experience? Feel free to travel on down to Bolivia its much cheaper, there are far less tourists, and the people here are just the best.

Last week I had the privilege of visiting the houses of the women of Tantakuna with Johan, a Proyecto Horizonte staff member that has been working with the women for years. This meant trekking around the Ushpa-Ushpa community surrounding the organization for a few hours. The views were great. The women were just as sweet, funny, and bubbly as they are in the weekly meetings. Many of them live relatively close to one another as some of them are actually related and therefore keep close to their extended family. The first house on the walk was Basilia’s, she is one of the older women in the group, with a wealth of knowledge and character. I looked on as she weaved monkeys into some bracelets. Why monkeys you may ask when there are none in Bolivia? To this I would reply, “great question, probably just because.” Of course, Basilia being the mother she is, pleaded for us to return to her house later for some lunch, we happily obliged. The next two women we visited had little ones running around while they weaved and tried their best to keep children off window sills and the such. The kids were absolutely adorable and it was endearing to see how they were inheriting the comedic ways of their mothers.

The next house we visited required a bit of a workout in climbing a really fantastically horrible hill. I feel out of breath just recounting the walk. After a decent bit of time we arrived at Victoria’s house, who according to Johan had recently added her makeshift pint-size door in the entrance way of the property. In seeing this I began to notice just how much the idea of progress was valued by the people in the community I was in. Being that it was just 15 years ago this illegal settlement was nothing more than tents, it’s rather incredible to look around you and see brick houses and more home additions in progress such as bathrooms complete with showers. Settling isn’t really in their vocabulary when they know they have the capacity to make something better.

This same idea of progress is probably best exhibited in the last house I visited that day. This particular women just maybe a year ago had her single, small dwelling. She now has a complete bathroom and another house next to her where her grown son and his family lives. This same woman has been on her own now as her husband recently moved away. And she’s doing great. Whereas just last year she had trouble taking on large amounts of orders in Tantakuna due to health problems, today she finds herself bored as she has already finished her work for the next order. She, like many others, isn’t one to dwell on the past or possible obstacles, but she sees what she can do better and how she can make her future brighter.

As with any developing area, there are those who have obtained their giant houses through more illegal means. It’s disconcerting to see elegantly painted five room houses amidst the humble abodes of those in Ushpa, but it isn’t that uncommon. If you ask those around, they will tell you that the owners of this type of house have either worked in Spain (before Spain decided to take down the Eurozone in conjunction with Greece) or they are cocaine suppliers. It’s unfortunate, but it’s a reality the people have to contend with.

In other excruciatingly exciting news, snow has been bestowed upon the surrounding mountains, capturing the attentions of millions. Though it is winter here, it is unusual to have any sort of precipitation in these months. Friday and Saturday were complete downpours, as evidenced by the next three days that would follow without wifi. During these times of contemplation as I didn't feel quite well enough to leave the house, I read a book I initially had negative amounts of interest in, I studied some Arabic for the first time in months, and consumed a bit too much locally made peanut butter. In general, it's always good to disconnect ourselves from the blackholes we succumb to with the internet, but I do miss the luxuries it provides.

To return to the snow, I was lucky to get a clear view of the white-peaked mountains on Monday while the pollution remained in check. And with the help of almost every member of my host family, I was reminded of the snow's presence and how I should go see it more than a few times. Between the excitement over simple weather happenings, painting my host mom's nails as she rushes to a luncheon (thank goodness her eyesight isn't perfect), and the incessant warmth extended by the family to me and all their volunteers, it's hard to not actually feel like part of the family".

- Holly, United States