One of our last days in La Paz we visited an organization called Mujeres Creando. It is a group of anarchist feminists that perform nonviolent protests to not only inform the general population, but to facilitate change. Julieta Paredes is the leader of the movement and she spoke to us and it was mind-blowing! She talked about all the different types of oppression that exist in Bolivia (class, race and sex) and gave us a very quick, painless and solid history of the feminist movements in the world and in Bolivia. We got to see a few of the 'protests' that they have done in the past and the best way I can describe it is as "performance art." But, Julieta was very clear that what they were doing was not art. They use creativity to fight for a change, they are not artists. She also talked a lot about the public space and how powerful it is in Bolivia and compared the use of public space in Bolivia to the use of public space in the states for the Occupy movements! Who would have thought that comparison would work, but it is exactly the same! The people of Bolivia live and work on the streets. If your mom sells fruit in the market, after school you go to help her sell her fruit. And it's very likely that if you want to visit your aunt you'll go down a few stalls and visit her stand where she sells bread. That's their back porch, where you have tea, catch up with family and friends and gossip. But the most interesting thought she discussed was the idea of men, women and intersexuals being part of the same body. This way of looking at gender puts everyone on an equal playing field. If men are beating women, they are beating their left arm, and without their left arm, they can't work. Julieta sees gender within these terms and I think I agree. You can't separate men from women, just like you can't take off your right hand and expect to function as if nothing happened. I bought one of her books that I'm slowly working through, and I'm just in awe. I feel like if I try to articulate more of arguments I will just fail miserably because these ideas are so new to me, but make so much sense, especially after all my experiences with machismo in Bolivia! Not saying I'm about to turn into a hard core feminist, but Julieta has a very profound way of seeing the world through her creative, feminist, anarchist, lesbian eyes that I will unfortunately never be able to fully grasp, but that I find to ring true. (Much like I will never be able to fully grasp the ideas of Andean cosmovision.)
And now I'm going to completely switch gears!!
We woke up early Friday morning to drive to La Isla del Sol and after all of our excursions, discussions and exploring the city we were all exhausted. We piled onto the bus and all immediately fell asleep, only to be awoken a few hours later where we had a discussion with the director of la Universidad Tupak Katari which is an indigenous Aymara village on the banks of Lago Titicaca. We met with the director and he told us all about the school. The students study in Spanish, English and their indigenous language which for most is Aymara, but there are a few that speak Quechua and Guarani. There are four different career tracks: veterinarian school, textiles, agrarian studies and nutricion. The university just opened in 2008, so it's very new and very exciting for the indigenous population of Bolivia to be able to study in their languages! At the end of their studies they are required to write a thesis in their language and they have so much pride for their culture and it must be so wonderful to be among other indigenous students. Because there tends to be a lot of discrimination against Indigenous students in the other universities as they often don't have to take the entrance exams and at times struggle to speak perfect Spanish. It's unfortunate, but a reality here in Bolivia. After the discussion with the director we had to opportunity to visit one of the four majors - and I bet you can guess which one I chose... TEXTILES! haha! We walked into the classroom and they had beautiful drafting tables, three industrial sergers, at least twenty industrial sewing machines, and three large weaving stands! I was in heaven! On the board they were learning how to draft a pattern for a woman's shirt and they all tape measures around their necks and pins sticking out of their mouths, it was just like being at SAIC! We all introduced ourselves and we got to ask them questions about their time at the university and what they do for fun, what they plan to do when they graduate, etc. etc. This university is also unique because most of the students stay in dorms there, which is a rarity! Most students live with family as apartments are very expensive. But their families live so far away, it makes more sense to stay during the week and return on the weekends. Many of them plan to take their new skills back to their community which is also a very cultural thing. In the states, once you have your degree it's rather rare to want to return to your hometown to work (not that it doesn't happen!) but the students at Tupak Katari are learning these skills so they can make more money for their community. They don't want to move to La Paz and make tons of money, they want to be with family. It was such an interesting idea and one that you don't often come across even in the cities with Bolivian students! It just illustrates another facet of the Vivir Bien ideals. After we talked they asked to take photos with us and we of course obliged! But they only wanted photos with the very obvious gringas -- aka myself (the girl that towers over everyone) and my friend Allison that is very blonde. I think the two of us took pictures with almost all the students in the textile class, and then some! But it was so uplifting I couldn't complain! Also I got to talk sewing techniques with a few of them which just made my life! Although it got a little awkward when we were leaving because the director was under the impression that we were going to spend the night in the dorms with the students... so when we all boarded the bus he was very sad. Hopefully the next SIT group will get to stay with them, because I'm sure it would make for a fascinating comparison to US universities!
We got back on the bus and continued towards La Isla... we still had 3 or so hours, and I spent most of the time asleep, along with the rest of my classmates! I didn't take any pictures at Mujeres Creando or Tupak Katari, so a picture of Lago Titicaca from the bus will have to suffice for this post!
To new views on gender and the importance of family,
Carly
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