Daily Life

I've talked a lot about our excursions around Bolivia, but realized I haven't said much about my day to day life in Cochabamba!  So you are going to get to see what life in Bolivia really looks like, because daily life while abroad is interesting!!

After two months I've gotten into a pretty steady routine.  If class starts at 9:30 I wake up around 8:00 to shower and eat breakfast.  And finally, I don't have any problems turning on the shower, although some times it is a little iffy as if I'll get hot water or lukewarm.  Luckily it's never freezing!  After getting ready I head down to the kitchen for breakfast which usually includes a piece of fresh bread with marmalade and a 'coffee.'  Coffee here is all instant, so I put two huge spoonfulls of mix, a spoonfull of sugar and boiling water!  I stir my concoction and sort of enjoy it... while watching the Bolivian today show which is called "La Revista."  It's pretty hilarious.  Some days there's a drag queen that does the news, other days they are a little more serious and have local music groups and chefs come in to perform and cook!  The other day they were advertising graduation ring sales and had a mock-graduation for the news anchors.  It's really quite funny!  Then it's off to the micro stop to go to class.  The micros here are wonderfully reliable.  They come every 15 minutes or so, especially at high traffic times like in the morning, before and after lunch, and at the end of the day.  I walk about a block to Blanco Galindo where I then cross the pasarella instead of crossing the two 4 lane highways ... it's much safe that way!

This view never gets old!

Waiting for my Micro in the shade of the Pasarella
(either X10 or E)

Inside the Micro to class
It costs 1 boliviano - aka 14 cents!

I get off the micro about 3 blocks from the SIT office and walk to class.  Some days, if I didn't have enough time I'll stop and buy a mandarina, water or pineapple to snack on during class.  Or if I'm early enough I'll go to Cafe Espresso for a morning coffee that is a little bit more real than the instant mix, but still nothing compared to coffee in the US.  Class lasts until about 12:30 and then it's home for lunch!  Missing lunch is frowned upon here.  I had to miss two lunches last week because I was so busy writing my proposals and papers and my family was sort of offended.  They thought I didn't like the food all of the sudden and were worried I wasn't eating.  But we sorted it all out and they understand now.  But missing meals and sleeping in are not common occurrences in the Bolivian family.  During the week our abuela makes lunch for us since my mom and dad both work and it's not nearly as big as the weekend lunches!  Usually it includes some type of meat (usually beef or chicken), rice, potatoes, fried plantains, a salad of tomatoes and onions (yes that's it), and of course llajwa (hot sauce) and coca cola!  Some days we get lucky and have homemade soup which is my favorite, although I usually find whole chicken organs, which I refuse to eat.  Yes, I have tried them, and no I didn't like them!  Other days we have chicken in a sweet sauce over pasta, or just plain pasta with tomato sauce which my family then adds ketchup to.. I'm not a fan of that meal.  It's definitely not italian pasta sauce, that's for sure!  But for the most part, the meals are delicious and filling and I'm definitely getting all the starches I could ever need!  After lunch, we wash the dishes and depending on how much time I have I usually take an afternoon siesta until I have to go back to class at 3:00!  To get back to the city I leave around 2:30 and repeat the same steps as in the morning.

A different micro to return home for lunch!

All the micros have their own design aesthetic:
Spongebob, Superheroes,
Wilstermann, Snoopy, Tazmanian Devil...

If we have Spanish class, as we often do in the afternoons, we get a 30 minute break to do whatever we want!  Usually this involves a massive trip to the food court around the block to the ice cream shop where they usually offer a 2 for 1 deal.  It's kind of like marble slab, in that they mix all the toppings into your ice cream for you!  It's amazing, although I miss American ice cream.  All the cheese and dairy products have a different taste here, and I don't really want to know why, but for the most part I limit my dairy intake here, aside from the ice cream!  Then it's back to class until 6:30, when we head our separate ways to go home.  I walk about 4 blocks to San Martin to wait for my micro, and usually end up waiting until close to 7 with all the traffic before my micro shows up.  Then it's about a 15-20 minute ride back home.  I'm usually the first one home, so I unwind a bit before settling down to do my readings and assignments for class.  Unwinding usually involves playing with the pug puppies!! When everyone arrives home we have 'cafecito' which is essentially dinner, but because lunch is so big, it's usually just leftovers from lunch or a piece of bread or bowl of cereal with tea, hot chocolate or coffee!  We usually eat around 9:30 or 10pm and watch the news, the telenovelas or my sister's favorite: Yo Me Lllamo, that is sort of like American Idol, except people try out as impersonators.  The trials are hilarious because so many people come in wanting to be Shakira, Michael Jackson, Christina they have little sing and dance offs and it's great!  

Returning at night
When I hold onto that top bar, my arm is bent at
a 90 degree angle...  that boy in the foreground
is about 5'6" hopefully now you
can understand my daily head hitting struggles!

Barbie

Barney

Other than that, my days are pretty normal.  Every once in a while the micros won't pick me up, but I've come to accept it.  Other days, the micro drivers demand I pay more won't give me change, but for the most part I don't have too many problems.  I think they have finally figured out that I'm here to stay (for at least a little longer) and I think it also helps that my Spanish is improving!  As for the cat calls, those still continue and I don't expect them to end.  Just today walking to the internet cafe to write all these posts a group of Bolivian boys walked past me and one of them said "All that I want" in English.  Thank you boys, but I'm going to cross the street now and get on with my life!  

To what I think has been a successful adjustment to Bolivian life,

Carly