Cochabamba: City of Eternal Spring

Hola a todos,

I think I've made it 6 days in Bolivia with no "travelers sickness" aka major diarrhea; so I think that's noteworthy! I am getting adjusted to life in Cochabambaba, which I find more comfortable than La Paz because of the good climate here. It's normally sunny and around 80 degrees, cooler at night and in the morning. I have noticed that the sun rays here are bien fuerte, and it is necessary to wear sunscreen and even long sleeves much of the time. While I brought a few pairs of shorts it doesn't seem that many people wear them here so I am watching and waiting to see if I should. Pants and long skirts seem to be the dress for women.

                                                            La Plaza 14 de Septimebre


          The downtown area called El Prado

So I'm living in the Sustainable Bolivia house and currently it is quiet (which I like) with only 8 total volunteers ( a few in home stays) and 4 staff members. While the home must have once been very nice, it's a bit run down, but you kinda get used to that. I arrived last Monday, August 29th, the same day as Amalie from Denmark. We have become fast friends and are figuring out the situation and the city here together which is nice. Her English and Spanish are great and she will be here interning in immigration studies at IDEA for 3 months. I also spend a lot of time with the staff Nicole and Millie from Australia and their Cochibambino partners (Nicole is married to Marcelo), Alex the director from the UK, AnneSofie from France (who is learning English and Spanish) and Andrea an older woman from New Zealand who was born in California and spent her 20s in New York. There are many others who pass through the house for shared dinners, language lessons or are past volunteers just saying hello. I have just recently met some of the staff at my volunteering site Mosoj Yan, but I will get to that later as I'm just getting started with that. Monday will be my real first day at the women's shelter as well as my first official Spanish class. In the meantime this past week I have been keeping busy getting to know everyone and the town. Some things I have learned since arriving is that there is a big water shortage here. We save water everywhere we can, saving dish and shower water in buckets to pour on the garden. I think the local people only wash clothes and bath a few times per week, and running out of water for a few days is common (as are other inconveniences such as road closures due to strikes and protests).  The staff here checks the water tank to see when it's getting empty and then calls for a city truck to drive down and fill it, hopefully before it is completely empty. I've been washing my clothes by hand so far in buckets and hanging them on the line, but I can also walk them down to a lavanderia and wash about 2 kilos worth for 32Bs, or about $4.50. That's the other thing; kilos, celcius, military time, all will take me awhile to adjust to!


        Amalie washing clothes in the courtyard


     The center of the house, the kitchen at Sustainable Bolivia


                        Reading room

So what have I been doing with my time? Well, I've made some excellent breakfasts and enjoyed shared dinners. I've been walking to all the local markets and grocery stores to find out where they are, the price differences and to stock up on basic items for the week. We had a movie night at the house where we watched a pretty good movie on Bolivia with Sandra Bullock, "our brand is crisis" which might be good to watch (I enjoyed it), even though it only gives a very slight feel of the country. I've been sprucing up my room (that's really not saying much), going to meetings at Mosoj Yan, and going out with people at the house to find the best lunch spots. I even ate at a Hari Krishna vegetarian restraint which was decent! A few days ago AnneSofie and I hiked to the top of the Christo, which I think due to the elevation left me completely spent with my legs shaking. It is a straight march up countless stairs to the top of a hill with the second largest Christ statue in the world. We live only a 10 minutes walk from the base of it. I think Sunday I will attend a mass there, which I do believe is dedication! I also walked yesterday down the Prado or upscale downtown street, along the river and to an outdoor climbing gym! I talked to the owner and got the hours so I will come back and climb next week. The equipment seemed good, he was a very knowledgable climber and I have heard from several people there are some good outdoor areas to climb close by. Yesterday I also went to my first salsa class with Amalie, which was fun, but difficult as I don't know anything about salsa and it was all in Spanish. It seemed to be a class mostly of young university students from the local university San Martin. We'll have to see how that all pans out. I missed going to a Q'oa last night, which is a traditional celebration of pacha mama or mother earth, because I wasn't feeling great. I think the event surrounds burning small offerings including coca leaves on coal, thanking pacha mama, drinking chicha (a local drink of fermented corn) and listening to traditional music with Andean flutes. Everyone assured me it was a good event so I'll have to check it out when they do it again next month. Last night I made my own pot of coca tea and maybe an hour later I felt fine. Coca tea tastes great and is used to help many things here. To drink the tea makes you feel calm, but to chew the leaves gives you energy and keeps you up. 

I've been taking photos of most places I go, but a few like the major local markets I haven't yet because I don't want my phone to be stolen. You have to be vigilant all the time of your things, but other than that I've felt safe in our neighborhood and in the city. Below are more photos to give you a feel of the place!  Miss you all :) 



            Shared dinner at Sustainable Bolivia

The usual breakfast I make with yogurt and papaya, egg sandwich and coca tea

                                    Peach tea and a chocolate doughnut, dinner of champions


                 



                                 

           Outdoor rock climbing area near the river

                         





Amalie holding a local girl, AnnSofie and Andrea out to an evening of jazz

Local market with woman selling vegetables

                                                   View of the street at night

View of the Christo from the balcony of Sustainable Bolivia

Streets of Cochabamba

                    AnnSofie and I climbing the Christo, the second tallest Christo in the world.

                                                       

                                                The Christo on the hill above Cochabamba

View of the city from the hill of the Christo

                                                The teleferico up to the Christo

View from el teleferico (the gondola)

View from inside the Christo. You can only go inside on Sundays. The steps inside are steep and precarious

                                           AnnSofie, Amalie and I taking a rest in a park










Local fish lunch with rice, salad and yucca












        Gopal: Vegetarian restaurant and hostel
 



       








Beautiful children's park in Cochabamba