Thursday, February 14, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
the thing that always keeps me wanting more....
I am somewhat addicted to writing in lists because it lets me get more of what has happened down in a faster manner. My life here is so unexpected and random- here is an example of some of the ups and downs in my past WEEK;
Bad
1. I had to say goodbye to Chris… I was then immediately left missing him more than ever. I then had to readjust to being alone again after being with the best companion for an entire month.
2. I was ready to leave on the train the day Chris left and get back to my work and life in San Jose- but instead was stuck in Santa Cruz for the next week because of horrible flooding- a river (which usually could only qualify as a stream) overflowed covering the highway and train tracks.
4. My good friend Hannah Kim signed her early termination papers and headed back to the USA.
5. When I finally got back to San José I found that there was not a single piece of fruit or a vegetable to be found- we are talking not even potatoes, onions or beets!!!!
6. The water went out.
7. Was really thirsty- drank a jugo and I got a fever and stomachache.
8. It was carnaval- for 4 days water balloons and squirt guns are filled with ink and sprayed at whomever walks by… not having many clothes and not being too into the San José party scene- I basically hid out!
Good
1. While I was stuck in Santa Cruz, there was a ceremony signifying the “online relationship” between the US and Bolivia. It seemed to be a pretty big deal. I got to represent Basic San at the event and met Ambassador Goldberg again, along with Rubin Costas (the head politician in Santa Cruz) and many other important people!
2. Since the train was out- I got to fly to Robore in a private Jet (well private Cessna). Then double bonus, an hour later got a ride to San José, from a distant family member!
3. Jenny (my site mate) and I got asked to be judges of the Carnaval parade, in which everyone joins up with their comparsa – crew of friends- and does a little song or dance routine for the judges, sometimes even bribing us with drinks. Being the official judges we were also given all the food and drinks we wanted- not a bad deal!
4. On the last day of Carnaval the “abuelos” (people carrying out their Chiquitano origin traditions- dancing, drinking for the whole of carnaval) came over to our house, where I happened to be hiding out. Dancing, holding hands in a circle to their traditional music, made me realize this is when I am the happiest in Bolivia- when I truly feel like I am a part of something very different than what I would experience in the states.
As you can see my from my list, sometimes in Peace Corps the good outweighs the bad in quantity… but the thing is that the good things are so great that it makes it all worth it.
Bad
1. I had to say goodbye to Chris… I was then immediately left missing him more than ever. I then had to readjust to being alone again after being with the best companion for an entire month.
2. I was ready to leave on the train the day Chris left and get back to my work and life in San Jose- but instead was stuck in Santa Cruz for the next week because of horrible flooding- a river (which usually could only qualify as a stream) overflowed covering the highway and train tracks.
4. My good friend Hannah Kim signed her early termination papers and headed back to the USA.
5. When I finally got back to San José I found that there was not a single piece of fruit or a vegetable to be found- we are talking not even potatoes, onions or beets!!!!
6. The water went out.
7. Was really thirsty- drank a jugo and I got a fever and stomachache.
8. It was carnaval- for 4 days water balloons and squirt guns are filled with ink and sprayed at whomever walks by… not having many clothes and not being too into the San José party scene- I basically hid out!
Good
1. While I was stuck in Santa Cruz, there was a ceremony signifying the “online relationship” between the US and Bolivia. It seemed to be a pretty big deal. I got to represent Basic San at the event and met Ambassador Goldberg again, along with Rubin Costas (the head politician in Santa Cruz) and many other important people!
2. Since the train was out- I got to fly to Robore in a private Jet (well private Cessna). Then double bonus, an hour later got a ride to San José, from a distant family member!
3. Jenny (my site mate) and I got asked to be judges of the Carnaval parade, in which everyone joins up with their comparsa – crew of friends- and does a little song or dance routine for the judges, sometimes even bribing us with drinks. Being the official judges we were also given all the food and drinks we wanted- not a bad deal!
4. On the last day of Carnaval the “abuelos” (people carrying out their Chiquitano origin traditions- dancing, drinking for the whole of carnaval) came over to our house, where I happened to be hiding out. Dancing, holding hands in a circle to their traditional music, made me realize this is when I am the happiest in Bolivia- when I truly feel like I am a part of something very different than what I would experience in the states.
As you can see my from my list, sometimes in Peace Corps the good outweighs the bad in quantity… but the thing is that the good things are so great that it makes it all worth it.
memories of a great month......
The past month flew by… I didn’t even think about checking my email, or writing a blog. It was without a doubt one of the best months of my life. The day after Christmas, my boyfriend Chris flew from New York’s JFK airport, to the Miami airport and then finally in to the Viru Viru airport in Santa Cruz Bolivia, where I was waiting for him. After more than 8 months I felt my stomach flipping as I watched for his silhouette through the shaded glass doors. Within the first minute that he walked into the waiting room I knew that it was going to be an amazing month- and it was.
We first spent a few days in a fancy hotel in Santa Cruz with a big pool, air conditioning (to ease Chris into the Santa Cruz heat) and a bathroom with a hairdryer and a sink that hot, warm and cold water comes from (this is now mind blowing to me). We were incredibly happy to be together again, and even the simplest things were wonderful.
From this nice hotel we set out to begin our real Bolivian adventures. We traveled to a small town in the valleys of the Andes Mountains called Samaipata. It is about 2 hours away from Santa Cruz up a long, windy, narrow road by shared taxi. Here Chris got his first experience of Bolivian driving. He also got to see me in action arguing with the taxi driver about leaving our luggage on top of the roof when it started raining. (I have become pretty forceful about getting what I want-in a good way, especially in Spanish) When we arrived in Samaipata we were stunned by the beautiful mountains surrounding us, and interested in the quaint pueblo, which reminded me of an old western ski town. We stayed at a wonderful hostel that served breakfasts of fresh fruit, real French bread and homemade blackberry jam. Overall, the eating in Samaipata was very good. Groups of foreigners have moved in (mostly Dutch, German and French) supposedly because of the good energy that surrounds the nearby Incan ruins. We were very happy about this because we ate some of our best meals in Bolivia here. Besides eating we spent our time relaxing, reading and hiking. Andres, the owner of the hostel took us on an amazing hike with a couple of other people. In this hike (seen in the pictures) we hiked up a small mountain outside of town. From here we had the most gorgeous view of the foothills of the Andes on all sides of us. Then we continued along a mountain ridge and descended on the other side, finding beautiful waterfalls, and Bolivian beach volleyball- an amazing hike! The only bad part of this trip was that Chris got a sickness, which seemed like a shortened version of Dengue to me. After a few days of rest, he was feeling better and we went on to San José.
It was so great to have Chris in San José. Here he got to see and understand my daily life. He met most of my neighborhood and family friends. He got to see what a typical day is like for me, how frustrated I can get waiting at the local government for meetings, which often end up being nothing to do with me or my projects. He got to see that sometimes no matter how hard I want to do work and progress on projects, I will have no support, or be told that it is a bad time. He got to experience the daily weird, unexpected things that I have now come to accept. For example one day we went for a walk down the dirt road, which I run on every day. All of a sudden we started smelling a really bad smell, and I mean a really bad smell. We noticed something that looked like an organ on the ground in front of us. A few steps later we noticed another, and then another. We decided that something had definitely been dragged down the road. The smell continued to get worse and worse, until we saw the culprit, the remains of a pig’s body which had been stripped and picked apart. Gross! Later we encountered an even bigger surprise, a 6 + foot snake slithered out on the road in front of us. He continued on his way pretty fast, but we saw enough of him to be freaked out! After a couple of relaxing weeks of cooking, hiking and just plain living in San José we traveled up to visit a couple of Peace Corps friend’s sites in the region.
We spent a day in Robore drinking cafesitos provided by my friend Abe and took a dip in the local swimming hole before heading up to Santiago. I may have mentioned my love for Santiago before, and with Chris it was even better. Strangely enough Santiago has a 5 star hotel even though it is a pueblo of 1000 people. We stayed in the most beautiful hotel room ever at the price of 25 US dollars a night. (Pretty steep for here!!)In Santiago we did some more great hiking and spent some time with my Peace Corps/Fordham friend Josh Lincoln. The climate in Santiago is a little cooler than in San José, making for some wonderful day hikes and cozy nights. Before we knew it was time to head back to San José and then back to Santa Cruz!
Some of the most memorable moments during Chris’s visit:
1. The tension waiting for him to come
2. His crazy jungle fever in Samaipata- practically carrying him home from New Years dinner
3. The Huuuuuge snake
4. A crazy cholita (the traditionally native dressed woman) dwarf unprovoked attack on Chris’s leg in Santa Cruz
5. Our homemade pizza competition, which was done mostly by the light of my headlamp and candles because of a power outtage- we declared a tie- but Chris’s sesame crust, chicken and pepper pizza may have beat out my more traditional garden veggie delight,
6. Can- Can Jumps at Los Pozos
7. Arriving in San José expecting to find Chris’s Christmas Hammock mostly finished by the artisan, but instead seeing that it was only about 3 inches long… and the multiple trips to speed along the work that followed
8. Chicken dinners at Pollo Monica- especially trying to make friends with the wooden stake-throwing boy
9. The luxurious life that comes with American money- fancy dinners, fancy hotels, large pools and saunas!
10. Enjoying the vida tranquila- siestas, yoga, waking up everyday to decide what we wanted to do….
We first spent a few days in a fancy hotel in Santa Cruz with a big pool, air conditioning (to ease Chris into the Santa Cruz heat) and a bathroom with a hairdryer and a sink that hot, warm and cold water comes from (this is now mind blowing to me). We were incredibly happy to be together again, and even the simplest things were wonderful.
From this nice hotel we set out to begin our real Bolivian adventures. We traveled to a small town in the valleys of the Andes Mountains called Samaipata. It is about 2 hours away from Santa Cruz up a long, windy, narrow road by shared taxi. Here Chris got his first experience of Bolivian driving. He also got to see me in action arguing with the taxi driver about leaving our luggage on top of the roof when it started raining. (I have become pretty forceful about getting what I want-in a good way, especially in Spanish) When we arrived in Samaipata we were stunned by the beautiful mountains surrounding us, and interested in the quaint pueblo, which reminded me of an old western ski town. We stayed at a wonderful hostel that served breakfasts of fresh fruit, real French bread and homemade blackberry jam. Overall, the eating in Samaipata was very good. Groups of foreigners have moved in (mostly Dutch, German and French) supposedly because of the good energy that surrounds the nearby Incan ruins. We were very happy about this because we ate some of our best meals in Bolivia here. Besides eating we spent our time relaxing, reading and hiking. Andres, the owner of the hostel took us on an amazing hike with a couple of other people. In this hike (seen in the pictures) we hiked up a small mountain outside of town. From here we had the most gorgeous view of the foothills of the Andes on all sides of us. Then we continued along a mountain ridge and descended on the other side, finding beautiful waterfalls, and Bolivian beach volleyball- an amazing hike! The only bad part of this trip was that Chris got a sickness, which seemed like a shortened version of Dengue to me. After a few days of rest, he was feeling better and we went on to San José.
It was so great to have Chris in San José. Here he got to see and understand my daily life. He met most of my neighborhood and family friends. He got to see what a typical day is like for me, how frustrated I can get waiting at the local government for meetings, which often end up being nothing to do with me or my projects. He got to see that sometimes no matter how hard I want to do work and progress on projects, I will have no support, or be told that it is a bad time. He got to experience the daily weird, unexpected things that I have now come to accept. For example one day we went for a walk down the dirt road, which I run on every day. All of a sudden we started smelling a really bad smell, and I mean a really bad smell. We noticed something that looked like an organ on the ground in front of us. A few steps later we noticed another, and then another. We decided that something had definitely been dragged down the road. The smell continued to get worse and worse, until we saw the culprit, the remains of a pig’s body which had been stripped and picked apart. Gross! Later we encountered an even bigger surprise, a 6 + foot snake slithered out on the road in front of us. He continued on his way pretty fast, but we saw enough of him to be freaked out! After a couple of relaxing weeks of cooking, hiking and just plain living in San José we traveled up to visit a couple of Peace Corps friend’s sites in the region.
We spent a day in Robore drinking cafesitos provided by my friend Abe and took a dip in the local swimming hole before heading up to Santiago. I may have mentioned my love for Santiago before, and with Chris it was even better. Strangely enough Santiago has a 5 star hotel even though it is a pueblo of 1000 people. We stayed in the most beautiful hotel room ever at the price of 25 US dollars a night. (Pretty steep for here!!)In Santiago we did some more great hiking and spent some time with my Peace Corps/Fordham friend Josh Lincoln. The climate in Santiago is a little cooler than in San José, making for some wonderful day hikes and cozy nights. Before we knew it was time to head back to San José and then back to Santa Cruz!
Some of the most memorable moments during Chris’s visit:
1. The tension waiting for him to come
2. His crazy jungle fever in Samaipata- practically carrying him home from New Years dinner
3. The Huuuuuge snake
4. A crazy cholita (the traditionally native dressed woman) dwarf unprovoked attack on Chris’s leg in Santa Cruz
5. Our homemade pizza competition, which was done mostly by the light of my headlamp and candles because of a power outtage- we declared a tie- but Chris’s sesame crust, chicken and pepper pizza may have beat out my more traditional garden veggie delight,
6. Can- Can Jumps at Los Pozos
7. Arriving in San José expecting to find Chris’s Christmas Hammock mostly finished by the artisan, but instead seeing that it was only about 3 inches long… and the multiple trips to speed along the work that followed
8. Chicken dinners at Pollo Monica- especially trying to make friends with the wooden stake-throwing boy
9. The luxurious life that comes with American money- fancy dinners, fancy hotels, large pools and saunas!
10. Enjoying the vida tranquila- siestas, yoga, waking up everyday to decide what we wanted to do….
some of the ups!
Judges for the Carnaval parade
Being bribed... that is an unidentified alcoholic drink in a shell, and my friend Petagoras!
Leaving on a jet plane...
Proudly representing basic san!
Being bribed... that is an unidentified alcoholic drink in a shell, and my friend Petagoras!
Leaving on a jet plane...
Proudly representing basic san!
Friday, February 1, 2008
a note from Chris.......
It’s been a little less than a week since my return from visiting my girlfriend Anna in Bolivia. When asked about my trip it’s hard to describe everything in one neat package. Bolivia was never a place I saw myself wanting to travel to let alone stay an entire month. It’s the second poorest nation in the western hemisphere and worst of all landlocked!!!!! (I couldn’t get used to the idea of there being no coastline). However, being able to see and spend much needed quality time with my girlfriend has been a priority since she left eight months earlier.
After settling back to life at home in New York, my experiences from this trip have begun to make me realize how special it was. While there are a few crazy mishaps and occurrences (i.e. seeing a 6ft plus black snake slither in front of our path while on a walk , being sick for New Years Eve with a horrible fever and getting chased by a Bolivian woman dwarf in the city) that happened to us along the way , my experience in Bolivia was an amazing one. Hiking beautiful trails and mountains in Samaipata, learning more about Bolivian culture and visiting other PCV’s sites were just a few parts of my trip that made it unique and special.
At the same time there are many problems and serious issues faced by people who live down there. Poverty is widespread and there is civil unrest in which the country is divided. This was noticeable the entire length of my visit. The challenges faced by PCV’s can be overwhelming for almost anyone. Slow service, delayed schedules and long periods of travel on sketchy passageways are just a few obstacles to mention about life in Bolivia. Although there are stark differences between Bolivian and American cultures, most Bolivians were friendly and interested in my thoughts of their country. Over time, I became used to the “tranquilo” (laidback, easygoing) way of life down there. Afternoon naps (siesta) and slow pace living were a refreshing experience.
The weeks went by so fast its hard to explain my emotions when it came time to go home. It was great to see everything Anna has been a part for the past nine months but it was sad to leave her. My month spent with Anna in Bolivia opened my eyes to a different part of the world and I can’t wait to head back down to South America.
Chris G.
After settling back to life at home in New York, my experiences from this trip have begun to make me realize how special it was. While there are a few crazy mishaps and occurrences (i.e. seeing a 6ft plus black snake slither in front of our path while on a walk , being sick for New Years Eve with a horrible fever and getting chased by a Bolivian woman dwarf in the city) that happened to us along the way , my experience in Bolivia was an amazing one. Hiking beautiful trails and mountains in Samaipata, learning more about Bolivian culture and visiting other PCV’s sites were just a few parts of my trip that made it unique and special.
At the same time there are many problems and serious issues faced by people who live down there. Poverty is widespread and there is civil unrest in which the country is divided. This was noticeable the entire length of my visit. The challenges faced by PCV’s can be overwhelming for almost anyone. Slow service, delayed schedules and long periods of travel on sketchy passageways are just a few obstacles to mention about life in Bolivia. Although there are stark differences between Bolivian and American cultures, most Bolivians were friendly and interested in my thoughts of their country. Over time, I became used to the “tranquilo” (laidback, easygoing) way of life down there. Afternoon naps (siesta) and slow pace living were a refreshing experience.
The weeks went by so fast its hard to explain my emotions when it came time to go home. It was great to see everything Anna has been a part for the past nine months but it was sad to leave her. My month spent with Anna in Bolivia opened my eyes to a different part of the world and I can’t wait to head back down to South America.
Chris G.
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