August 15
My first day of work was great. At first I was terrified. I don't have a lot of experience working with children let alone children with down syndrome. The first half of the day was a bit stressful. I couldn't understand anyone because of the Spanish and I felt incredibly lost trying to interact with the children. My work counterpart seemed to be doing infinitely better than I. She seemed to be extremely comfortable working with the children and it was hard to believe her when she said she doesn't have any experience. We went back to her place for lunch and then back to the center for more work. The second half of the day was great. We got to go outside and watch the kids play lawn bowling and basketball. We were introduced to two other volunteers. One is a guy from America who is helping out with the gym activities since he studied exercise science and another is a girl from Hungary (who speaks English really well) who is helping out in the class rooms as she is studying to be a teacher for disabled children. Ally picked me up from work and we took the bus home. The bus driver decided he didn't want to drive to our stop so made everyone get off at a random stop! I had no clue where we were but thankfully Ally knew what bus we could grab to get us home.
The next day (the 12th) the Canada World Youth girls had a full day meeting. Our last “welcome to the culture” meeting. The activities seemed pretty tedious until around the end. The activity leader put a line of tape on the floor and marked one end with “agree” and one end with “disagree”. She then read a statement and we had to choose if we agreed, disagreed or were in the middle then explain why. The questions were along the lines of “ I accept religion in my life”, “I accept to live interculturally”, and “feminism is a good thing” (note these are paraphrased as how I remember them). It was really interesting to see where everyone stood. I was in the middle for every single one. Not because I couldn't make up my mind but because I didn't see my answer as being firmly “black or white”. After that we went for lunch and then all met up in the Plaza. We then started a game reminiscent of the “Amazing Race”. The Bolivian girls were split up into three checkpoints and the Canadian girls into teams of two with a supervisor. At first it seemed fun but as the day wore on it became more and more frustrating for me. Especially the part where we couldn't cross the street without the supervisor holding our hands! By the time we finished I was sweating my butt off (they didn't tell us we would be doing something physical like that in the heat so I was wearing jeans, sneakers and a sweater) and I was exhausted. We then had some juice and bread and Ally and I headed off for home.
The next day (13th) was work again. I helped out in the kitchen chopping up vegetables for the lunch, then went over to the bakery and “helped” in there (more like got in the way). Then the kids did a performance/practiced some of the dances that they were learning. Then it was lunch. Lunch is huge here! It’s definitely the main meal and I have trouble trying to finish even ¾ of it let alone the whole thing. After lunch we watched the kids outside again but it seemed a bit more lax then the first day. My work counterpart and I ended up just talking to the two other English speaking volunteers. That night most of the girls went out again. Though I was tempted I decided to go home since it was easier and it would be the first time I would get to meet Ally's dad as he's been away for work. I got my first bus alright and got off at the right stop for my second but then two buses passed by me before one stopped for me and I have no clue why! I waved my hand like everyone else, and they weren't even close to being full. I even looked the bus drivers straight in the eyes so I know they saw me! It took me almost half an hour longer to get home than usual, but I made it home alone! I was happy I chose to go home instead of out because I got to meet Ally's dad. He is incredibly nice and it was nice to see how the family interacted all together.
The next day (the 14th) I decided to go shopping in the morning with one of the girls from Canada World Youth since we both needed a few things. I took the bus into town by myself since Ally and her family went to a school to watch a school expo then Ally was going to her boyfriends. I was supposed to get to Alexander cafe at 10:30 and was told it would only be a ½ hour bus ride. I took the bus at 9:50 just to be on the safe side but didn't end up getting off at my stop until 10:50!
I am so thankful for the kind people here though! If it wasn't for a man on the bus I would have got off the bus only half way to my stop and then walked in the other direction! I asked a woman if we were close to the plaza in what had to be horrible broken Spanish but we didn’t understand each other. A man who was listening though helped me out and told me when to get off the bus.
The other girl and I went shopping and wandered a bit almost getting a little lost. We ended up going in circles. Again I am thankful for the people who sent us in the right direction. The people all seemed so happy to help. We stopped at a pharmacy to get some chemical solution to wash my strawberries with and the people working there seemed to enjoy talking to us and giving us directions so much! Then it was back to the plaza and into a restaurant for some late lunch. The restaurant was definitely a tourist place with a few English speaking people around (there really aren't many tourists here). I wanted to stay in the city as I thought some of the other girls were going to the movies or watching a movie that afternoon/night but I couldn't call anyone from my cell phone and didn't want to stay in the city alone so I ended up going home. I found the bus station alright and even managed to hail the bus and bus surf pretty well until a seat was vacant. But then, the bus driver stopped the bus and told us all to get off. I had no clue as to why! Then 2 other buses (all the bus number I needed to take) pulled up beside him and stopped as well. I was terrified. I knew I was at least close to the house but I didn't know how close, I couldn't call anyone from my cell phone and I knew almost no Spanish! I did know enough to ask two men on the bus why we stopped where we did. They didn't know so I told them I don't know Spanish very well, my phone doesn’t work and I don't know where I live! I had my address in my bag which I read to them but they didn't know where it was. They were very helpful and kind though and walked with me to a store so I could use the phone and call my house family to get me. By the time my house family got there the buses were running again! We got home and I was exhausted from the day and felt a bit sick (maybe a mix of anxiety and my huge lunch of nachos with beans, cheese and hamburger on them). My house mom made me a cup of special tea (I think it was something like Chamomile) and I relaxed a bit until Ally came home with her boyfriend. I thought I would just go to bed early since I was so tired but my family had other plans! I was rushed out of the house and down the street towards some seriously loud music. As I tured the corner I saw a parade was going on! It was beautiful! There were loads of people in the different traditional dress of Bolivia dancing different dances. It was so amazing I almost teared up a bit. It was then that it hit me. Yes I am in Bolivia, I am in a completely different culture and I am experiencing something amazing! I didn't know where we were going though and therefore didn't bring my camera or my purse. We then followed the parade to a square where there was a carnival of sorts set up. My family and I played “foosball” a ton and wandered around looking at everything. I wish we could eat food from street venders, it looked so good! There were candied apples, strawberries and cherries and chocolate covered apples with sprinkles. But of course, us Canadians have soft stomachs and therefore to eat such food is a bit dangerous for us. We then walked to a little restaurant/bar of sorts where we drank Coke (I swear Coca Cola has taken over Bolivia, it is everywhere. Along with Winnie the Pooh, no joke) and what Ally's dad called the “best beer Bolivia has” or something to that effect. We then went home for dinner and I fell into bed completely exhausted.
Today (the 15th) I slept until 9:30 which was great! Then Ally and I went to her uncles for lunch. I'm glad I gave up being vegetarian because the lunch was what I would describe as meat soup! It was authentically Brazilian as that family is Brazilian and it seemed to be ribs, sausages and something that I took to be Pig's fat/skin with maybe a tiny bit of beans in something like beef stock. It was good but I couldn't bring myself to eat all of the Pig fat. We stayed there for a while with Ally's adorablee cousins then went to the park to meet up with the rest of my house family. We walked around the park and there were two comedians doing a routine there. I couldn't understand much of it but they seemed to be hilarious. We walked along further to where an artists market was set up. Everything was beautiful but I didnt buy anything, I had bought enough the day before! We then took the bus home with Ally's family going to her uncles and Ally and I going home since we were both pretty tired and I really wanted to eat my strawberries I bought the day before! Again the bus stopped before our bus stop, this time because of the fair. Apparently it's a three day fair which is great but there were loads of drunk people today though it was only 4:30. I was told yesterday was the dancing and today and tomorrow is for drinking...
I'm loving getting to know the culture and I'm trying to be as open as possible. It is worth noting the cultural differences though. The food is something very apparent. It would be very hard to be a vegetarian here, at least while living under someone else’s roof. I've been eating chicken twice a day here (although it is very good and I think the iron is making my hair and nails grow like crazy!). And nearly everything is fried! Fried chicken, fried hamburger, fried potatoes, fried egg! Don't get me wrong, it's absolutely amazing but sometimes I think I could kill for a strawberry/banana smoothie!
Another cultural difference I've noticed is how it feels to be a woman here. In Canada I hardly register that I am a woman, I feel like a competent person who can take care of myself. Here I feel fragile, unable to fend for myself. Perhaps it is just the program or the families being a bit over protective since they have a stranger in their care. But I am told it is very dangerous to go out at night, even just to walk from the bus to my house (which takes about 3 minutes), we can't go out for a drink just two women, it has to be a large group. Plus the men here whistle non-stop! You could be a wearing a snowsuit walking down the street but if they knew you were a woman they would whistle! And when you're out your hand is always held when you cross the street! Or its even held the whole time you’re out and its dark! It makes me a tad paranoid when people grab my hand or arm to cross the street and I get confused. I'm pretty sure it's more dangerous for someone to hold onto me then to not!
I can see why most women here have boyfriends, husbands or at least best friends that are male. It seems like it would be much easier as you have someone who can walk you places and “protect you” if anything goes wrong. I guess that is why I feel so “fragile”, because I feel as a woman you actually need a man here whereas back home you don't.
I'm used to being self-sufficient and independent and to feel as though that's been stripped away from me, it scares me a bit. But it's all part of experiencing the culture and these are just my first observations! Perhaps I've got it wrong and just feel fragile because I'm in a new culture and these new customs are completely foreign to me!
Another cultural difference is the people. As Canadians we pride ourselves on being polite and un-aggressive but you should see these Bolivians! There isn't a person here that I have met who isn't so incredibly welcoming and kind! So far everyone I've met has gone out of their way to make me comfortable and feel welcomed. I hope a little bit of this trait can rub off on me!
As always I miss my family and friends every minute or every day, but I keep reminding myself that this is a once in a life-time experience that I will never forget and I know it is going to change me for the better!