Election Day

Today in Bolivia, the Presidential election is taking place and La Paz waits in silence while the people go out to make their vote. The political atmosphere in Bolivia has been nothing less than interesting and it has certainly been controversial, much like politics throughout all of Latin America. Throughout my time in Bolivia, I have heard varying opinions about Evo Morales, the current President of Bolivia, and it has been difficult in deciding on an opinion about him. There are always negative aspects of a government no matter what country it is, and in Latin America, corruption is a defining characteristic, thus the government of Evo has not been viewed very differently from the rest. This is not to say that the government of Evo Morales is not a unique situation; it is a completely new situation for not only the people of Bolivia but also for all indigenous people throughout the world. Evo may not be a perfect President but he is the first indigenous President ever to be elected and that is something to be said.

Before leaving Cochabamba there was a lot of talk about the presidential candidates and there was a lot of discussion about who was going to vote for who and why. It soon became obvious that the middle class was in support of Manfred, Evo’s opposing candidate, and the lower class was in support of Evo. The indigenous population dominates Bolivia and they are fiercely proud to have a President that represents their social class. There are even people from the middle class who are happy that there is someone who can finally represent the people of Bolivia, not just a small percentage of them. The change Evo has created is an interesting and controversial issue, and there is so much debate about the amount of good versus the amount of bad Evo is doing. Evo is criticized for creating social tensions between the lower and upper classes, for legalizing coca production, which has led to an increase in narco-trafficking, and for causing the economy to go downhill. He has also been given credit for good things such as developing parts of rural society and for meeting the demands of the indigenous population, something that has not been done with past Presidents.

I had a friend say once that he would vote for Evo simply because Evo has broken the cycle of politics in Latin America. Evo has brought to the forefront a part of society that has been continuously ignored throughout all of history. This really is significant and it weighs on the situation at hand. Do we let Latin America continue its’ cycle of rich politicians ruling society or do we support the change Evo has brought, even if it some of the change is negative? There is worry about Bolivia turning into another Venezuela, a country that has continued to eliminate the rights of it’s’ citizens. Hugo Chavez is a large influence on the acts of Evo Morales, thus I do not blame Bolivians for being worried.

There is no doubt that Evo is going to win this election. He is in the running at this moment and he will win by a landslide. There is doubt about how Bolivia will turn out. What will the future bring? Only time will tell.

A Bittersweet Goodbye

As our final days came to an end in Cochabamba, we all realized how much we had become attached to this beautiful city in Bolivia. To say we had an incredible time is a bit of an understatement; it was an unforgettable experience that brought us to new points in our life and one that has brought us to an understanding with a culture so different from our own. We each have own feelings towards Cochabamba and we each developed our own bonds with people, but I feel that we all have a common sentiment toward our experience and we are each sad to leave so soon.

I would like to take some time to tell you all about my host family. I do not think that I really said much, if anything at all, about them and I feel that they deserve some recognition because they were a large part of my experience. In the beginning, I was very nervous about staying with a host family because I was not sure what kind of people they were going to be or how it was going to work out. My worries were soon faded away; I could not have been placed with a better family. Andrea and Alvaro, my host parents, are two incredible people with so much love to share and they made me feel more than welcome in their home. I developed some very strong bonds with them and I know that they will be life friends. Their children were also a daily joy, always asking me questions in Spanish that I could never understand. I felt very proud by the end when I could finally understand what they were saying to me :).

The most difficult part about leaving Cochabamba was the torn feeling between wanting to stay and wanting to go home. Of course, I miss my family back in the states and three months is a long time to be away, but it is difficult to leave people who you have become so close with knowing that it is not going to be easy to return. Stopping by for a weekend barbeque becomes impossible when you have an ocean between you.

For any of you who are interested in doing a study abroad program I highly recommend living with a host family. I could not have learned the things that I did without living with a family during the time I was in Cochabamba. I became a part of their daily lives, learned about their hardships and their happiness, and above all, I felt like I truly belonged. I now feel like Cochabamba is home to me. It is my home away from home and a place that I will always hold dear to my heart.

Uyuni - The Salt Flats

Hello All! Just want to share a few photos and a few words about Uyuni with you all! Uyuni is an absolutely breath taking place with many natural wonders to see. We did a three-day jeep ride through which we saw many wonderful, beautiful sights and we were able to experience a part of Bolivia completely different from where we lived. The salt flats are incredible: an endless paradise in the middle of a desert with no end in sight. It is easy to feel small in the middle of such a huge wonder, especially with the absence of towns throughout it all. One night we stayed in a “ghost town”, a town with only three residents and the remains of what was once a town. All of the town members had left years before in search of work and only one family decided to stay behind. They have turned it into a hotel spot for tourist doing the tours in Uyuni and they seem to be doing just fine with the income they make off their business. It is an interesting concept to think people can desert an entire town because there is no work and it brings to mind how isolated these towns are from developed parts of the country. They had the choice to leave but their options are limited and their new choices will only take them so far.

Unfortunately, we did not have a guide that was able to explain all the geological reasoning of Uyuni, but we were still able to appreciate the beauty and the wonder of it all. There really isn’t much else to say about Uyuni aside from it being a beautiful wonder and must see spot for those who have a desire to see nature’s beauty at its best. I have posted a few of my favorite pictures from the trip. Hope you enjoy :).

What a Man

An interesting article on the current situation in Venezuela. Chavez is incredible: a man who doens´t seem to think he has any limits (and I don´t mean incredible in the sense of greatness).

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/11/world/americas/11venez.html?ref=americas

La vida es una caja

Today I did an oral presentation in my spanish class about immigrants in the United States. I´m sure many of you know it is a controversial issue and there are a lot of mixed sentiments towards immigrants. After my presentation we discussed our opinions on the issue and talked about why we think there is still so much discrimination throughout the world. Hannah and our professor, Toni, brought up an interesting concept that I think puts discrimination into a perspective that can be understood by all. We all live in boxes: our ideas, our beliefs, our homes, our transportation, etc. Everything is made into a box and we choose to stay within that box. It is like a comfort zone that we refuse to leave or look outside of. Ideas are passed down from generation to generation and with that discrimination continues, as does the box. Below is a poem Toni read to us. It is in spanish and my translating skills aren´t exactly the best so I´m just going to post it as is and let you do with it what you will. Hope you enjoy.

Cuadrados y ángulos

Casas enfiladas, casas enfiladas, casas enfiladas.

cuadrados, cuadrados, cuadrados.

casas enfiladas.

Las gentes ya tienen el alma cuadrada,

ideas en fila

y ángulo en la espalda

Yo misma he vertido ayer una lágrima,

Dios mio, cuadrada

-Alfonsina Storni

Los Cleferos

I´m not sure if many of you remember me mentioning in my first blog the children who live on the street here in Bolivia. As I have heard, it is fairly common for children to live in the streets throughout all of Latin America and I´m sure what I am about to say goes for all street children, not just those who live here in Cochabamba.

Los cleferos are the children who live in the street here and get high by sniffing glue. Obviously, they become highly addicted and they are often times dangerous to encounter because of their tendencies towards aggression and for robbing people. There are several reasons for them living in the streets, many which I am still learning about, but the two main reasons seem to be because they have escaped an abusive household and would rather live in the street or they have no other option. The majority, if not all, of the orphanages here only allow children to live there up to a certain age, usually 14, and once they reach the age limit they are forced out onto the streets. You can only imagine the large amount of children there are without a home.

Today on the news they were talking about how the police are going into the streets to ¨capture¨ los cleferos and take them to a home. I feel like this is only a half attempt to really solve the problems of los cleferos and it doesn´t really do much good at all. Many of los cleferos end up escaping the homes they are taken to and return to the streets to continue doing drugs.

It is really a difficult situation that requires strong action from both the government and the community, something that is not happening right now. There are people who work with los cleferos, some in the streets individually and some with organizations. My host dad´s sister works with an organization called Mosojyan, which means ¨new path¨in quechua. They largely work with young girls who become pregnant, trying to give them jobs so they can become self sustainable. For those who work with Mosojyan the pay is very little for the hard work they do.

This brings to mind the little pay the social workers receive in the United States. It is hard to understand why those who work so hard to help solve the problems of others receive such little in return. I believe it is something that strongly needs to be addressed and changed not only for the sake of social workers but for those who need help as well.

I wish I had answers for how Bolivia could change the current situation of los cleferos. I think the policies of the orphanages definitely need to be addressed and there also needs to be some way to address abusive home issues. For those who are taken to homes, their psychological issues need to be treated and transitioning them from drug addiction is also highly important.

These are only my opinions: opinions that I´m sure others have held as well. In the United States we are very fortunate to have a goverment that functions well enough to effectively address the issues of homeless children. Of couse our system isn´t perfect, but in comparison to Bolivia I think we have a better working system, thus a better situation and better options.

Furthermore, I don´t think the issue of los cleferos is only a Bolivian issue but rather a wordly issue. This might make it too broad of an issue to be addressed but all the same it is a pressing issue that communities need to address individually. All children deserve a future and it is up to the human population to ensure they are given the opportunity.

Chapare

Hola Amigos!! I have an exciting tip to share with you all! This past weekend mis amigos y yo went to Chapare, a town located in the tropical area of Bolivia. It is a bit of a tourist town for both Bolivians and gringos although it doesn´t appear that way at all. We stayed in a nice little hotel called el Hotel Bibosi located in the main plaza within walking distance of almost everything. It was very simple and quiet with the only down side being not having any water while we were there. They told us they only turned the water on during certain hours of the day in order to conserve it, but we never managed to receive the schedule or catch it turned on for more than five minutes. Chapare is not exactly the place you want to be with out running water and we were in definite need of showers while we were there. It was sooo hot we felt like we were in a sauna the whole time! With no water to shower we were thankful there was a pool to bathe in!!

Fish is a speciality in Chapare and we definitely ate plenty of it! Alanna and I went to one of the little vendors in the street and they gave us a plate with two whole fish, eyes and all! The bones were a bit of a pain to pick out but it was still delicious and worth all the work! (Especially since it was so cheap)

We visited two parks while we were there, one being el Parque Machía (mostly known as the monkey park). It serves as a safe have for thousands of abused animals, has saved over 1,000 hectares of rainforest and is currently the largest NGO Bolivian conservation. The coolest part about this park is the monkeys literally just hang out with all the visitors and they even go looking in your pockets for goodies! Rumor has it that if the monkeys do get a hold of your belongings they give it to the keepers and you have to pay to get it back! All the monkeys were friendly and there was one jumping from person to person, but you do have to be careful because sometimes they bite. Luckily we left without any marks and with all our belongings.

The second place we visisted was called La Jungla: a minature amusement park for adults. You definitely feel like you need a Tarzan costume as you swing from trees on a little piece of wood attached to a rope. The tallest swing was about 50 feet in the air and thankfully they harness you in on this one! It was a bit dangerous but definitely something that couldn´t have been passed up :)

Getting a ride back to Cochabamba was a bit of a challenge and ended up being another adventure all on its own. This past monday was the Day of the Dead, a popular holiday here in Bolivia and in many other Latin American countries. Since everyone was celebrating, there was only one taxi going to Cochabamba and another group beat us to it. We ended up flagging down a huge two story bus, what they call flotas here, and asked if they had any space. They told us they didn´t have any seats left but we could ride in front with the driver, so we piled into a little space in the back and rode shotgun for four hours back to Cochabamba :)

Overall, it was a beautiful trip and it was great to experience a different part of the country. It was interesting to see how much Evo support there was, which I think has a lot to do with it being such a small underdeveloped town. Traveling helps put the political situation into context and brings the ethnic divisions into perspective, something that I think is hard to grasp without seeing first hand.

This weekend we´re off to Uyuni to see the Salt Flats and I can´t wait to share with you all the exciting details!!

Besitos!