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!

What Does It Mean to Be Indigenous?

What does it mean to be indigenous?

Does it mean you have darker skin or defining facial characteristics? Do you dress a certain way or have a certain level of education? How are you viewed by the rest of the world?

There are large indigenous populations throughout the world, predominantly in the Americas, and there are a wide variety of traditions practiced by all. So, what is it that defines them as being indigenous? It is a challenging question: one that provokes interesting thought and an array of stereotypes.

The United Nations defines indigenous people as ¨those which having a historical continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories, consider themselves distinct from other sectors of societies now prevailing in those territories, or parts of them. They form at present non-dominant sectors of society and are determined to preserve, develop and transmit to future generations their ancestral territories, and their ethnic identity, as the basis of their continued existence as peoples in accordance with their own cultural patterns, social institutions and legal systems.¨

I feel that this definition omits some other important, defining characteristics of indigenous people and it also leaves space for assumptions. In one of my classes last semester, during a conversation about the Zapatistas in Mexico, my professor said Subcommandante Marcos is not indigenous because he is very well educated. He actually isn´t indigenous and he is very well educated but the level of education a person has is not what defines them as being indigenous. This professor of mine may have been trying to state something else and simply misconstrued the context of her statement. Either way, I think it is important to know what makes indigenous people indigenous. I think how they are perceived is a significant factor in them being a marginalized part of society.

I would like to hear your opinions on what your view of indigenous people are. Send me an email or you can post a comment at the bottom of my blog. Thanks :)

El Cumbre de ALBA and Hugo Chavez

This past weekend was rather exciting for us!! Presidents from different Latin American countries came to have the annual Cumbre de ALBA, Alianza Bolivariana para los pueblos de Nuestra America, here in Cochabamba. It was basically a socialist gathering with a lot of blah blah and not a lot of doing anything, but I do have to admit it was rather interesting :) The main topic on the agenda was about developing a common monetary unit for all of Latin America, similar to the euro, in order to unite the Latin American economies and hopefully stabilize them. This is very unlikely to happen.....hence all the blah blah.

I'm going to have to brag for big about a little incident that occured saturday afternoon.

All of the Presidents that were here stayed at el Hotel Cochabamba, which is about five blocks down from my house, so Alanna and I made our way down to do a little President stalking. Hugo Chavez comes out, makes his way to his car, decides to have a little convo with a random lady in the crowd and then when he's about to get into his car he turns to me and says, "Where are you from?". I froze. So he repeats, "You, white woman, where are you from?". Needless to say I was in a bit of shock and also scared to say I was from the U.S. for fear of being tackled by Evo and Chavez supporters. After being yelled at by my friends to answer the man I said I was from the United States and he said, "Viva Los Estados Unidos!" (Hahaha, joke right??) Well thats what I thought so I didn't really respond and then he said, "you are my sister" and yet again I did not respond (you would think I had turned into a mummy). After that he got into his car and made his way down to the stadium to later call Americans gorillas because we are not able to think (really bad comparison). So it was more of a one sided conversation but in spite of that I was pretty excited about talking to one of the most famous anti-American, socialist presidents of our time. It definitely added to my experience in Bolivia and I owe it all to my pasty white skin and incredibly blonde hair :D

We conquered the mountain!!!!

Saturday morning we crawled out of bed bright and early to climb Tunari, one of several beautiful mountains surrounding us. We climbed for three and a half hours, a little over ten kilometers!!! It was a great adventure and a wonderful accomplishment completed with a magnificent view of the city. About half way up we encountered a park that looked like something that belonged in the jungle. The see saw was simply a huge log, the tire swing looked like something that came off an eightteen wheeler and the slide had a covering at the top of the stairs made out of straw. Needless to say, we had a great time and I believe there will definitely be more mountain climbing in our future! :)

Mallco Rancho

Hello again! Sorry for the long delay on posting a new blog……time sure does fly when you are in Bolivia!
This past week we went to Mallco Rancho, un pueblo thirty minutes outside the city, and we stayed for three nights and three days with different host families. While we were there we worked on the local school, along with Youth International, to help finish the construction of three classrooms. We were able to complete a lot of the project but unfortunately the rooms also needs roofs, something that we are not able to do because of the dangers involved. It is a bit of a discouragement knowing that the children will not be able to use the rooms for a while but here in Cochabamba, as I’m sure it is in other developing countries, that is how development goes. You build with the money you have and sometimes it can take years before the project is completed. They are at least one step closer to competing it and that is some comfort in itself. Progress was made and we now know just how much closer the children are to having new classrooms J.
The trip was a wonderful experience and I’m glad we went and stayed in the county for a while because it really put Bolivia into its full context. The majority of the population lives in the outskirts of the city and if you never experience life outside of the city you really cannot grasp how the campesinos live. Of course you cannot draw any generalizations as all of our houses varied considerably. For example, my family’s house consisted of three rooms, one being the kitchen, and we had electricity but no running water. The toilet was outside in a sort of outhouse, although the door was removable and it couldn’t stand up straight by itself so if you slanted it your bathroom experience was shared with the neighbors as well. There was no running water so you had to throw a bucket of water in to make it “flush”….quite an experience alone. I was never able to meet my host dad because he travels for work and he was gone during the three days I was there. My host mom stayed rather busy and was never home because of her long work day, so her children were left to tend for themselves. Her sixteen year old daughter assumed the role of mother once she returned home from school and continued to do her chores into the night…..a heavy role for a sixteen year hold….something I cannot imagine doing. For comparison, our friend Hannah lived in a rather large house that looked out of place in the country, and her host mom had quit her job in order to stay home with her children. The variations in poverty create different boundaries in the home life for family members, and it surely influences the quality of education they are able to receive and their future prospects.
The family structure and lifestyle is obviously very different out in the country, and the political life is interesting and intriguing as well. I had the opportunity to interview one of the community members and I gained an interesting perspective on how politics are viewed in Bolivia. Here the majority of the campesinos are Evo supporters (Evo Morales is the current president), but the man that I interviewed was not for several interesting reasons. Evo is a campesino himself and he has spent the last four years of his presidency promoting the indigenous culture. It’s great that he wants to promote the core culture of Bolivia but it has created a lot of racism between los campesinos and the people who live in the city. Evo has also promoted moving back to traditional beliefs and practices, which is great in its own sense, but it has also prevented communities from moving forward in development. Community justice is also encouraged which denies a more organized practice of justice such as a fair trial, things that we deem important in our own culture. It’s a brutal form of punishment and can often be taken out of hand, thus causing even more injustice.
It’s interesting to experience a political and family life so different from ours in the United States. I hope to learn more each day and I’ll be sure to update you all on all the exciting information that I gather!
Ciao for now!!

Our Beginning in Cochabamba

Hello All!!! As I'm sure most of you have noticed, I'm a little late on starting my blog. There are just so many things to do in Cochabamba! We arrived early morning on September 10th and we have been going non stop ever since! Cochabamba is a beautiful city surrounded by glourious mountains which can be seen almost no matter where you are in the city. We're are lucky to be here at the beginning of their spring season; the weather is warm during the day and cool at night, a perfect combination for exploring the city. There are endless things to see and do and I wish I could explain absolutely everything but I'm sure you all do not want to sit and read my blog for hours on end :) Cochabamba is definitely a lively city with the streets always busy and the cafes always full. To say the traffic is crazy here is a bit of an understatement. If you happen to be in the middle of the street while a car is coming at you going fifty mph, watch out!! They do not slow down for anything! There aren't any speed limit signs here and stop lights are often ill regarded. Car seats for children are nonexistent and its common to see four to five people crammed onto one motorcycle.
You can tell there is a high indigenous population here. Many women wear traditional indigenous clothing and they are a large part of the informal economy. Street vendors can be found at all times of the day and there are a number of farmers markets open and bustling on the weekends, selling anthing your heart desires.
Kids often roam the streets alone, sometimes with other kids their age. You also often times see kids sleeping on the streets, probably around the age of twelve and up. For money they clean the windows of cars at stop lights but I imagine this hardly enough for them to live off of. Bolivian law states that once orphans turn twelve years old they can no longer live in the same room as the younger children because they are entering a different stage of their life, thus another home must me found for them. This is a very difficult task and often times the orphanages are unsuccessful in finding other homes so many of the kids are forced to live on the streets. This past Monday we as a group went to Hogar de Ninos to work on the construction of a building that will serve as a home for children ages twelve and older. This is only one step towards trying to keep the children off the street and hopefully many more buildings will be built to help solve this tragedy.
Pounds are also nonexistent here, thus dogs roam the streets, sometimes in large packs, and for the Cochabambinos this is just another part of life. On Sundays they also have a large market outside of the stadium, which we all live very close to, where dogs are sold. You can find almost any breed of any age and seeing this really emphasizes the large population of dogs in need of homes in Cochabamba.
We begin our service work this upcoming week and we are all very excited to get started. We have a choice between CEOLI and Millennium, or if we are able to find the time, we can do both. CEOLI is an organization that works with mentally and/or physically challenged people ages 0-25, teaching them basic life skills and often trying to get them into regular schools, depending on their level of capabilities. CEOLI also has a shop downtown where they sell all sorts of objects made by the children and adults of the organization and the money made goes back into the organization to help keep it running. We saw some of the things they have made and it is absolutely remarkable artwork; those who cannot use their hands use their mouths! Millennium is an orphanage that houses twenty three children ages 0 to six, I believe. There are very short staffed and low on numerous supplies, and donations are very warmly accepted. They are very much looking forward to having us for the semester to help care for the kids. I have chosen to do both since I can't seem to choose between the two. I think it is really a great opportunity to be involved with children and adults who are in great need of love and friendship.
Well that is all for now!! Be back next week with updates on how our volunteer work is going! Hugs to you all!!