Hi everyone!
I've been having a fun extended weekend and I finally found time to sit down and tell you all about it!
Wednesday:
Thursday was my last day of work. The head doctor and director of the clinic, Dr. Romero, came back from his 6 week vacation on Wednesday, just in time to take me and the head nurse to La Cancha to spend my mini-grant on necessities for the clinic. Wednesday we hopped in a cab and spent a couple hours at La Cancha buying office supplies, kitchen supplies, a space heater, thermometer batteries, and a modem. After buying the office supplies we had a huge bag full of heavy things like hole-punchers and staplers. The head nurse is almost 6 months pregnant and she'd been carrying this bag so I tried to take it from her but she switched hands to her other side so I couldn't take it. Every time we bought something the doctor would take the bag from the saleslady and hand it to the head nurse. All he was carrying was a bag with 3 hand towels inside. The head nurse was carrying all the office supplies, all the mugs for the kitchen, a space heater, and more. And she is 6 months pregnant! I couldn't believe how chauvinistic the doctor was being. I'd already known that I didn't like him because he's sort of creepy but this was too much. Bolivia, and lots of South American countries, tend to operate in a chauvinistic manner. There are campaigns to foster equality of gender that I've heard on the radio and seen on billboards, but they still have a long way to go.
Thursday:
Thursday was the day before Bolivian Independence Day. Most people got work off on Friday and some also took off Thursday. Thursday afternoon I walked around the Prado (main road/ city center) with a friend to watch the festivities. There were chairs lining the streets, lots of sunglasses and food venders, rides for kids, and a parade that lasted from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. The parade was made up of marching bands from almost every school in Cochabamba, military bands, and children dressed up as famous Bolivian historical figures. All the girls older than about 10 and all of the women in the parade were wearing ridiculously tall heels. Most of them were also wearing heavy looking marching band costumes or pants suits. When I watched the parade around 1:00 pm it was scorching hot. The parade line was directly in the sun and most of the kids looked flushed, unhappy, and uncomfortable. I wanted to give all of them water so badly. As I walked around my neighborhood Thursday there was no one around- it was as if the entire city was either in the parade or watching it.
Thursday night I went to a goodbye dinner with a bunch of friends and then stopped by a cafe with a few people for a drink. I was really thirsty and tired so I just got water but the owner of the cafe sent over a shot of maple whisky or something that was ridiculously sweet that we all passed around and sipped to be polite. I mentioned this in an earlier post but at midnight the music was turned off and the national anthem was sung by everyone present. Firecrackers were set off and a few Bolivian women started dancing traditional scarf dances with napkins in the center of the room. It was a great feeling of national pride and community that we all commented on as lacking in the states.
Friday:
I assumed Friday would be even more chaotic in the Prado, but to my surprise there was barely anyone outside no matter where I was on Friday. Apparently, Friday is when all Bolivian families have huge barbeque lunches and everyone spends time at home. I had heard something about a parade happening Friday but I never saw anything all afternoon. No stores were open Friday and the few restaurants we tried were sold out of everything on the menu.
Saturday:
My airport friends and I had been planning for awhile to hit up this "hot springs spa" we'd heard about that was supposed to be very close to Cochabamba. Saturday we finally did it. Clara had to purchase tickets ahead of time at the place's sister hotel located in the Cochabamba. Tickets for one day including lunch and afternoon tea cost 70 Bs a person. Saturday morning we met up north near Sarah's apartment to grab breakfast and then catch a micro for 2 Bs to Quillacollo, a city half an hour outside of Cochabamba. I was starved and so for breakfast I ordered donut holes from a donut shop and then a pastel and jugo de durazno (pastry and peach juice) from our breakfast place. I also hadn't had a salteña yet (it's like a strictly Bolivian item that Bolivians eat as breakfast and is an empanada with soupy goodness inside). I had avoided eating it because I've seen people eating them and everyone makes a huge mess due to the soupiness of the inside. Being a messy eater, I decided it would be wise to avoid it for as long as possible. My airport friends couldn't let me go any longer without having one so we ate salteñas for breakfast as well. I only spilled once and it was only a little on my sleeve!
After breakfast we caught our micro and got off 30 minutes later in bustling Quillacollo. After a 20 minute ride in a separate micro we were let off on the side of the highway across from La Cabaña. It turns out La Cabaña is less of a hot springs spa and more of a crowded country club with a pool and a couple of jacuzzi tubs. We were as happy as could be because all we wanted to do was lay out in the sun, chat, relax, and maybe read. We found a spot on the grass and settled in. I lathered on the sun screen because I've seen too many episodes of Oprah where they show sun spots under people's skin and how much older people look when they didn't protect their skin against the sun when they were young. I was also thinking about skin cancer but as a secondary concern. Anyway we sat and chatted for a little while and several times an older man in his 70's or 80's with socks and sandles and a polo shirt kept coming over to us to tell the other two to put on sunscreen. As I french-braided Sarah's hair he came over and began to braid a tiny braid in her hair too. He was harmless but a bit too friendly. He said he'd traveled a lot in the U.S. and knew a bit of english but spoke to us in spanish. He also told us that the tiny braid he'd made was called Ernesto (his name I assume..). Sitting in the sun bores me pretty quickly so I got up and did a little bit of exploring before lunch was served.
Lunch was really cute, they had all reservations marked on little name cards to indicate who was sitting where. We were served a little salad, an egg-drop soup, and then a plate of chicken, potatoes, and rice. Sometimes being out in the sun for awhile zaps my appetite, so I was full before the soup came out. I barely touched my main course and the manager was worried that I didn't like it. If I thought I could force myself to eat a few bites without throwing up I would have, but for some reason I was really full. Maybe it was our big breakfast only 2 or 3 hours earlier.
After we ate we did some more exploring together. We found a really cool suspension bridge and crossed it to find railroad tracks that ended abruptly on both sides after about 100 feet.
As the sun moved in the sky we came back to find out little area halfway in the shade. We moved our things over to the empty soccer field and spent some time there reading. After half an hour a gringo girl that I'd been seeing all day came over and asked if I knew Becky. It took me a second but I realized that this was an SB volunteer who I'd met very briefly through her friend Becky who was in the "Yale" group from the Salar that we kept running into during our tour. We talked and she said her name was Dina (good omen!). She spelled it just like my mom. We chatted and it turns out she's going for her masters at Michigan and just ended an internship with Direct Relief, which is an organization based in California that I'd considered applying for this summer! I got her e-mail address and plan to contact her if I decide to apply to Direct Relief in the future.
Earlier, as I'd been doing some exploring of the grounds on my own, I'd spotted a zip line across the small man-made lake. Before we left Clara and I decided that we had to do it and so we wandered over there. After seeing a fully-grown man cross the lake on the zip line, we were confident that the line was sturdy and that it would hold us.
Can you spot me on the left in the air?
On our way back to Cochabamba we had to stop in Quillacollo again. We picked up some ingredients for dinner and got back to Sarah's apartment around 5:00 pm to prep the pizza dough we were going to bake later. I'd never made pizza dough by scratch before but it was amazing to see yeast working on sugar and water. I also didn't realize it had to sit for a couple of hours to rise. After we prepped the dough we all split up to relax before returning to Sarah's to bake the pizza at 8:00 pm. I made a huge fruit salad and Sarah had made a really good pizza sauce. By 9:00 pm we were tucking in to our meal and it was superb. Around 10:00 pm Dave (Sarah's boyfriend) took us to a swanky club for a drink to celebrate Clara's last night in Bolivia. Walking up to this club felt like being in Vegas. There were brand new BMWs parked outside and inside were the most beautiful Bolivians I've seen yet. I don't know where the BMWs are during the day, or the well dressed Bolivians, but I know where to find them at night!
Everyone was very dressed up and we were a tad underdressed but we had a nice time chatting over our drinks.
Sunday:
After sleeping in and relaxing all morning, I met Sarah, Dave, and Clara at the soccer stadium for a game between Cochabamba (the reigning champs) and Oruro. The game was a lot of fun and went quickly.
We left after one half (45 min) because we wanted to get something sweet to eat and say goodbye to Clara before she left to catch her cab to the airport. We split a chocolate sundae dessert and hugged her goodbye as she got into her trufi to go to her house, grab her suitcases, and leave Bolivia. It was sad to say goodbye because we 3 have gotten close over the summer, but we made plans to meet up sometime early next year.
Today:
I took all my clothes to the laundromat this morning for the last time. I had to bring a backpack and an empty cardboard postal box in order to get everything there. When I got there he raised his eyebrows and asked if this was all for one person. At first he said I could come back tomorrow in the evening, but as I left he said "Wednesday in the evening!" So, I'm going to try tomorrow anyway to see if they're ready so I can start to pack because the last thing I want to do is pack at the last minute. Not to mention that the only things I have to wear until then are a few dresses that never got worn due to the cold at night, and a soccer jersey. Oh, and laundry guy called me niña (little girl) which I'm not sure how to take..
Anyway that's it for now! More on my final few days soon,
Love,
Hillary Quinn
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