Arrival in Cochabamba

Eight hours later (well, nine hours since the bus did not leave on time), we arrived in Cochabamba- tired of sitting down and anxious to get off in this new city. We were advised to be careful with which taxi we chose, because it is common for some of them to rob tourists. Me not knowing how to tell a "good" taxi from a "bad" taxi, I asked some locals for help and they kindly helped me figure out where to use a pay phone and avoid the taxis altogether. I called our liaison, Igor, and we agreed that he would come and pick us up instead since the bus terminal is so hectic and too easy for bad stuff to go down. So Alicia and I waited by the entrance of the terminal, guarding our bags with care. Twenty minutes later, a man approached us and said "you must be Lydia and Alicia!" It was Igor, and boy were we glad to see him after a long day of travel! We packed our bags into his car and drove to his house where he agreed to host us until we got established with our own lodgings in Cochabamba.

Igor has been like our guardian angel since we arrived. He is like a big teddy bear and has made us feel so comfortable and welcome in his home with his two cute dogs, Chocolén and Danito, whom he treats as his children and feeds too much bread. They like to stretch and yawn a lot apparently:

Igor helped us find a place to live and we will move there today. It is a really cute and cozy apartment within his sister's house, close to where we will work. His sister's name is Veltza. She is a linguist and speaks fluent Russian. Apparently Igor's father was a supporter of the Soviet Union and named all of his children with Russian names.

Cochabamba so far seems nice. It has a more tropical climate during the day which I love of course, and many hibiscus flowers, among other things. Here are some views from Igor's neighbourhood which is a bit far from the city, but you can SEE the city.

Cochabamba has the biggest statue of Jesus in the world- bigger than Rio! Holy--!!

The altitude here is 2,558 m, which is less than La Paz, but you can still feel it a bit walking up stairs and jogging. I've been getting into coca tea and also boldo tea, which tastes awful but is good for everything, and if you drink too much it can kill you. Don't worry, I'm FIIIINE. :)

Igor took us to a nice restaurant called "La Estancia" where I tried my first Surubí which is Amazonian catfish. It was delicious! We ordered a bottle of local red wine, too, which was also quite tasty and stuck to my chapped lips for days. Instant purple lipstick. For the three of us, the meal cost just over $50. Gas is also cheap here. Igor told us that it costs just about 50 cents Bolivianos per liter, which is about 7 cents per liter US$. I find this hard to believe, so I shall investigate further and share my results. Anyway, taking a taxi here is very cheap. Usually it is cheaper than a single fare bus ticket in Halifax ($2.25), but obviously depends where you are going.

We learned a lot of interesting things from Igor, like the fact that each city has a different colored hat that Cholas tend to wear. In Cochabamba, the cholitas wear white hats. In La Paz, they wear black. I will have to return to La Paz to get my dad a black bowler hat so that he can look like a cholita when I go home. We also learned that there is a certain tradition behind chewing coca leaves. If you are male, you are supposed to put the coca leaves in your mouth facing a certain side, and they are supposed to face the opposite side if you are female. On Sundays, it is common to have "Sopa de Maní" which is peanut soup, and chicharrons which are made out of pork ribs in Bolivia. I am very excited to try these things, which are only sold on Sundays.

Coca Cola here is sold with different people's names on the label as a marketing gimmick. For example, it is common to see bottles of Coca Cola with Mariana, Laura, and other common names written on the label, which makes people with those names (which I guess are many people) feel like Coca Cola personalized their bottles just for them. Meanwhile, the story of bad teeth continues... Just to add, the average life expectancy of Bolivians is between 65 and 70 years old (http://www.tearfund.org/en/about_us/what_we_do_and_where/countries/latin_america_and_caribbean/bolivia/bolivia2/). I am a bit sad that my grandmother who passed away a few years ago cannot follow my blog now - I know she that enjoyed my last one so much. Well, she lived well into her 90's, which is something we take for granted in the first-world.

I have noticed that every culture seems to have their own way of making rice. Last night, we may rice the "Colombian way," according to our well-traveld friend, Igor; meaning in a covered pot after boiling the water first. However, I was told that Bolivians actually make rice similar to how Brazilians do, by toasting the rice in the pan first with some oil, and then adding the water. I wish that I hadn't been criticized by so many Brazilians when they saw me making rice in Brazil by boiling the water first. You need to keep an open mind - even with rice!!! :)

One thing I have noticed about Bolivia is that men do not look at me as though I am a piece of meat. This is nice for a change, because it is tiring to walk around as a peace of meat. The people seem to be more polite, and certainly less aggressive. As in other places in South America I have visited, it is both common and cheap to have a cleaning lady. I remember when my mom hired a cleaning lady for us in the States, and I used to have to actually clean my room before the cleaning lady came, which I thought defeated the purpose altogether. I do not have sufficient examples to come to a strong conclusion here, but I have noticed a couple of times already that people leave a noticeable mess for cleaning ladies to deal with, more so than my mother ever would. Perhaps it is a difference in cleaning lady culture.

We met with the team at CENDA where we will be working. One of the women is from Belgium and seems very nice. She has been with CENDA for the last four years. They explained that they want to know our "Canadian" view on certain issues such as international legal framework and politics on seeds, indigenous rights and natural resources in Canada, and Canadian politics and practices of transitions to alternative ways of agricultural production, food consumption, and energy conservation. Alicia and I will present material to them on these topics to the best of our abilities in Spanish. Any suggestions in these areas would be appreciated to enhance our presentations. There is a lot to know! We will also partake in field research with CENDA, travelling to rural communities and learning about sources of produce and consumption habits. We will assist in the distribution and sale of the local bilingual newspaper, "Conosur-Ñawpaqman”, written in both English and Quechua (http://www.cenda.org/2/comu/conosur.html).

I am very happy to get the chance to know Bolivia. When I travelled in Uruguay, I remember various people advising me not to go to Bolivia because it was too poor and so sad to see. Well, that may be true but I am glad to see it for myself and make my own impressions. So far I have met such nice people, and it is a shame that the international opinion of their country is generally a bad one. At the same time, I am aware that I come from an economically superior position as a traveller, and I consciously try to avoid giving the impression that I am better than anyone else. I will eat local foods (to the extent that is advisable), I will take local transportation, and I will talk with local people no matter what their socio-economic background is, and hold no judgement. Some people say that I am brave, but this is simply what I love to do. I thrive off of foreign environments, and I like to try to connect with people no matter how culturally different they may seem. I find these interactions both unique and highly rewarding.