Move-In Day

We moved into our new apartment yesterday. It is very cute and simple, and within a local family’s property that is safe. It is about a half-hour’s walk from where we will be working, and is designed like a train car. The rooms go in the order of: bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, bedroom - in one straight line. When we arrived, there was smoke coming from the mountains nearby and when I asked what it was I was told it was simply a forest fire. Nobody seemed too concerned. “It happens every year!” they said. Okay then!

I took a shower and noticed that Alicia had ripped down the first bit of the shower curtain accidentally, and I thought, “gosh! Be careful, Alicia!” :) Then, when I got out of the shower, I practically ripped the rest of it off!! It is quite cheap indeed, and as Alicia described, “like a napkin!” We will make do ☺ Our bathroom is blue. Show-and-tell:

The kitchen is simple, and has everything we need :)

We went downtown to run some errands. At the pharmacy, it is a four-step process. First, you have to take a number. Next, you go to the counter when your number is called so that you can find the product you are looking for. Then you get another number and take it to the cash register. Then you pay for your product. THEN, once you have paid for your product, you go to the receiving line and accept whatever you bought. Wait, that is five steps! Complicated! Also, in the grocery store it is required that you lock your bag at the front in a locker; you cannot enter with a purse. I assume it is to prevent theft. This was also very common in Uruguay I recall. Some pictures of downtown Cochabamba:

Today I went jogging to get to know the neighborhood. It is a bit difficult because the sidewalks are really bad and the wind blows dust everywhere. I cannot imagine how a disabled person would get around here. I asked Veltza, the older woman whom we are renting from, if she goes downtown a lot alone, and she said she always goes alone but grabs anyone’s arm for help because she has travelled a lot and is not shy. I asked her this because I noticed she needed to hold onto an arm more than a few times while we were walking downtown.

Bad sidewalk example:

Sometimes it seems that the sidewalks are pointless. I have seen certain trees planted along a sidewalk that are the height of an average human being and the foliage takes up the whole sidewalk - not very practical for walking at all. Many public parks are not very picturesque here to be honest (though I did see a more pleasant one today by our office). We are really spoiled in Canada with such pristine public parks and places to walk. But, this is all they’ve got so I will make the best of it ☺ There are a lot of stray dogs but they appear to be pretty chill; just find a spot in the shade to relax. The dogs at our new place are named Calí and Totó. Totó is very playful and looks like a mop.

There was a man in a truck this morning using a very reverberated megaphone to sell his fruits, yelling “manzana manzana papaya papaya piña piña sandia sandia naranja naranja” in an endless, monotonous stream of fruit loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear. I wonder how he did with sales. o_O

Today was our first official day at work and we met the other people at CENDA. I chatted a lot with the other workers and got to know them. One of them brought me a brochure about a jazz festival going on this weekend! Cool! Everyone has a different job in the NGO. One person does administration, one person works on the bilingual newspapers, another on food security, etc. When we arrived, there was some pipe being put in in the sidewalk so it was hard to get in, walking over a dog playing in the piles of dirt and hopping over a deep crevice in the sidewalk. But we made it okay ☺

Here I am at my desk!

We will work from 8:30 ish to noon, then we get a two and a half hour lunch break and work from around 2:30 to 6:30. The long lunch break is because it is customary for people to go home to have lunch with their families, and sometimes that distance is far from work. Since Alicia and I do not have Bolivian families, we will be very sad and lonely during our lunch breaks for the next three months :(

Just kidding! There are plenty of places to eat lunch all around town. Veltza introduced me today to the family who makes lunch around the corner from our house. Once the people know you, you can tell them whether or not you are coming for lunch and it costs 10 bolivianos ($1.45 USD). A second portion just costs 6 bolivianos more, so you can bring your "tupper" as they say (Tupperware) and keep one for dinner. Two meals for under $3... I dont think Alicia and I will bother cooking any more :P

Internet service here is bad and the connection is lost a lot.. for example, I just got cut off AGAIN. This is a widespread problem in Latin America. Even at work it cuts out all the time, and people have no control over it. Cellular service is also generally not so good. It is hard to hear what the heck anyone is saying over the phone.

All the strange places I have lived so far in my life and the different types of people I have lived with have actually made this experience not so weird for me. I take everything for what it is, keep an open mind and don’t overthink things or wish for anything from back home. I can't help it - I am attracted to the unknown ☺