Day 1: La Paz

Well,

After recuperating from bronchitis for a few days, I'm finally feeling up to writing a little about my amazing trip to La Paz! I've never been treated so kindly in all my life, and I'm so grateful for the personal and non-turistic view of La Paz I was fortunate enough to see. What an unforgettable experience!

I will be writing about each day separately over the next couple of weeks, to pace both myself and you my beloved readers:)

First, let me list my 10 favorite things about my trip(not in any particular order)
1. Ariel Maella (our host family dad and personal guide, professor of sociology and education)
2. The traffic (insane, I will explain more later)
3. Saltena (empanada like brunch food)
4. The view of La Paz
5. Lake Titicaca and its surrounding villages
6. La feria de 16 de julio (claimed to be South America's largest outdoor market)
7. Meeting with the pre-service teachers of the Normal School Simon Bolivar
8. Hanging out with our new college friends Gabriela, Franz, Ingrid, Carlos, Mariel and Jhovana.
9. Dancing
10. Eating at the home of Franz's family

That being said, here's what we did our first day:

March 14, 2009

"Got to La Paz ok, customs went fine except for the trouble they gave us for our imperfect American bills. Note to self: bills cannot have any tears in them, otherwise Bolivian customs will not accept them.

We were greated by Ariel Maella, Ingrid and Franz. We drove to Ariel's house, which is very nice for Bolivia, and then we went with Ariel to two different universities and watched him teach. One class, composed of 19-20 year olds, talked about how the Andino culture affects their modern, Bolivian perspective. We also talked about how they are all hooked on Facebook. Crazy. Ariel is an awesome teacher.

We then drove around La Paz for a while. Crazy, crazy driving and incredible city layout in the mountains. These people were very bold for builidng a city here.

Later, Ariel's wife, Columba, made a Mexican feast for their extended family (Ariel's dad passed away about a week ago). Fun to see a Bolivian family up close and personal. Ariel showed us his family pictures and talked about his dad, which was a sweet experience. Met a cholita named Euralia and took a picture of her (these cholita women are very fascinating to me, because they live a modern life but choose traditional dress)

Later we drove more around the city and I was amazed we didn't hit any dogs, pedestrians or minibuses (these are everywhere). Traffic patterns here are insane.

I then watched Ariel's son Emiliano play his Wii. I then had a fun talk with Columba. Got to talk to Mom, Barn and Aunt Sean via Skype. It was really rainy and foggy today. Love the chiuauas in the house. I drank manzanilla (camomille) tea like crazy today to keep warm. We also went to a really cool market to get tortillas for the party.

Loving La Paz. Although everyone is worried for our sake as Americans, I feel very comfortable here and am not worried in the least."

One more day til La Paz

A handful of Bolivianos, butterflies in my stomach, about 40 lbs worth of University of Wyoming gifts for the Bolivians, the Yellow Fever pumping through my vains, $135 in cash to pay visa officals to let us in the country and a list about a mile long of questions I am supposed to ask while I'm there. I'm all set! I leave from Denver Friday morning and after an 8 hour delay at Miami International (mission homecoming, sweet), we are off to La Paz. Here's our tenative itinerary. We will be staying with a Bolivian family the entire trip:

Saturday:

• Arrive in La Paz at 5:45AM (3:45AM MST)


• Visit Museums and walk the Zona Sur


• Dinner in the Camino Real Hotel

Sunday:

• Trip to Lake Titicaca

Monday:

• Academic activities at the Normal School "Simon Bolivar" (We will be attending different English Classes and the Experimental College-no clue what this means exactly)

Tuesday:

• More activities at the Normal School


• Visit with Educators for Democracy, visit schools

Wednesday:

• Visit the Tiahuanaku Ruins with a Precolumbian expert


• Dinner in a Bolivian home

Thursday:

• Visit the 16 of July Outdoor Market in El Alto


• Departure dinner with the Educators for Democracy

Friday:

• Leave La Paz at 6:50AM (4:50AM MST)


• Arrive in Denver at 8:00PM

Hasta el 20 de marzo!