Reflections on a Month in Bolivia

So it has been over a month since I arrived in this wonderfully unique country we call Bolivia that’s smack dab in the middle of South America and they say that Peace Corps changes you in the 2+ years that you’re living in a different country but I figured it was time to evaluate things that I’ve seen in the past few weeks (or month!) and how I’ve changed since I’ve been down here. First of all, there’s the obvious:
* my Spanish is MUCH better (we’ll see exactly how much when I get the results from my last entrevista back on Wednesday)
*I’ve learned a lot about Bolivia in terms of the culture although I have a long way to go
*I’ve made some friends and learned about them while sharing a bit of myself with them
*I have a much better idea of what Peace Corps is about, what a big family this is that you didn’t know existed before you left, and I realize that each person’s experience is solely their own and what matters is if you accomplish what you wanted to when you accepted the invitation to serve as a Volunteer
Other things that might not be so obvious…
*I thought I was tough and low maintenance before I came here but in this group I am one of the wimpier people and although I might be higher maintenance in terms of enjoying the finer things in life (like food!) I can confess shamelessly to the fact that I haven’t done any body hair removal since I left the US and I don’t really give a crap (I think eventually I’ll be able to braid it and tie the ends together with little pom poms like the cholitas do to their hair)
*I miss sushi! And drinking orange juice every morning, drinking tea without sugar, and washing my clothes in the washing machine and putting them in the dryer with the dryer sheet so they have that fresh smelling loveliness
*I’ve alternated between wearing just 4 different pairs of pants this past month and only done laundry once so I’m getting pretty good wear out of my pants between washings…anyways, what’s the point of washing them if they’re going to get dirty again?
*Speaking of filthy-ness, we might have though sweating in Shanghai was bad and not taking a shower until night…but I have accomplished a whole new level while I’ve been here…but I’m used to it and as long as I don’t get any diseases due to sub-par hygiene we’ll be okay (averaging one cold shower every 5 days)
*I always hated cooking without all the correct implements (I made lasagna on what would be classified as a cookie sheet in the US) and was a control freak in the kitchen when baking…but after a few experiments with my host family and adjusting recipes to Bolivian-style...I’m getting the hang of it and can probably say cooking with my host mom is one of my fave activities...next up on my list is any Chinese recipes I can get my hands on (something chicken and soy sauce related probably or like beef/pepper stir-fry and then apple cobbler!)
*Germs don’t scare me as much
*It’s okay to not be in good physical shape when there are more important things to worry about, running at high altitude sucks anyways…the verb is called “trotar” to trot…I don’t run, I trot. It’s even slower than what I call the “Stamford Shuffle” on my previous 4 mi loop
*Dealing with the semi-competitive process of site selection (so far) where some people get exactly what they want and others don’t can kind of suck, but you have to trust that it will all work out in the end
*The other people in your training class are your best friends until you go to your site so play nice with others!
*Peace Corps is a job just like any other, my greatest fear is not being able to succeed in my role and having it be my first big failure in life
*You’re not going to save the world or find a husband, but you can make jokes about it and cross your fingers
*I have a growing impatience with things from home as my patience increases for all first-they-were-super-annoying-but-I-guess-this-is-Bolivia things such as trufi rides; patience for American things is inversely proportional to patience for Bolivian things
*Being outgoing and extroverted is a big plus in the Peace Corps (sucks to be me!)
*Breathe…take it one day at a time
*And oldie but a goodie…go for the gold! Take advantage of opportunities that present themselves and do one thing every day that scares you (or 10 of them if necessary)
*I am just not an emotional person…try as I might, it better be something really shocking to evoke any kind of reaction out of me
*I don’t like talking just to fill the silence…but I like listening (to chisme! (aka gossip))
Maritza, Sarah and my Spanish teacher for the first 4 weeks, is one of the coolest people I have met here and she loves us and is having us over to make dinner before training ends! And she understands that Sarah and I consider fantasizing about food one of our favorite pasttimes in class!
*Yum = Fresh papaya, peach and banana juices
*Dogs…didn’t really like them in the US, don’t really like them here
*Bolivia makes you think…about garbage disposal (which they don’t have here in our host community) and sewage (which they only partially have I think); it’s okay to brush your teeth on the lawn, in front of your house and even next to a grocery store as Kasia did and then spit wherever you please
*If you’re in the mercado and you don’t know the price that something should be…you’re going to get ripped off. Por ejemplo, the other day I bought a massively sized papaya in the market which turned out to be very delicious and my host mom made it into a papaya and milk juice which was amazing as well…but I paid 8 bs (or 1 USD) for it when it should have been more like 5 bs. Apparently the last volunteer that stayed in this house, Anna, used the line, “Soy una gringita pero mi sueldo es Boliviana!” in her bargaining process…I’m a gringo but I have a Bolivian salary, not really sure how well that works though.
*And one last one…emails, packages, snail mail, comments on my blog from people in the US make me happy and make me feel lucky to be me and I cannot wait until people starting coming down here to visit me!