Each time a volunteer is leaving Up Close Bolivia, a barbeque or tea party is thrown in their honor. At this celebration, the exiting volunteer is asked the following question: how has Bolivia changed you?
This question was not difficult for me, as I would be willing to confidently say that the six weeks I spent in Bolivia were the most transformational weeks of my life.
For example, nothing phases me anymore. A bird pooped on my only towel and I don't have time to wash it before leaving on a 3-day trip? That's alright *brushes it off*. I've been left on a random street corner in an unknown area? That's cool. No toilet seats, nor toilet paper, nor running water, AND the walls are so short in the unisex bathroom that you make awkward eye contact with strangers while wiping? Just laugh. You mean there actually IS toilet paper?? AND soap!?!???? *Faints*. Brushing my teeth on the side of the road with a bottle of water? Just another day in the life.
Real dangers, such as sketchy strangers, people offering me free beverages on the street, people driving next to where I'm walking trying to convince me to get into their car, and persistent unmarked taxis still terrify me to the very core; don't worry, I haven't traded common sense for carelessness. But when it comes to things that I used to find disgusting or embarrassing, well, I simply consider them a part of life's great adventure now.
By the way, all of the terrifying things I mentioned above happened to me at some point during the 6 weeks. No worries: I'm still alive! Only by God's protective hand.
Super early on, I realized that if I wanted to do things, I was going to have to do them by myself. I arrived at Up Close during a dry spell of volunteers: I was the first new volunteer in 3 weeks, and nobody new arrived until 3 weeks later. Therefore, the people who were there had already done a lot of exciting things in the vicinity, so I was left to adventure on my own.
I went into town by myself on multiple occasions. I did hikes by myself, minibuses by myself, got lost by myself, everything. I was alone on that adventure to Tiwanaku. I even upped and took the night bus to Uyuni for 3 days by myself. Prior to this trip, I never ever could have imagined myself going that far into unknown territory, in a foreign country, independently. But now I can't imagine not being able to imagine it; it's just a part of me.
I also changed my career goals and all my future plans while in Bolivia, based on what I learned about myself. It was easy to differentiate real likes and dislikes based on what I would wake up dreading and what I would wake up excited for day after day.
I also realized this: I love other countries, visiting and experiencing how people live in other parts of the world, but I don't want to live in a different country long-term. The USA is where my long-term home will remain, and that shift in thinking is absolutely HUGE in my life.
As an afterthought, I'll add that my Spanish skills have quintupled since I went to Bolivia. I can now have a conversation with anybody and it's not even a big deal anymore. I went to a Spanish-speaking church the other day and could understand the whole message!! I was so excited, as when I went to the Spanish service at La Fuente in Mexico 2 years ago, I couldn't understand the message at all. I've been without classes and have not been doing much of anything to improve my Spanish in the years since, so it's extraordinary to me that I've improved so much! I can definitely understand buckets more than I can speak though, and I know I have a strong accent and speak in very broken phrases.
Oh well, it's a start!
All in all, the purpose of this blog post is to show a truthful example of a life that has been drastically changed by a travel experience. I would like to encourage others to embark on journeys as well, not necessarily to a different continent or even a different state, but on some experience that will force the person to exit their comfort zone and learn about themself in a million new ways.
You, whoever you are, are a beautiful, intelligent, incredible person inside and out. Please never stop learning about the person God created you to be!
Sunday, May 15, 2016
Thursday, May 12, 2016
Transportation Blues
Transportation here in Bolivia never fails to be an adventure. Well, let's be honest... Public transport never fails to be an adventure anywhere (like the time the train door didn't open for me in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and I ended up in a taxi with four random strangers, and then was informed about the VERY SERIOUS impending alien attack by a man standing about 2 inches from my face in Grand Rapids).
Here in La Paz, we mostly use minibuses to get from point A to point B. Minibuses charge only 2 Bolivianos (about $0.30) per ride, and go practically anywhere in the city. Parents will send their kids to school on the minibus; cholitas (the indigenous Aymaran women) will get on with a baby on their backs. And the other day, a woman tucked a kitten under her shirt and boarded the minibus. It was only revealed that she had a kitten under her shirt when it began meowing profusely seconds later.
I feel like a person could board the minibus naked and I would remain unphased at this point.
The gondolas here in La Paz, named Mi Teleférico, are incredible in every way, from the views to the simplicity. Unfortunately, there are only three lines at the moment, so one can only go to very specific places with them, however they are currently building several more lines that will be opening in the next few years! I might just have to come back to check them all out.
We also take taxis to many places, for added ease.
I decided to go to Uyuni a couple weeks ago, so I booked a spot on the overnight bus. The "good" bus was full, so I ended up on this other bus that had terrifying reviews online. Despite that, it was absolutely luxurious!! The seats reclined fully and were huge! It was one of the best night sleeps that I've had in South America. The only weird thing was that at around 10pm after everybody was asleep, they stopped the bus and a cholita entered yelling about her bread in Spanish, attempting to sell it.
The bus home though was not so great. It was the "good" bus, but each person had significantly less space. We stopped several times on the side of random roads for the driver to get out and take a leak. I myself decided to use the bathroom around 2am, and I pulled on the door but it seemed to be locked. Suddenly, I hear this voice coming out of nowhere, "MORE POWER! PULL! YOU CAN DO IT! MORE POWER!!" Imagine this being said in a very Chinese accent, too. Turns out, the bathroom door was just very hard to open. Those poor people sitting next to it - it was so loud, I'm sure they didn't sleep at all.
Nothing beats my transportation adventure on Saturday, though. I decided to go to Tiwanaku, a place with Inca ruins about an hour outside of the city center. It takes about an hour to get to the city center on the minibuses, so I figured it would take about 4 hours on the road to get to and from Tiwanaku.
FALSE. 9 hours. 11 different transportation devices.
I left in the morning and took two minibuses to the red line of Mi Teleférico, which I rode to the general cemetery. I met a woman on the gondola who was very nervous of my traveling alone there, as it turns out the cemetery area is not the safest. She was EXTREMELY kind and walked me to my bus, advising me when to put my backpack on the front to avoid thievery. I don't know what I would have done without her! God provides(:
Unfortunately, the minibuses go to Tiwanaku only when the bus is full, and I was attempting to go at an off time, so I had to wait a good hour before we started moving. But eventually, it happened!
The ruins were very interesting and beautiful; I admire the Incan style of art so much!
After about an hour and a half in Tiwanaku, I encountered a minibus heading back to La Paz, so I jumped on board. All was fine and dandy until somebody wanted to exit the bus in El Alto, and suddenly everybody on the bus exited with the exception of myself and a Swiss couple (who were in La Paz because the man's profession is making chocolate, so he was evaluating the chocolate farms here in Bolivia. BEST JOB EVER, RIGHT!?? He also said he gets to eat the chocolate).
So suddenly the driver wanted to know where we were going, as it was bad business to drive a bus with only a couple people on board. We said we wanted to go to La Paz; it's what his sign promised after all. He decided to make us a deal and give a discounted price if we took a Trufi to La Paz, so we were dropped on a street corner in El Alto.
Now something that should be known about El Alto is that it's not the safest place to be. The red light district is absolutely popping, and twice a week they have a market where people are advised to come in large groups and take absolutely NOTHING due to pickpockets. So here we are on the side of the road...
We talked to the Trufi driver and requested transport to Calamacho, which he seemingly agreed to. So we're just casually going along when suddenly, he stops at a random street corner and says, "Well, I'm not legally allowed to go any further, so good luck." Back on the street again, still in El Alto. Great.
We decide to take a minibus going back to the cemetery - at least it's somewhere familiar.
But when we arrived at the cemetery, it was 5:30 and the cemetery had closed at 5. The police were herding the people out in masses, so we decided to continue on. But it was only a few minutes more before we stopped at yet another random street corner and were forced out of the vehicle.
NOW WHAT?
I honestly owe the Swiss couple credit for my life, because I would have been very vulnerable and lost had I been alone. They stuck with me though!
We ended up getting a minibus to Calamacho (a full hour in the horrible traffic), where we caught a Puma (a full size bus) to the green line of Mi Teleférico, which took me to Irpavi, where it was only a 10 minute walk to Plaza Humbolt (at this point it's dark and I'm alone - something I always try to avoid!) Where I caught a minibus back to home base.
It was just one thing after another that day! So ridiculous.
Well, that's the transportation news from Bolivia. If you come - BUENA SUERTE! An adventure is sure to arrive.
Here in La Paz, we mostly use minibuses to get from point A to point B. Minibuses charge only 2 Bolivianos (about $0.30) per ride, and go practically anywhere in the city. Parents will send their kids to school on the minibus; cholitas (the indigenous Aymaran women) will get on with a baby on their backs. And the other day, a woman tucked a kitten under her shirt and boarded the minibus. It was only revealed that she had a kitten under her shirt when it began meowing profusely seconds later.
I feel like a person could board the minibus naked and I would remain unphased at this point.
The gondolas here in La Paz, named Mi Teleférico, are incredible in every way, from the views to the simplicity. Unfortunately, there are only three lines at the moment, so one can only go to very specific places with them, however they are currently building several more lines that will be opening in the next few years! I might just have to come back to check them all out.
We also take taxis to many places, for added ease.
I decided to go to Uyuni a couple weeks ago, so I booked a spot on the overnight bus. The "good" bus was full, so I ended up on this other bus that had terrifying reviews online. Despite that, it was absolutely luxurious!! The seats reclined fully and were huge! It was one of the best night sleeps that I've had in South America. The only weird thing was that at around 10pm after everybody was asleep, they stopped the bus and a cholita entered yelling about her bread in Spanish, attempting to sell it.
The bus home though was not so great. It was the "good" bus, but each person had significantly less space. We stopped several times on the side of random roads for the driver to get out and take a leak. I myself decided to use the bathroom around 2am, and I pulled on the door but it seemed to be locked. Suddenly, I hear this voice coming out of nowhere, "MORE POWER! PULL! YOU CAN DO IT! MORE POWER!!" Imagine this being said in a very Chinese accent, too. Turns out, the bathroom door was just very hard to open. Those poor people sitting next to it - it was so loud, I'm sure they didn't sleep at all.
Nothing beats my transportation adventure on Saturday, though. I decided to go to Tiwanaku, a place with Inca ruins about an hour outside of the city center. It takes about an hour to get to the city center on the minibuses, so I figured it would take about 4 hours on the road to get to and from Tiwanaku.
FALSE. 9 hours. 11 different transportation devices.
I left in the morning and took two minibuses to the red line of Mi Teleférico, which I rode to the general cemetery. I met a woman on the gondola who was very nervous of my traveling alone there, as it turns out the cemetery area is not the safest. She was EXTREMELY kind and walked me to my bus, advising me when to put my backpack on the front to avoid thievery. I don't know what I would have done without her! God provides(:
Unfortunately, the minibuses go to Tiwanaku only when the bus is full, and I was attempting to go at an off time, so I had to wait a good hour before we started moving. But eventually, it happened!
The ruins were very interesting and beautiful; I admire the Incan style of art so much!
After about an hour and a half in Tiwanaku, I encountered a minibus heading back to La Paz, so I jumped on board. All was fine and dandy until somebody wanted to exit the bus in El Alto, and suddenly everybody on the bus exited with the exception of myself and a Swiss couple (who were in La Paz because the man's profession is making chocolate, so he was evaluating the chocolate farms here in Bolivia. BEST JOB EVER, RIGHT!?? He also said he gets to eat the chocolate).
So suddenly the driver wanted to know where we were going, as it was bad business to drive a bus with only a couple people on board. We said we wanted to go to La Paz; it's what his sign promised after all. He decided to make us a deal and give a discounted price if we took a Trufi to La Paz, so we were dropped on a street corner in El Alto.
Now something that should be known about El Alto is that it's not the safest place to be. The red light district is absolutely popping, and twice a week they have a market where people are advised to come in large groups and take absolutely NOTHING due to pickpockets. So here we are on the side of the road...
We talked to the Trufi driver and requested transport to Calamacho, which he seemingly agreed to. So we're just casually going along when suddenly, he stops at a random street corner and says, "Well, I'm not legally allowed to go any further, so good luck." Back on the street again, still in El Alto. Great.
We decide to take a minibus going back to the cemetery - at least it's somewhere familiar.
But when we arrived at the cemetery, it was 5:30 and the cemetery had closed at 5. The police were herding the people out in masses, so we decided to continue on. But it was only a few minutes more before we stopped at yet another random street corner and were forced out of the vehicle.
NOW WHAT?
I honestly owe the Swiss couple credit for my life, because I would have been very vulnerable and lost had I been alone. They stuck with me though!
We ended up getting a minibus to Calamacho (a full hour in the horrible traffic), where we caught a Puma (a full size bus) to the green line of Mi Teleférico, which took me to Irpavi, where it was only a 10 minute walk to Plaza Humbolt (at this point it's dark and I'm alone - something I always try to avoid!) Where I caught a minibus back to home base.
It was just one thing after another that day! So ridiculous.
Well, that's the transportation news from Bolivia. If you come - BUENA SUERTE! An adventure is sure to arrive.
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