Better late than never. I wrote this a week ago, but somehow failed to post it. I'll post another update soon with details of my amazonian adventure.......
Hola amigos,
My apologies for taking so long to make a post, but as most of you probably know, I have been feeling less than stellar for the past two weeks. After spending the majority of last week in bed, not one, not two, but three trips to the doctor, a week long diet of "blanco y blando" and multiple medications, I am happy to report that I am finally feeling better.
Thankfully before getting sick I did have the chance to go and see a couple of really interesting shows in La Paz. The first of which was ABBA, performed by a Bolivian Choral Group. Close to a 100 Bolivians singing ABBA in 4 part harmony. Needless to say it was quite amusing. Below is a video link that pretty much sums up the entire concert. The accents made the show. After watching Bolivians interpret Swedish music, some of the other volunteers and I made our way to see Bolivians perform what they do best - traditional folk music. We visited a hidden spot called "peurto del luna" and were pleased to discover that we were the only gringos in the place. The difference was astounding! We along with our fellow Bolivian friends (old and new - we were quite the hit with the locals) enjoyed the music, "dancing" (not sure you can call it dancing but we tried) and even had the chance to try on the traditional ponchos.
Hola amigos,
My apologies for taking so long to make a post, but as most of you probably know, I have been feeling less than stellar for the past two weeks. After spending the majority of last week in bed, not one, not two, but three trips to the doctor, a week long diet of "blanco y blando" and multiple medications, I am happy to report that I am finally feeling better.
Thankfully before getting sick I did have the chance to go and see a couple of really interesting shows in La Paz. The first of which was ABBA, performed by a Bolivian Choral Group. Close to a 100 Bolivians singing ABBA in 4 part harmony. Needless to say it was quite amusing. Below is a video link that pretty much sums up the entire concert. The accents made the show. After watching Bolivians interpret Swedish music, some of the other volunteers and I made our way to see Bolivians perform what they do best - traditional folk music. We visited a hidden spot called "peurto del luna" and were pleased to discover that we were the only gringos in the place. The difference was astounding! We along with our fellow Bolivian friends (old and new - we were quite the hit with the locals) enjoyed the music, "dancing" (not sure you can call it dancing but we tried) and even had the chance to try on the traditional ponchos.
The following day I headed to Bolivian Oktoberfest with my host sister, her friends: Ximena, Ronnie, Sebastian and fellow Canadian Sam. Oktoberfest was held close to my house in a neighborhood called Achumani. I've been told that after WWII there was a large influx of former German Nazis that moved to various countries in Latin America, including, Bolivia. Achumani is the German town of La Paz and Oktoberfest was held at the impressive Club Alemania. The club seems to have everything - indoor swimming pool, outdoor pool, dance hall etc - and part of the reason why the Nazis were welcomed was because they brought with them a ton of money. It was interesting to see women carrying designer handbags, kids in designer clothes and even some families with their indigenous helpers there to look after the kids. Kind of shocking given that Bolivia is the poorest county in South America.
This past week as I mentioned included little excitement as I was sick for most of it. I returned to work on Thursday and am currently attempting to build and access database in Spanish - quite the undertaking because my Spanish is less than stellar and I haven't designed an Access program since a group project in 2nd year University where I more than likely let a computer superstar do most of the work. Once completed it will allow Pro-Rural to easily access information on importers, brokers, exporters, trade fairs etc by product (i.e. coffee, quinoa, chestnuts) and by territory (europe, north america etc). It's been interesting to learn about the export/import process of organic and fair traded products and great to see the number of online tools that are available for SMEs (small and medium size enterprises) in developing nations. I'm hoping to have it finished by the end of this week, after which I can start providing more client tailored marketing assistance for the companies that Pro-Rural works with.
This weekend is a long weekend in Bolivia, thanks to All Saints Day also know as Day of The Dead. I, along with 4 others, will be heading by bus to Uyuni for a 3 day tour of the Salt Flats. I'll be sure to write another post, hopefully with some incredible photos, once I'm back.
Talk soon!
Joanna
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