Q&A / General Thoughts and Observations

So it has been a while, and I apologize for that….but not without good reason. As most of you know I was off traveling the continent with my family and my man. Had an incredible time and too many stories that will have to be told in person – must see highlights included climbing Machu Picchu (just breath taking), Buenos Aires (my new favourite city in the world) and a beach town in Uruguay called Punta Del Diablo (picturesque fishing town with cabanas for rent AND it’s still off the radar). Between traveling and getting back into my life in La Paz, I was bound to neglect my blog – and thus today, on the 21st of January, is my first post of 2009.

Many people have asked me what life is like in La Paz – what I like/ don’t like, how is smells, what people eat etc and so I thought it would be fitting to create a post to answer some of the many questions and share a few of my observations from the past 4 months.

Where exactly is Bolivia? This was a question I got a lot before my departure. Bolivia is in South America and is land locked between several countries (Peru, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil).

What’s it like in La Paz? La Paz is one of the two capitals of Bolivia and is located right smack in the middle of the Andes. It’s like no other city I’ve seen before and consists of El Alto (In the altiplano – a high plateau) and the city of La Paz itself (located along the moutainsides and in the valley below).

How do People get around? Well, there are quite a few ways to get around here in La Paz. You can walk – although I wouldn’t recommend it because it is so easy to get out of breath in the altitude, take Micros which are like school buses (cost is 1 Boliviano), Mini-Buses, which seat 15 people (more or less), and travel a long a certain route (cost is 1.50), Truffes, which are shared taxis and hold 6 people, also travel along a certain route (cost is 3 Bolivianos) or a radio taxi (private taxi) which seat as many people as you want/can fit in and cost between 6 and 50 Bolivianos depending on where you are going. The Micros, Mini Buses and Trufes provide the most interesting experience – you flag them down on the street like a regular taxi, pile yourself in which a bunch of strangers and yell “voy a bajar” when you want to get out. Mini-Buses usually have a designated shouter (sometimes a child) that yells out the window the route that they take “Achumani, Achumani, San Migel, Obrajes Uno Boliviano” – over and over again.

What’s the weather like? That is a tricky one, as it changes by the hour. In any given day (during the rainy season aka summer) one can expect sunshine and a temperature of about 20 degrees, rain, thunderstorms and hail – never in my life have I experienced so much hail.

What are the people like? The people here are incredibly interesting and diverse. You have your fair share of tourists and gringos (to which I either feel a certain bond towards when I pass by them on the street - an “I got you”, kind of bond – or “ I hate the dogs too” – or at other times resentment like “what are you doing in my city?” or “I’m the 20 something brunette Canadian girl, that’s my role, you can’t be here” ), there are also those that live in zona sur or sopocachi and tend to be of European decent as well as the “Pacenas” and Cholitas. The Cholitas are by far my favourite and add to the unique scenery of La Paz. Their traditional outfits include a huge floral skirt, random sweater (just trust me because they are random), cape/shawl of some sort – usually with sparkles and tassels and the cholita top hat. Often times they are carrying a huge multi-colour sack on their backs – one of my favourite games here to play is guess what’s in the sack – it could literally be ANYTHING – food, an appliance, a baby, ANYTHING.

What are some of the differences between La Paz and Canada? – the easy answer to this would be EVERYTHING, but seriously there are tons.

- the way that people dress and the rich indigenous culture
- People often live at home here well into their 30’s and as such a 30 year old here probably has more in common with a 22 year old in Canada.
- Stray dogs – there are tons of them!!!!!!!! Everywhere!!!!!
- More family orientated
- There is no such thing as a mall, in fact most people don’t know what a mall is, and instead you can buy everything on the street. Things I have bought on the street include – headphones, food, water, beer, tooth paste, sleeping bag, llama foetus (ok I haven’t actually bought a llama foetus on the street but the point is that I could if I wanted to).
- Greater class distinction
- More vocal population
- More poverty – a lot more poverty

What are some of the things that I like/don’t like:

LIKES:
- Submarinos (amazing hot chocolate drink that is so good)
- Lots of fresh fruit and juices
- Cobblestone streets
- The Mountains (especially the way they look in the sunshine and at night)
- My host family!!!!! (fun, caring and so welcoming)
- The weather in nearby Chorioco
- My life in general, because it is so much more relaxed
- Being called “senorita” – I don’t know why, I just like it
- Llamas – because they are really cool
- Learning a new language – because it’s both challenging and rewarding

DISLIKES:
- The stray dogs - they are everywhere, they are scary and I hate them
- Cars – they honk all the time, often for no reason at all, will hit you before they will stop (This is fact), and often come with reckless drivers
- The scary shoe shiners that wear ski masks (I’m told because they double as drug dealers)
- Change (for a monetary transaction) is impossible to come by – people will not give you change and it feels like you are doing someone a disservice when you pay them (which is just insane)
- The music – it is horrible, there is no other way to describe it – you have two options Reggaetone which I am convinced is what they play in Hell, and Folk music
- The food – not because it tastes bad, but because it makes me ill L
- The street beggars, because they often have their children with them for sympathy and it makes me sad.
- Chuno – dried potatoes that tastes similar to how I imagine feet would.
- People seem to mistake public areas such as the streets for bathrooms (before this past Saturday I would have written “people pee on the street” but unfortunately I witnessed a rather traumatizing event which I will not describe in detail and thus have re-worded the phrase)

Misc. Thoughts – Things that I want to share but don’t fit into a category
- While there are many different past tenses in the Spanish language a lot of people only know one and say “last night, I have been to the cinema” or “yesterday I have taken a shower” – strange
- Bolivians love their “que” expressions and say them ALL THE TIME (in English it would be like saying what food! or how pretty! ) for example: “que lindo” “que rico” “que deli” “que lastima” and my favourite which I try to use whenever I can - “que trafico”
- Everything in La Paz is in terms of up and down (not north and south)
- It’s customary to greet everyone you see “buenas tardes” “buenas noches” or if you are lazy, just “buenas”
- The people here stay out late – as in 5 am late - and get drunk – as in pass out on the table at the bar drunk
- Voting is mandatory
- I have no idea how the cholita’s hats stay on – it, like what they carry in their sacks, is a mystery.
- Carbs are a staple here and most meals involve several of them – a soup that has either rice, quinoa or potatoes, followed by a main dish with some kind of meat and usually rice, potatoes AND corn (thankfully my host mom does not cook like this)
- The rivers stink (they do, they smell really bad)
- You can’t flush toilet paper down the toilet – you have to throw it into a bin that is beside the toilet (fingers crossed I don’t bring this habit back to Canada)