Return to Sucre

---

On Sunday Tristan and I returned to Sucre, leaving lisa and galen in puka puka to finish sorting out their toilets! It is frustrating, for both tristan and I, because we do not speak spanish well and all the communication, teaching etc with the villagers is obviously done in spanish. So we got a bus back to Sucre, via tarabuco (a little town). There was a market here, and we bought chuspa (?think thats how you spell it!), little hand woven bags to hold our coca leaves in. Then got in a truffi (shared bus/taxi) for the long, hot, dusty drive back to sucre. It was rather squashed, somehow the driver managed to fit us, 7 bolivians and a parrot in his taxi. When we got back we wondered the streets of sucre, trying to find me a sun hat and poncho, but we all know about my indecisivness right!? Then I moved in with the family I am going to stay with for the next two weeks. They are very nice. There is the mother, Nancy, and her son, Victor who is 15 and very sweet. But then there is also the abuelos (grandparents), tias (aunts), hermanas (sisters) y ninos (children). I havent quite worked out how many there are in this house/open plan set of rooms, maybe 20, all from the same family. Es muy loco! But they are very nice, speak spanish to me which is good, although very tiring, and do leave me alone in my nice room after i have said buenos dias, como esta to them all! The only problem is the slightly worrying food that is put on my plate. Some is very nice, but every day for example there is soup for lunch, with a chunk of fatty, non identifiable meat in the middle. Not quite sure what to do with that! And lots of cheese, potatoes, fatty meat. Oh dear, my poor stomach!
Spanish lessons are good. Four hours in the morning and two in the afternoon. It is hard, tiring, there is lots of homework, that i should be doing now, and everyone is very friendly. I am doing salsa dancing on thursday and going to potosi with some other students at the weekend. My head hurts from all the spanish, am speaking it most of the time. It is funny though. There is quite a large community of international students, and they all cluster in the joy ride cafe, watching films every night etc. After being in Puka Puka, it feels quite sad to be back in a group of westerners. But am not complaining! I am having a fabulous time. Sucre is a great place to ease into the culture, and I do feel safe. I havent felt threatened once (touch wood), other than whenever i cross the road and another bus runs a red light. The bolivian people are kind, intelligent, and very dedicated to their country. It is amazing to be in a place where the people actually want to, and believe they can make a difference. There are protests all the time, apparently there was one last week when the whole of sucre stopped work and marched the streets in a bid to make sucre the capital of bolivia again.

---

Photos

Tarrabuco market
Time to buy a pouch for my coca leaves!

Sucre at night
Watching the sunset from cafe mirador above sucre. Perfect!

Comments

[eva]

hi
Hi Lau, very pleased to have finally reached your travel Blog - fascinating to read and loving all the little details. keep it up. hope you get this - not sure how the whole thing works. x

[Jo]

Wow it sounds amazing, especially Puka Puka. I met a Bah'ai guy in Prague, it's a fascinating faith. Really interesting that it could become the primary religion in just 24 years. It sounds like what Lisa and Galen is doing is something really valuable - so it must be great to be involved in it. Hope food gets edibler- or you get more used to it! :-) Did you find the witch market yet??

[eva coleman]

more news!
And then????time for an update please.