Supermercado/new american

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I write my Blog entries on windows note pad so when I transfer it to my blog the formatting is all messed up so excuse any gramatical errors. ( I know my dad is catching all of them because hes a teacher). It would be a different story if I had internet at my house but unfortunately I dont otherwise I would be in closer contact with friends and loved ones. My writing is not a journal, and is not especially created for others to read but more of a large collection of notes so I dont forget what occurs day by day. Sometimes my writing reminds me of charles Bukowski for those who dont know who that is maybe you should do some research and find out. Also note that just because it is in my blog does not mean that that is all that occured that day, for if I was to try and write everything that occured, conversation after conversation, lesson after lesson, and sight after sight I would be up all night and sleep deprived the next day which I cannot afford. I have been currently reading The interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud before I go to bed which could be minor cause of interesting dreams Ive been having lately but none the less I actually slept a good 10 hrs last night. Like the previous morning I struggled with hot water in the shower for a good 15 minutes when finally gave up and decided not to shower unlike yesterday when I just forced myself to take a shower in what seemed like 40 degree water. As I write this there is a distance car alarm that has been going off for at least the past 20min and it seems to be agrivating the neighborhood dogs. There is also a light smell of a fire that is probably burning near by. Well, I threw on Jeans after deciding against a shower and made my way downstairs to find Mirza
preparing me a large breakfast. There was once again about 8 or so large egg/milk/bread (flapjacks ill call it) with other breads which left me more than content just by appearance. I poured my self some of the Normal tea that was my new favorite (not coca) and asked "donde esta? Daniellea?" kind of as a joke but Mirza took it seriously I assume and shouted from the bottom of the stairs "Daniellea!, DANIELLLLEAAAA!!!". WOw didnt really want to wake her up if she was sleeping, but she came down to join us for breakfast about 5 min later and prepared herself some of her usual hot chocolate. I tried to ask Mirza if we were still going to the Supermercado (mall) and she said yes than starting rambling on and on about things I didnt understand. We watched some graphic images about the war currently going on in pakistan while we ate and Mirza told me that there was no war in BOlivia. That made me feel comfortable. Well Daniellea started preparing some sort of salad after breakfast cutting carrots, brocolli,
and other vegetables I was not familiar with. Mirza and I said adios and were on our way. Walking down to the main street we caught a Taxi in no time. For some reason I was planning on walking but I guess it was a ways away. I have come to learn that where my house is located is actually in Calla Calla which is almost the outskirts of cochabamba so everthing aside from my basic needs is maybe a few kilometers away no more than 2 bolivians by Taxi. At first we were the only 2 in the Taxi but along the way picked up others. At one time there was 7 passengers in my taxi and was sitting in the middle with Mirza to my left and a teenage girl to my right. The girls grandma or aunt or something was in the passenger side to the right of the driver. When the Taxi stopped to let some people off the girl got out and rushed over and forced herself next to her grandma. I must be scary or something haha. Well after no time we had arrived. There was a Giant Coca Cola inflatable bottle and a blow up obstacle course which actually seemed like other obstacle courses and blow up objects that were found in the United states. At first from the outside the place seemed like maybe a Giant grocery store but as I entered with Mirza I noticed that I was like a Mall I was familiar with. We shopped and first things first bought me some shampoo and conditioner. Having no idea what to buy Mirza picked out some products for me that she knew were satisfactory and of good quality. We shopped around and I ate sample after sample from the bolivian
women that were all working mostly advertising. They seemed like the were from the ages of late highschool or even early college but no older. Thats where the pretty girls went haha they work at the mall go figure. I think I actually offended a great deal of them because they were just rambling on about random stuff I had no idea about trying to get me to buy their product or something I had no idea so just kept replying Si or NO no no. Everyone was really friendly and some girl probably around my age was trying to give me some gatoraid fromm mexico or something and was starting to following Mirza and I. Mirza was telling me to do something but I had no idea what she was saying so grabbed 2 bottles of this "jumex Sport" drink from the girl and put them in our cart. Aye...Mirza gasped under her breath and the girl stopped following us. thats some funny shit I thought I need to come to the Market more often. After buying some carne, bread, 2 liters of coke and a bunch of other randomness we made our way to the checkstand. I wanted to buy a huge coke instead of 2 mediocre cokes but Mirza thought it would be
cheaper. Pretty much I just do what she says. WEll at the checkstand there was no wait but during process of seperating me and Mirza's goods an older gentleman came and waited behind us. apparently I bought 110 Bolivianos worth of goods no way...thats absurd. Guess it was like 15 bucks or so..I can believe it now actually. Well after loading our goods in our cart like any other grocery or costco store Ive ever been to there seemed to be a small young kid wearing a rediculous working vest who was no matter what going to help us unload everything. The little kid actually went and exchanged the 2 coke bottles for 1 coke bottles because it was cheaper which caused a minor dely which also forced the man behind us to become uneasy and inpatient. O well I thought this mans only buying a large variety of alcohol so he wont be unhappy for too long. Well I actually noticed a USB drive in a window full of electronics and caused more problems and caused the little kid to wait with our cart while I investigated with Mirza if it was possible to transfer data from computer to computer with it but ended up not buying it at all. (I purchased some listerine also to help with my gum issue in mind). Frogot to mention that before shopping for goods for our house and listerine and what not Mirza had taken me on a tour of
the mall and found everything from a Pizzeria, to a huge amount of electronics, and even a movie theater. Apparently here there was also a movie theater in ENGLISH NO WAY! YES! hope it had spanish subtitles to improve my spanish. Well after shopping the kid pushed our cart to the nearest taxi. Mirza conversed with the taxi driver negotiating costs. After satisfied with the cost there was mild conversation with Mirza and the Taxi driver while I observed the kid loading our groceries into the back of the cab. He left our large jug of Tampico juice in the cart and when noticed that I wasnt putting it in cab gave me the dirtiest look Ive recieved since Ive worked at the grove and told someone they cant smoke inside the venue. Wow I felt terrible I could have easily loaded it in but must have blanked at the moment... Mirza gave him a couple bolivianos and didnt notice how abruptly he left because of me. Well the taxi didnt pick up any other passangers and actually dropped Mirza and I right next to our house so carrying all of the groceries inside was no problem. Daniellea was still right where we left her pealing carrots or something making some sort of broth. I ended up calling John wondering if he wanted to meet me at the institution but he said he was planning on staying home and resting. Perhaps he was still a little ill from everything he yacked yesterday. Hmm...I was still planning on walking down there and using the internet to post 2 blog entries that were over due and maybe check out facebook or something. Well it looked
pretty intense what Mirza was preparing us for lunch and I was actually excited to eat. Well it was currently around 1pm with Mirza in the middle of preparing our meal when the propane for the stove ran out. Propane! I Know what that is. Mirza showed me where the spare in the back in a room I had never been in and needed help moving it so I carriend it to the kitchen with little effort. Problem arose when none of us could turn the knob at the top of the propane tank to release the gas. (this tank must have been sitting in storage for far too long I thought). I tried and tried and tried to twist the knob but failed and then Daniellea and Mirza started to get on their hands and knees trying to turn it as well. This is bad Im a guy I cant let a woman or girl use more brute strength than me its just wrong so I continued to try and failed. Even got a monkey wretch which offered no help what so ever. Mirza actually came back in the process of me sweating on the floor in desperation for food with another propane tank. Um wat? She turned the new canister once and released gas into the kitched and Daniellea and Mirza got into a mild argument cuz the kitchen started to smell like gas. haha well I connected everything successfully and lunch was continuing to be prepared. At around 130pm Daniellea got a telephone call and talked for a while and then handed the phone to me. I was confused um...hola? se hable ingles? I said and some guy goes "alright man you speak english thats good" "are you with caroline?" I replied um..."no? Whos caroline?" Then he asked "um who am I talking to IS this DIEGO?" I was so confused and actually said
hold on one second...I looked at Daniellea and she said a bunch of words but all I got out of it was
'are you interested in playing volleyball later at like 4pm". SO I agreed upon this hoping to meet some new people. Back to the phone I said "Um this is Robert, I live with daniellea and shes cooking me lunch and then after I think Im going to the institution".."well this is KEN, sorry Im actually supposed to meet a friend at 230pm at the institution do you want to meet up were going to watch the game" (apparently there was a soccer game germany vs. Uruguay for 3rd and 4th place in the world cup) "Awesome yea! ill be there" We were also planning on playing volleyball after the game so my day was filled up quickly with entertainment. Aye it was about 140pm and we hadnt even started eating uh oh. Well Mirza prepared us some juice drink with peaches and wat looked like rice but was actually wheat floating around inside. At first questioning the idea to drink it hoping I didnt get sick I realized this could be the most refreshing thing My taste buds ever come to witness. Deliciouso! Mirza Esta es me Favorito! This was by far the most amazing drink Ive had in a while. Then came some soup that was a little yellowish in color but was actually was quite appetizing and actually made me quite full with little room for the main dish. Aye..it was almost 2 I was a little worried that the meal wouldnt be ready in time by the time I should
have departed to meet up with Ken. I was stressing didnt know how exactly to break the news to Mirza that I had to leave soon. She placed what reminds me of a casserole prepared by aunt Yvonne in the oven O great...more time was going to elapse. I Told Mirza my urgency and lack of time and I think she pulled out the casserole prematurely and served it too me. Uh oh...SHould I eat something with meat that might not be fully cooked? O well Looked appealing and I endulged pretty quickly and was quite satisfied. Sorry Mirza y Daniellea but I have to RUn. They even told me how to say it in spanish haha. well almost forgot my keys till Mirza reminded me before I left. On my way I pulled out my phone before reaching the main street where I traveled West for what seemed like a mile and noticed that it was 210pm. Time was running so increased my speed of travel. I had my backpack with me with only my laptop in it which worried me a little but kept moving and no one seemed to bother. I have to constantly watch where Im walking so I dont fall on any loose rocks or fall in any foot deep ditches as there
were a few. Not glancing up in a while and after passing the 1st carwash was convinced that I was lost. I looked around for familiar surroundings but saw the Christ statue in the distance almost strangely clearer than I remember. I felt like I had no idea where I was and thought that I might have actually passed the school/institute. Really I didnt remember the statue being so grand so I was left in question due to jesus which wasnt a first ha. I passed another carwash and recalled the institute being down the street. alright familiar surroundings began to set in and I was no longer worried. There was a large basketball game going on with little kids and I actually took a moment to observe. As I walked in the institution I entered. As soon as I entered there were 3 people sitting next to the front gate. 1 was what looked like a native man, 1 a woman looked same age as me brown hair, 1 was a blonde guy. Hmmm...I thought. "hola Como Estas" a Bien bein they responded. I announced that my name was Robert and was immediately greeted in english by the couple. Caroline, KEN, and Diego (the native who lives with
Caroline and works the front gate of the institute). Amusing conversation took place with laughs and what not and I announced that I really wanted to use the internet. They agreed they had no problem waiting for me, for the game was probably on at the institution. I thought they were going to wait at the gate but followed me inside as I quickly pulled out my laptop. Getting online was no problem here and Caroline and Ken searched for somewhere to watch the game. Caroline was ( 22yr who was from Colorado who actually graduated with Ken at (cant remember the institute in oaklahoma I believe or Illinois? Future elementary teacher) Ken was (21 yr from illinois? and was a political science major thats intense) Apparently Ken and Carolina Met each other while studying for 5 weeks in el salvador (central america) in a 5 week program. Carolina actually also lived in D.R. for 5 months thats crazy! I told her that my cousin was actually going to the Dominican Republic for some weeks. Very nice people and possibly new travel buddies. Well I wondered where the couple went after a few minutes went by and some
older man named Jean? told me that my friends were in the Student room and that I had internet there. I walked down some hallway wondering which door to enter hoping it wasnt the wrong one and that I wouldnt be interupting a class in session. 1st door I opened was a success and found KEN on a public computer sending some email. I said Id be like 10min then we could go watch the game at his house but really needed to post my blogs for the 8th and 9th. When I logged into my travel blog and copied and pasted my posts from my Windows notepad since I didnt have word every sentence seemed to indent itself so I had to press "delete" then "space" every five seconds. I really need an external USB drive So I could easily transfer my BLogs to the nearest computer with little effort and actually do have an internet cafe not even 1 min from my house along with a liquor store O YEA! Watching the beginning of the game and editing my blogs took maybe 15min and we were off to KENS house with Caroline. Diego? what time do you get off of work from the front gate I asked as we left (in spanish of course) 10pm! he replied
Es NO BUENO! I replied and we laughed. Leaving the institute we made a right then a left then a right another right and I was completely lost. "yo KEN! I have no idea where we are?" haha we laughed and he explained where the main street was and I kind of understood but still had little confidence with my current sense of direction. Kens house was really authentic probably more than Johns and mine and had a Dog named CHIP. His family was extremely kind and was actually related to Mirza ha what are the odds. He said that him and daniellea played volleyball yesterday and they spent so much time that he thought Daniellea lived at his house. Well we sat down by the T.V. held intense conversations in English while watching the remainder of the game. There was 2 little boys one I met later named Fabio who abruptly entered screaming and yelling and started fighting and wrestling in the middle of the room and Ken said Uh oh I have to stop this it usually can get out of hand. Caroline and I Laughed and watched as Ken picked up one of the boys and held him in the air with the other screaming and trying to climb up KEN. What a sight to see haha. Soon enough Ariselle Mirza's Tia (aunt) entered and brought all
3 of us some amazing strawberry Icecream. Delicious! I explained to Ken and Caroline that Cochabamba was the food capital of bolivia and they replied with Awe. IT was there 2nd day in Bolivia and they had already gone to La Cancha on their 1st day thats crazy! Even the family they were with thought that was intense but they said they needed power converters desperately and found them not 20min in la Cancha. Later found out also that Ken and Carolina were not together but were both involved in long distance relationships thats weird I thought I could have sworn they were dating. Well about near the end of the soccer game Ken got up unannounced and exited the room and Caroline and I chatted a bit. Loosing track of time and learning some of the rules and amounts of time soccer consisted of The game ended and Ken still had not returned. We both got up and walked through the house and found Ken in his room. "hey I installed this game on my computer for Fabio Hes going nutz over it!" ken said. Haha the little ones are intense I thought. Caroline and I were playing frizbee with one while Fabio was so hyped up with his new game that it was almost impossible to calm him. Moments and time elapsed and I wondered hmm...it was 4pm wonder if we were still going to be playing volleyball with Daniellea and Ben? Well my 2 new friends agreed that I should call and try and find where Daniellea is. I called Mirza and she said something like she was with BEn? I dont know Mirza talks really fast. Caroline laughed at my expression at the end of the phone call I had. "Hey Ken Danielleas with Ben I think" I said. Ken replied, "well, Ben went hiking so I dont think Danielleas going to be playing with us. Hmmm...for a moment I was a little Disappointed but was having fun none the less so didnt stress to much. Pretty soon Daniellea actually arrived at Kens house with someone else who lived at Kens house. Awesome nice sight to see someone familiar. We chatted for a few and I noticed the Lepard furs and skins that were rapped around like 3 different chairs. Thats a first I thought. Well I guess we were still going to play volleyball but we all thought that we were going to play like a block away from Kens house but were mistaken. Daniellea and her friend or cousin or something prepared the car which was quite similar to a jeep and I thought no way were all Going to fit. The 2 little ones were in the very back where there
was no seat, and they crammed 4 into the back and I was sitting shotgun because they that I was "GRANDE". We passed a park and more interesting sights and the kids yelled and yelled with excitement. We finally just seemed to pull over and parked. (at one time we were actually driving on the wrong side of the road which kind of scared me a bit but Ariselle introduced herself to me and seemed quite a confident experienced driver so I wasnt too worried. When we arrived at the what I understand as racketball courts there were a large amount of people playing. From my interpretation of the conversation being held between Daniellea and the owner it would be an hour maybe more for an open court but actually we were only to wait like 5 minutes and had the court for an hour. Aye! I need to work on my spanish I thought. Daniellea her cousin and I were on a team against Ken, Caroline, and
Ariselle. The rules were a little beyond me during the first game and I kept hitting the ball fiercly.
Apparently If the ball hit the ceiling it was out and if it hit the back wall on either side it was out. If on a
serve it hit any wall it didnt count. Well my time won first game then we switched and we won again. We won a total of like 4 games and didnt lose a game Wow im pretty good I thought ha. Well I was actually quite winded and we agreed that this was a really nice new form of excersise for us while we were in Bolivia. Wish John was here to Join me but I figure soon enough he will considering we had like 6 months. Well when the game was over I purchased a poweraid at the front desk for about 5 bolivianos (LESS THAN A DOLLAR!) really satisfied with my purchase I was unaware that our volleyball game cost us 3 bolivianos each. Dam I had a 10$ boliviano and 1.50 boliviano in change...for some reason caroline spotted me the money "thanks Ill get you back soon" I replied. Outside of the indoor racketball courts Caroline announced she was leaving for her house which was less than a block a way. We said our good byes and with darkness falling in the next 20 min I assume we all got back into the car and were on our way. After some jokes about how the men smelled or whatever Daniellea told me that we were
getting off soon. We said our good byes maybe a few kilometers the volleyball ground and daniellea and I were alone with darkness setting looking for a cab. I said I had 1.50 bolivianos enough to get us back to our place but agreed that we could walk there. Daniellea and I both conversed the best we could and she actually quoted that "your spanish is improving" Thats good to hear and I hadnt even started class yet. She helped me define words I was unfamiliar with and tried to explain to me This main street that Ive been constantly traveling on but right now am too tired to even remember/comprehend. Side note---When in car with Ken and his family after the volleyball games there was a large fire where there were alot of trees and dried up plants with no stopping in site just on the side of the street. I actually thought it was pretty entertaining that no body cared that part of the city could easily catch or was currently on fire. This could explain the smell of fire from my room. Well we arrived back and Daniellea goes "you Hungry! huh?" haha she laughed and walked to her room. Mirza greeted me as soon as
the door opened and led me into the kitchen where there was more peach wheat juice drink from chile and more caserole. she Also served me some carne from yesterday and some flapjacks from this morning. Along with some more potatoes and home maid hot sauce enhancers. I actually ate everything and felt bigger than Ive felt in a while "Pure Glutany" as my friend chris davis from back home would put it. Mirza nor daniellea ate with me so it was the first time I had eaten by myself. Mirza returned shortly when I was about to wash my dishes and she spoke a bunch incoherently to me but I got out of it that she was giving the remainders of my plate the neighboors dogs. I retired with some water and decided to write this blog. It is now 11:30pm where as I started writing at around 7-8ish? I have found a new way to help pass the night (listening to my ipod reflecting on the highlights of my day and writing). I know I frogot to mention a vast amount of detail but this was the majority. Tomorrow I am supposed to meet up with Daniellea and KEN at the institution at 2pm to go from there somewhere to watch the game perhaps this o so famous Burger King we have all been hearing about which we hear is actually pretty epic in cochabamba and quite expensive I hear but Ken and Daniellea are confident that the game will be
showing there. I hope maybe to throw back a few drinks with some good people watching the world cup in a 3rd world country burger king for I can really use a burger...

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