Advertisement
Published: July 10th 2007
The other day, I met one of my next-door neighbors, a very pleasent, older man named Jorge. As I sat as his kitchen table, he offered me tea, bread, and cake - all of which I accepted. I sat at the table and spoke Spanish with him, his brother, and another student (the one Jorge is hosting). I felt so warm and welcome there in that kitchen. As I was leaving, Jorge said, If you ever need anything, or whenever you want to come here, come. This is your house.
When I got home, I had a nice conversation with my host mom. Having conversations in Spanish take a little less effort ever day. When I started to do the dishes, she said she could do them. I insisted and said, Cuando yo llavo los platos, yo siento como yo estoy a casa. She said, Tu estas a casa. Esta es tu casa
Two people in one night told me that their home was my home. That wouldn´t happen in the United States.
One cheap way to get around the cities in Bolivia is via a micro bus - 1.50 Bs (for comparison, $1 = 7.8 Bs). Do not allow yourself to make a mental reference to your local city bus, or to a Greyhound. There really is no comparison to be found between a micro bus and a Rochester city bus. Micros are much smaller, smaller than a school bus, and painted all kinds in funky designs and colors. I have thought (one more than one occassion) that a worthy photography project would be to document the many, many micro buses of Cochabamba.
So, yesterday, I was standing on a micro, on my way back home from downtown. And as my eyes wander, they connect with the eyes of another. My eyes continue to wonder. There is a small delay, but upon realizing that I have made eye contact with someone, my eyes return to their former position. After a second look, I see a little boy sitting on the floor in the front of the bus, in front of his mother. He is eating a snack and playing with his own hands and fingers - and still looking at me. He sticks his tounge out. I laugh. And then I stick my tounge out. He forms his mouth in a circle, lengthening his cheeks. I form my mouth in a circle, lengthening my cheeks. And so on. We play this game for a solid ten minutes before my stop comes. I make one last funny face, wave and say chao!
This encounter with a three (?) year old is one of my favorite encounters in Bolivia thus far. I want to play with him again.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.116s; Tpl: 0.009s; cc: 5; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0947s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Dad
non-member comment
Thanks for sharing your wonderful descriptions Rach. For those of you non-Spanish speakers, Rachel said "When I wash the dishes, I feel as I am home." Her host mom replied "You are home. This is your home." (I think.)