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Since Mary Beth and Aisha were scheduled to leave on Saturday, we weren’t able to travel anywhere, and it was very nice just to stay in La Paz. As it turns out, Mary Beth didn’t leave after all!!! She is staying another month and is participating in CFHI’s alumni program where she helps coordinate with Gonzalo, the local coordinator here, and is still able to help out in the hospitals. Since there are 11 participants coming on Friday for the next month, Gonzalo really needs the help. Also, she moved into my apartment on Friday. I was already going to have 3 girls move into my apartment and have to share a room, so it was good that it is already someone I know and feel comfortable with.
On Saturday there was a big festival in La Paz, called Grandpoder. There are many dance groups who prepare their outfits and dance routines for this festival year round. The parade starts at about 8 am in the northern part of the city and then all the dance groups parade down through the city until about 4 pm. Mary Beth and I got there around 1pm and bought seats. The whole street is
tarped off by the local people and they set up chairs and benches and charge participants to watch the parade in order to make money. Not only was the parade a lot of fun and beautiful to watch, but also the spectators around us we’re so nice! They kept welcoming us to their culture and giving us free beers. One man next to us kept telling us that he “wanted us to love his country”. The friendliness could have also been a cause of the intoxication that most of the locals participate in, but either way, we felt welcomed and had a lot of fun!
The next day, Sunday, Mary Beth and I decided to walk to Plaza Murillo, which is a beautiful plaza and the formal city center. We continued to walk around all the markets and look at all the random things for sale. At 4 pm, a bus picked us up to take us to another local activity…. Cholita Wrestling. Cholita is the traditional name for the woman of Bolivia that dress in the traditional outfits, and yes, they take part in wrestling. Of course, all the wrestling is staged and fake so I didn’t feel bad
taking part in watching it. The bus took us up to El Alto where they have the small wrestling stadium. There were many locals there cheering on their favorite wrestlers and many tourists as well. We were lucky enough to get front row seats, but little did we know that would mean that we would be apart of the fighting. During two separate fights, one of the wrestlers was picked up and thrown over the railing onto Mary Beth and I. No one got hurt, but it was quite the experience. Also, it wasn’t only Cholitas wrestling but there were several men in wrestling costumes that wrestled too, and they even wrestled the women. The fans are also allowed to throw food or soda bottles at the wrestlers so they get really into it. Overall, it was a very interesting and comical experience. This weekend was very relaxing and it was nice to stay in La Paz and not have to go to work every day.
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steve Ryberg
non-member comment
thanks
Kayce, it appears you are having a great experience, I look forward to seeing you when you get back from your trip. I also look forward to your future updates. Steve