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Ready!
Me with my very packed backpack (thanks Michelle!) ready to go. After a very long journey, I finally made it to La Paz, Bolivia at 5:15 am. The moment I stepped off the plane, I could feel the effects of the 12,000-foot altitude. It feels like there is an elephant sitting on your chest and you cant´t catch your breath. Other than that and getting winded easily and sleeping a lot, I never got sick or anything. Even though I arrived at my home stay very early and tired, Señora Isabel was there to welcome me and show me around her apartment. Her apartment is on Plaza Avaroa and is very nice. Her fiancee, 7-year old daughter, and helper also live there.
On the first day, I just slept a lot, and when I was awake I played with the little girl, Lucia. Even though she doesn´t speak English, we still have fun playing with her dog or hide and go seek. Isabel even asked me to help Lucia with her English homework. I was ecstatic! Finally something I can understand. Isabel and her fiancee, Rodrico, speak some English but primarily just speak in Spanish. My favorite part of the day was laying on my bed with Lucia and going
Mt. Illimani
View of Mt. Illimani from my apartment. through all my pictures as they popped up on my digital photo frame my sister had given me before my trip. She wanted to know who all my family members were, and she especially liked mi sobrino, my nephew, Austin.
That night, Isabel invited six of her friends over for pizza and wine and we all sat around the living room talking (well not me) and listening to music. Not a word of English was spoken and I have never felt so lost in my whole life. Hopefully I will pick it up soon.
On my second day, I again slept a lot because of the altitude. When I awoke, Isabel showed me all the different fruits they have, including one called Tuna. It is very very good and sweet, and it comes in 3 different colors. Later that afternoon, one of the girls in my program, Mary Beth, whom I had been e-mailing prior to our trip called me and wanted to meet up because her Señora was out of town and she was all alone. I met her in the plaza outside our apartments and we just walked around for awhile, of course taking breaks because
there are a lot of hills and we get winded easily 😊 During our walk, we found a movie theatre and decided to see Iron Man 2. We were very shocked and excited when we found out that the movie was in English. We were equally excited when we found out that the movie was $3 and the popcorn was $1. Theatres in the United States really rip you off ha ha. After the movie, we went back to our homestays for the night. Dinner was ready when I arrived. We had macaroni and cheese, hamburger meat, and salad. So far, we have been eating a lot of vegetable soups, hamburger, chicken, potatoes, corn, rice, salad, and fruit. I asked Isabel if they ate Alpacha, Llama, or Guinea Pig and she laughed and said no, so there Johaan 😊.
The next day, we had orientation. I met Mary Beth, Gonzalo (our program coordinator), and the other two girls in the program, in the plaza and he walked us around a little and to his office. There he gave us the run down about La Paz and ways to be safe, etc. After orientation we all went home and had
La Paz
View of La Paz and the hill side houses from my room lunch. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day here and most places are closed because people go home to eat lunch. Because of the altitude, if you eat a lot at night then you won´t be able to sleep, so they eat a lot at lunch.
In the afternoon, we had to go to the place where we will have our Spanish classes to take a diagnostic test. After the written and verbal test, we were each paired with an instructor. We meet one on one with our instructors every day for two hours, so hopefully my Spanish will get better.
Lastly, after class we had to meet our Program Doctor at her office. She is a pediatrician and doesn´t speak any English. She gave us a presentation on the different insurances in Bolivia and what they cover. She also went over some common illnesses in Bolivia. Some examples are malnutrition, respiratory problems or colds because of the high altitude and the cold season, malaria in areas outside of La Paz, and very commonly hip displacement in young children. The traditional Bolivian Señoras here commonly wrap a baby or young child very tightly and carry them on
La Paz
Another view from my bedroom window of houses their back. This causes the hip displacement. She also gave us our rotation schedule. Tomorrow I will be working at El Hospital del Niño.
Sorry for the delayed and long post! I have had some internet problems, but will be posting entries regularly.
I miss everybody back in the States very very much and hope you are all doing well!
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rward
Ryan Ward
awesome kayce! i am extremely jealous. have fun!