Salinas, home to Quinoa real

Having been a month since I updated my blog, I am at a loss of where to begin. So much has happened between October 27^th and today. For the past two weeks I have been focused on my independent study project which has facilitated travel to Oruro and Salinas. My project is writing a bilingual childrens book about quinoa. Quinoa is a grain that has been grown in the Andes since the time of the Incas. Now it is becoming a more popular item in the world market. Because of it's increased export and effects of globalization the younger generation in Bolivia are not eating quinoa as much as they used too and many of the traditions and history behind it is being lost. My intension for choosing this assignment is to build the pride individuals have for quinoa in Bolivia and show US children a bit about Bolivian culture. Additionally I drew motivation from a desire to add another childrens book to the very minimal variety that exists in Bolivia. In all of Bolivia there is only one children's book library and it is very tiny. From the past few weeks I have more stories then time to write them all here. For this reason I have picked a few of my favorite pictures from the past few weeks...

Town of Salinas I spent the past week and a half here after a very memorable seven hour bus ride down to the southern Altiplano region. On the way we dodged a number of blockades, passed a bus that had turned over, saw a lot of llama and a few ostriches, and were surprised to discover that a paved road does not yet exist between OruroSalinas. The town is a center for quinoa growers which made it an ideal place to work on research for my ISP. Surrounded by the two salt flats of Bolivia, beautiful hillsides and mountains and the volcano Thunupa, Salinas was breathtaking. It was an inspiring and in ways spiritual place.

Natural Indicators The elder population of Salinas know when it is time to plant and harvest their quinoa based on a variety of natural indicators. One of these is when these cactus that dot the hillsides around Salinas flower it time to start planting the quinoa seed. Because of global warming these natural indicators are becoming less and less dependable, this is one of the many issues facing quinoa growers now.

Cora Cora There were a lot of legends about Salinas and quinoa that I heard in my time in there. One of them was about the Volcano Thunupa and her male equivalent Cora Cora.

Edson was our guide through the quinoa fields in Salinas.

Quinoa Salinas claims that between the salt flats is where quinoa originated. Those around Lake Titicaca who say otherwise.



Gran Museo Natural de Los Chullpares de Alcaya The past three pictures are from a visiting an amazing natural museum. It is legend that the civilization who lived there, the Chullpares, lived in the time of the moon and darkness. When the sun came they ran from it, not accustomed to the light. They made little dwellings in the side of a cliff in the shade and waited for what they thought was the end of the world. They all ended up dying alongside the cliff except for a male and female who survived in a river. This was the most incrediable museum I had ever visited. Our guide a woman and her son (or grandson... not too sure) lived in Alcaya. The community Alcaya (consisting of four individuals including our guide) are in the process of building a Hotel to host more tourists. The museum now is little known, me and Sarah were the only people to visit it for a month.

Salar de Uyuni On me and Sarah's last day in Salinas we were determined to get to the salar. We walked all over the town knocking on numerous doors trying to find someone who would take us... lots of peoples cars seemed to be not functioning but everyone we talked to directed us to someone else. In the end the husband of the cook of our hotel took us on his motorcycle. While the salar was incrediable I think the process of finding a way to get there and the hour and a half motorcycle ride each way was more memorable.

I am now back in Cochabamba. I had to head back earlier then I had originally planned in order to meet with the group who is going to publish my book. I am planning on publishing 50 books at the moment. If you would like a book send me a message or email me and I will put your name down on my list, I am trying to get an idea of how many I should publish...

Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz has an amazingly different feel then the Andean cities I have visited thus far. Being in the low lands the climate is more tropical... in other words very very hot which kept me dripping and sticky throughout the week. In the city you do not see the indigenous women in their bowler hats and polleras like you do in every other city I have visited in the Andes. The stores and restaurants that line the street have a much more luxurious presence and while ‘Evo si’ is spray painted along the streets of Cochabamba, ‘Autonomia’ is the popular phrase that dots the city and district of Santa Cruz.

On Monday after a morning flight to Santa Cruz we took a 6 hour bus ride to the more Amazonian area of Santa Cruz where an indigenous group, Guarayos, live. The town we stayed in was fascinating for many reasons but in particular for their construction of classical instruments, most popular among them, the violin. Over time the town has developed a hobby of playing classical music. A remote town on the outskirts of the Amazon in Bolivia gives a large classical concert every four years… there are so many awesome things in this country. Tuesday we traveled a little deeper into Amazon to visit an even more remote community of Guarayos. It was an hour or so bouncy bus ride and in the end we had to wade through a river before we reached the community, Curucuru. Curucuru was an amazing little village of 35 or so families that makes a living harvesting wood. For about an hour we listened to various members of the community explain how their village is run along with their plans to bring electricity into their village as well as portable water and more in the near future. In the end we asked them if they had any questions for us. Their first question was about what was going on in Bolivia right now. Our director Ismael brought them up to date with all the current events and news including the recent march in La Paz. I think it is a testimony to the remoteness of the village and diversity of Bolivia that a group of students from the United States were the ones bringing news about their native country. I also found this visit to be fascinating in looking at the differences between indigenous communities of the Andean and Amazonian region.

By Thursday we were back in the city of Santa Cruz. We spent the morning visiting massive sand dunes right outside the city which have formed in consequence of deforestation. On the way to the dunes we spent a good hour or so pushing our bus through the sandy road. At one point when group pushing and digging out of the tires seemed to be going no where, Lupe (our director Ismael’s wife) preformed this meditative redirection of energy thing on the bus. It seemed to work because after that point the bus had no trouble plowing through the sand. On Friday the meeting we had with an organization was canceled so the day was free to explore the city. I spent the day wandering around, sketching a bit in the plaza, and visiting a few museums including a really cool modern art museum.

I am now back at my Cochabamba home happy to be out of the heat. My host sisters are sitting on either side of me playing various Spanish songs and gauging my reactions… I must be giving good ones because they can’t stop laughing. They seem to think my preferred style of music is rather dull.

Potatoes, Daybi, and more Potatoes

In looking over my last post Potosi and Sucre seem like a long time ago. I just arrived back to my Cochabamba home after spending the past five days living with a family in the campo. While I was there time seemed to move very slowly, but now that I am back in Cochabamba I am sorry I did not have more time in the campo. I guess like so much else in life I will define the experience as bittersweet.

My Quechua host family in the campo consisted of Julia the mother, her husband, a one year old Wendi who was always referred to as Beba, David (22), Adan (9), Adalid (6), and finally, Daybi a four year old boy (the one holding the puppy) who was my best bud and guide through the campo. Daybi pretty much never stopped chattering to me from the moment I arrived, asking me; quieres jugar… quieres ir a rio… que estas haciendo… while I could understand these questions most of his chatter was nearly impossible for me to understand. Communication issues aside Daybi showed me the ropes in how to peal a boiled potato or roasted haba, how to move a herd of sheep through a river by hissing and throwing rocks at them, and most importantly the best way to startle someone in a sneak attack.

I spent a lot of time kicking a soccer ball around with Adan and Adalid as well, but neither of them seemed to be as fascinated with me as Daybi. I went to school with Adan on Monday. When I walked in the door I found another student in SIT, Libbi, sitting at a table making paper balloons with a group of kids. She was relieved when I walked in the door because the teacher of the class had not shown up and she was left in charge. Together we thought of a few good games to play (thanks grab) but with large communication gaps in both Spanish and quechua we would present an activity only to have seventeen 9 year old students stare blankly back at us. In the end we resorted to more paper balloons and duck duck goose.

I did not return to school with Adan on Tuesday. Instead I joined Julia and Daybi as they herded their 25 sheep up to a mountain pasture which was the highlight of my time in the campo. I also spent a lot of time weeding my families’ seemingly endless onion fields, feeding cows and chickens, and eating more potatoes then I thought I would eat in a lifetime. I counted one day and between breakfast, lunch, a second lunch, and dinner I ate 24 potatoes, granted they were not the size of your average Untied States baked potato, still a lot. Other food of the campo consisted of rice, noodles, onions, and fried eggs. Every time we would sit on little stools in the kitchen to eat I would cringe as Julia put spoonful after spoonful of potatoes and noodles on my plate. I was literally handed mounds of food. I always enjoyed what I was eating; it was the quantity that got me. Every time I finished a meal I felt quite accomplished.

While my host mother spoke pretty good Spanish (Quechua being the primary language) it was hard for us to find things to talk about because of the immense divide in our cultures. One example… Julia introduced me to one of her neighbors as the girl from Argantina. I corrected her and told her that I was from the United States and she said, yes I know, Argentina. Others from my group had the same thing occur. I feel like there is a lot more I want to say about the past five days but I am still trying to process it all and don’t know how to put it all into words. It was an incredible experience.

Potosi and Sucre

I am back at home munching on some buttered rolls and sipping on hot tea and thought what better time to update my blog. This past week has been packed between traveling to Potosi and Sucre. Our group arrived to Potosi Monday afternoon after a quick flight to Sucre and 4 hour bus ride up to Potosi which at 14,000 ft is the highest city in the world. Potosi also happens to be one of the poorest cities in the world. While I have started to like Cochabamba more and more it could not compare to how much I enjoyed Potosi. In colonial times Potosi ranked as one of the wealthiest cities in the world for its rich mining industry. Through extensive and brutal mining efforts Potosi supplied large proportions of the worlds silver and tin. For this reason the city has beautiful old structures and narrow streets barely big enough for a car to pass through, I loved the feelings of antiqueness and history that the city held. Despite the beauty of the city because the mines of Potosi have been so exploited there is not as much work for the population and the city is riddled with struggling families of ex-miners, and miners.


On Tuesday our group entered the mines. Before we entered we were provided with the proper attire including helmets with large head lamps, classy blue jackets, and bulky rubber boots. Once everyone was set and looking good in blue we stopped by a market close to the mines to buy some gifts for the miners we were going to pass in the mines as a sign of respect. Some bought alcohol, others bags of coca leaves, and myself a few sticks of dynamite. Our tour through the mines involved a lot of ducking and crawling as we explored 5 of the many levels of the mine. I couldn’t help but feel like an ant in an anthill and found myself getting somewhat anxious at the thought of getting lost in such a complex three-dimensional maze. After the mines we visited a centre for children of the miners. The centre reminded me a lot of CODESCO RL, where I worked in Nicaragua. Wednesday half our group stayed in Potosi to explore various museums, while the other half ventured off to a hot springs known as the ‘eye of the Incas.’ I joined the hot springs group and though I did not go for a dip I took some time to hike around, journal, and take lots of photos.


Sucre is another beautiful city full of antique white buildings. In the Sucre airport is a big sign welcoming you to the capitol of Bolivia, there is definitely still some tension about this capital issue. Thursday morning we visited an indigenous art museum which focused on the ancient and recent weavings of the Quechuas. I was fascinated by everything, so much so that I am considering doing my month long research on the topic. After the morning at the museum the group split for some individual Sucre exploration. I broke off with three others to eat some chorizo (a special kind of deep-fried sausage), a typical dish of Sucre. We then bought a bunch of chocolate (which is also uniquely good in Sucre) and sat in the plaza for a few hours.

While I would have loved a few more days in Sucre to explore I am happy to be back in Cochabamba with my host family. It can get a bit tiring traveling with a group of 23 people. That said I feel a lot closer to the group after a week of travel and am having an all around amazing time. Classes will begin as before on Monday and then Saturday we will be heading to La Paz for a week.

Tranquilo en Cochabamba

For anyone who has been keeping up with Bolivian news, things have been a little on edge. Cochabamba is tranquilo, but in Pando and Santa Cruz there has been a lot of violence and demonstrations. Last week when I was walking back from class I couldn’t help by notice I wasn’t having to dodge as many cars and buses as usual. When I turned the corner into my neighborhood (Chimba) the line for the gas station was down the street and around the corner. Because of the blockades in the south gas has not been as abundant in Cochabamba. There was a crowed of people around the gas pump with empty trash bags and coke bottles to fill with gas, quite a sight. I don’t want to go too deeply into political issues but Evo Moralez asked the US ambassador to leave the country which has caused a few repercussions. The Peace core has left the country but SIT has decided that we are in no immediate danger and are going to continue the program as planned. If things turn more serious we will relocate to Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Between classes, watching the news, and getting to know Cochabamba better I have been pretty busy. I usually get back from classes at 7ish have a simple dinner of tea and bread and am able to read a few pages of tarea before I pass out. I have been taking Tai Chi classes in the mornings which are adding to my overall exhaustion at night. I get up at 5:45 every morning and call a taxi to take me to my director Ismael’s house where he and his wife give lessons in tai chi. After tai chi I head to SIT for classes. My classes are going great, and are getting easier and easier to follow as my Spanish improves.

Last weekend we had Monday off to celebrate the day of Cochabamba. A group of us decided to hike in a nearby nature reserve, Tunari. It was nice to get out of the city for a while. The hike was beautiful with great views of Cochabamba…

On Thursday our group went into the campo for the first time. The difference between the city Cochabamba and the campo was amazing. I hope spend a lot more time getting to know the campo…

Cochabamba

I have officially been in Cochabamba for a week, thought it feels more like a month. I am starting to feel much more comfortable in the city and am excited to be back in the routine of a student. My schedule more or less is class from 9-12:30 in either a Field Study Seminar or a Culture and Development Seminar, 12:30-2:45 I have off to walk home and eat lunch with my family and then I return to SIT from 2:45-6:15 for Spanish classes. I will have my first official Culture and Development Seminar tomorrow and am getting pretty excited since our teacher was just elected governor of Cochabamba. Since he is busy with this new job our classes will be held in the governor’s office. All our other classes are held in a portion of a University (located in the heart of Cochabamba) which has been segmented off for SIT. It is a beautiful place to have classes with high ceilings, a black and white checker board floor, and a few random pillars. It kind of reminds me of being on an antique stage. The building is about a half an hour walk from my house which I would usually enjoy taking four times a day if it weren’t for all the streets I have to cross which are packed with merciless cars and buses. My host mom has been walking me to and from classes for the past few days but today I convinced her that I understood the way, and after being drilled with a few questions I ‘past the test’ and will now be permitted to walk alone.

My host family is fantastic; we clicked right off the bat. I am living with a middle-upper class family in a very comfortable home. My host parents Jane and Rudy are jewelers that work from home and create beautiful necklaces, rings, bracelets… They sell their jewelry in Bolivia but also in the USA and Europe, it is very impressive stuff. They have a web-cite which I would include on this blog except that I can’t remember it at the moment. I also have two host sisters, Deni (17) and Vanette (13) who are a lot of fun. My host Dad is rather obsessed with motorcycles so after I arrived to the house Thursday night, before I had time to start unpacking, me and my host family went to a motorcycle gathering where there were various competitions and people walked around admiring other peoples antique motorcycles. It was great, I ate some delicious empanadas (by far my favorite Bolivian food so far), and watched my host mom win a competition in which, standing behind the driver of a motorcycle, she was able to take a bite of a hanging hotdog as the motorcycle past under it. Friday I spent some quality bonding time with my youngest host sister. Vanette is very into acting so we went to a play that was put on by her acting school. The play ‘Nuestra Historia Mas Alla del SIDA’ was about how AIDS was introduced into the Bolivian society starting from the period of the cave men. It was very well done and a good introduction for me into Bolivia because it contained a lot of Bolivian history and even talk of globalization.

Sunday in Cochabamba was the day of the pedestrian. It is a kind of holiday here where for one day no one drives any motor vehicles and the streets are instead filled with people walking or biking. It is supposed to be a day to respect the environment and acknowledge problems with pollution. My host sister Deni got me out of bed bright and early and we biked all over Cochabamba. It was a really fun way to get to know the city better. We both agreed at the end of the day that this should be a tradition that takes place every Sunday. The only issue of the day was that we didn’t respect how strong the sun was and both ended up pretty rosy.

Day of the Pedestrian

Statue dedicated to the lerdaer of the struggle to free Cochabamba from the spanish rule. I pass this four times a day to and from classes.

Moving South

So here I am at in an Internet cafe yet again, this time getting settled in Bolivia. I have been here for three days now and am still going through orientation with SIT. Tonight I will be meeting my host family for the first time and then tomorrow I will move in with my host family and start getting a feel for my daily routine. My group seems great so far. They are from all over the states and have a wide rage of interests academically. I am finding that all the initial impressions I am making of Bolivia are based off of my experiences in Nicaragua. It has been a little harder then I thought it would to change mind sets from working in Nicaragua to being a student in Bolivia. Then again this is only day three...

For anyone who has been keeping track of my blog, thank you. I really appreciate the encouraging comments, it means a lot to me to know people are behind me in all my travels. I thought before I dive into describing in detail my semester in Bolivia I would give a wrap up of my time in Nicaragua. In the end my grant project was an incredibly rewarding experience. Through working with the youth and community of the centre my motivation behind the project began to pick up as I realized that these individuals wanted to learn english for different reasons then why I have been trying to learn spanish. Besides increasing the opportunities for them to find jobs in their futures, enigish is a sign for them of wealth and success. They therefore have a drive to learn english that most americans do not share in their studies of spanish. The highlight of the project for me was how in the process of implementing the english classes I held workshops with the youth encouraging them to think of ways in which english would influence their future. I then had them each pull together their ideas in a picture which I compiled and created a design for a mural which I completed painting in the last few days of my internship.

I had wanted to go a little deeper here into my final thoughts on Nicaragua but I am finding that I have less free time then I did in Nicaragua and need to run back to get ready to meet my host family. Once I get settled with my host family this weekend I hope to add a little more to this post.