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…