First Two Weeks!

I told my mother last week that I would write soon, so I cannot let her down. Tomorrow, I will have officially been in La Paz for 2 weeks. I am loving learning about Bolivia, its history, and its future. So when I last wrote, we had just gone to the large night of museums (la larga noche de museos). We had an awesome experience there. Since then, we have gone to the Calle Jaen museums (national museums; mostly about the Chaco War, cholas, gold, silver, and the Pacific War with Chile). We also went to the US Embassy here, which was very interesting. Next was the National Art Museum (you can see pictures on my facebook album). That was week one.

This week we have met American journalists and documentary film makers that are talking about what is going on in Bolivia. It was really cool to see what you can do with a degree in some type of international studies. I will have to be creative with my future, but a lot of stuff I want to do is definitely possible! We also went to the National Museum of the Revolution, which is the 1952 revolution in which the MNR gained power.

Today was an awesome day. We went to Bolivia’s Library of Congress. There, we roamed through archives and got a tour of the really old and rare documents and books from Simon Bolivar to Che Guevara. It was awesome! They let us hold some of the protected documents, which is something I’ve never gotten to do. Towards the end, when we were leaving, we were told that we had to leave rather quickly because CNN (en español) was about to conduct an interview with the Bolivian Vice President. We didn’t get to see the VP, but we got to see the CNN guy interview other important people. It was sooo cool!!

Tomorrow we have a free afternoon in La Paz. I am hoping to go back to the “Witches’ Market” which is where they sell a lot of cool stuff, such as llama wool sweaters, kitchen supplies, etc. (No worries- I will not be bringing home a dried llama fetus which is what this market is famous for. Look it and Pachamama up if interested) However, while walking down from the market on Saturday, I got my camera stolen. (No worries mom, I was being very careful. Just stuff that happens in a big city!) Yesterday, I went to the “Black market” which is basically just 2-3 streets filled with electronic shops. I got a new, really nice camera for really cheap when compared to the States’ prices.

Our entire group is so excited for this weekend! Saturday is a big day for La Paz. Not only is it Gran Poder (a festival where there are a ton of dancers and people that basically put on a parade through the city (please google this!)), but it is also the Bolivia v. Chile soccer game. No worries, we are definitely going to both. The soccer game will be exciting because most of Bolivia still dislikes Chile for taking their sea coast. (However, all of our Bolivian students have told us that Bolivia is not that good in soccer. L)  It should be a very exciting day!

I will have an update probably next week. We are just always on the go, so it is hard to sit down and blog!

Love you mom and don’t worry about me! 

 (Above,  a picture of the Calle Jaen Museums)

 (Above, a picture of the Bolivian seal made out of painted feathers. At the Bolivian Library of Congress)

(Above, an exact replica of Che Guevara's daily journal, up to the day he was killed in Bolivia)

The First Adventures

Right now, I am sitting in an "Alexander Coffee", which is equivalent to an American Starbucks. A few minutes ago, a Backstreet Boys music video started to play on the TV. I started laughing and immediately thought of my sister's (Kate) old obsession with them. That is what reminded me to write this blog post.

I arrived in La Paz almost 4 days ago now. It feels like I have been in the city for longer than that because I have done so much in really just 3 days. Thursday, I arrived very early (around 5 am) after a flight that went through the night. Needless to say I was pretty exhausted on Thursday and slept much of the day. I have had headaches from the altitude, but thats about it. (That's really good considering I am at 11,000 ft!) After sleeping most of the day, I went to a coffee shop for internet connection then went to the supermarket. Then, I really felt the altitude. So I went and slept more!!

On Friday, I woke up feeling great. So, I went with one of my professors on a walking tour around the city. It was beautiful. We went to essentially this garden that was on a hill. This garden was more like an oasis because there were no cars, street vendors, etc. (Of course I forgot my camera) It had breathtaking views. It's pretty much indescribable. Then we wandered some more. La Paz is essentially built in a valley between mountains. However, The valley is very, very steep. Pretty much any and every where that we go, you are walking up and down. However, there is 0 humidity so your sweat is always evaporated.

Well there were a lot more adventures on Saturday, including visiting Zona Sur and la Larga Noche de Museos. Both of these were so cool that it would take way to much time to describe. Well that is it for now!

May the odds be ever in your favor...

Dear world, 

It is finally here!! I leave for Bolivia at noon tomorrow (Wednesday, May 16th) and will arrive in La Paz bright and early Thursday morning! For all of you out there that do not know a lot about Bolivia, here are some fun facts about Bolivia and what in the world I am doing there:

 1 -- Bolivia is landlocked (meaning they have no coastal land). It lost its cost to Peru. Here is the location of Bolivia for the people that don't know any Latin American geography. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Bolivia_(orthographic_projection).svg/220px-Bolivia_(orthographic_projection).svg.png

2 -- The place where I will be studying (UCB) is in La Paz, which is in the valleys of the Andes Mountains. It is at approximately 11,000 feet high which means it is at a very, very high altitude. Altitude sickness here I come!!

3 -- The climate will be 20x better than the Alabama heat. The average low is 32F and high of 55F. So that means layers, layers, layers!

4 -- Bolivia is one of the poorest and least developed countries in Latin America. However, Bolivia also has a huge amount of biodiversity. 

For more fun facts, check out: http://www.boliviabella.com/bolivia-facts.html or https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bl.html

So you might ask, "Kendra, why in the world Bolivia and what are you going to do there for 6 weeks??"

Well, if you know me, you know that I love Latin America's culture and the Spanish language. Also, I love to learn about the role of indigenous people in creating the social spheres in Latin America. Bolivia has over 30 native cultures and about half of the nation's inhabitants identify with some type of Bolivian indigenous culture. Also, I am interested in how social, economic, and political change have influenced the role and identity of  Bolivian indigeneity. Basically, I will be researching and taking classes (Research Methods and an International Studies elective) related to the role of culture, specifically indigenous culture, in Bolivia. 

I know this is a different topic, but my role this past semester as the Ole Miss chapter's Amnesty International President helped me to realize that I am interested in social exploitation of people solely based off of one's identity. What I learned was that many people believe that the poor, oppressed, and exploited people of this world mainly in Africa. Sexual exploitation can happen anywhere, just as identity-based exploitation can. While there are many people in Africa under the poverty line, there are many people also in the rural areas of the United States, such as the Mississippi Delta. 

My experiences at Ole Miss and especially at the Croft Institute for International Studies have taught me that to become a global citizen, we must be aware of our national citizenship and its responsibilities. . As many of you know, my major is International Studies, focusing on Spanish and Latin American social and cultural identity.  Yes, my dream is to live and work abroad one day. But, we must not forget about what's happening at our own doorstep. We are called to be world citizens, by first becoming national citizens. I hope that by me experiencing another social and cultural world, I will better understand my own national social and cultural world.  My hope is that through this experience in Bolivia I will be able to better realize and research how I can better understand and appreciate the rich diversity of both Latin America and the United States. 

Stay tuned for my upcoming adventures. I cannot wait to be in La Paz in two days!!

If you want to contact me directly, please feel free to email me at klwrigh3@olemiss.edu or through Facebook. These will be the best mediums. However, please remember that I might not reply back very quickly. This is not because I do not like/love you as a person. This is just because my internet will be very limited. 

I will try to post often, especially for my mom, which is why this blog was created. So dear mom (and dad- but you will probably just tell him about this since he will not read it), I love you and will miss you. I promise to always be safe.

Love, Kendra Wright