Bittersweet

This past week has been a whirlwind. I had to de-activate my facebook this past week for Gamma Chi (something for Ole Miss), so I can't update everyone on the awesome adventures of Kendra anymore.  

To start off, I must begin at last weekend. We went to Copacabana for the weekend. It was soooo relaxing. We basically sat on hammocks all day that overlooked Lake Titicaca (the highest navigable lake in the world) and slept. I will admit, me and my white/pale self got a little sunburnt on this trip, but it was so worth it. We went paddle-boating twice while there. It is a very quite town with mostly tourists, but it is still a pretty well-kept secret. Both nights, we went out and had the best food. I cannot even describe how great and relaxing that weekend was (definitely needed it!). 

 While that was the weekend, our week began with starting our research projects by surveying, interviewing, looking up a ton of statistics, and reading a lot of articles. My project is on Bolivian public health and the enculturation of Western medical methodology and indigenous healing practices. I worked a lot last week. However, work hard, play hard! Tuesday night, we went out to a salsa place and tried to salsa.. However, gringas and salsa don't mix too well (at least not for this gringa!). The next night, we went to Tiwanaku where the Aymara new year/solstice took place. It is a ceremony at sunrise (in the freezing cold). All week, I had begun to get a pretty nasty cold and probably shouldn't have gone. But I'm only in Bolivia for so long, right? Well, I froze my booty off, stayed up all night (or at least tried too), and got more sick! The next day (Thursday) we got home around 11 am and I was dead to the world. I slept all day and night and woke up only by a fever or migraine. The next day, I went to the doctor because I was still not feeling well. (My mom can attest to how bad I felt because she called me on Thursday). So Friday, I slept and took medicine for my really bad cough. 

So this weekend, it has been writing, writing, and researching for my project. Last night, we experienced San Juan (what's supposed to be the coldest night of the year) by eating hot dogs (how you celebrate San Juan), and cake for Leighton and Laura's birthday.  Well, I have finished a rough draft of my research project and turned that in. I am headed back to the States on Tuesday and it will definitely be a bittersweet moment. I love La Paz, Bolivia and its people. I think that since I am still sick, I am ready to go home and just rest. But, Bolivia, the culture, and the people will always be a special place to me. I have had so many incredible experiences (even if my camera was stolen on week 1). If you ever get the chance, visit Bolivia. It's awesome! 

Potosí and Sucre

This past weekend, we went to Potosí and Sucre. For all of you Latin Americanists, you should already know what and where both of these places are. But for you that are not, Potosí was once the world's colonized largest city at the high of its silver production. The mountain is literally called Potosí and inside there are many mines that, even to this day, extract silver and many other minerals.

While there, we visited the Casa Nacional de Moneda. It showed how the Spanish created a system to extract the silver and then make it into currency. It had more silver than I have ever seen in my life. It was a really cool and interesting place. They were definitely very creative with how they made the machinery to turn pure silver into currency, crowns, chairs, etc. After that, we visited a Clandestine Convent. Basically what this means is that once the girls joined the convent, they could not leave nor have any contact with the outside world (via family, friends or materials). Up until Vatican II, they could not even see the priest at the church. They had all of these special compartments and doors to avoid human contact.
It was really interesting to see because both of these places showed us how "Potosí had seen better days". Potosí is now a very poor city, but at the height of colonialism, it was rich and Spaniards were flocking there.

The next day we took a 3 hour bus ride to Sucre, which was Bolivia's original capital and still the home of the nation's Corte Suprema. This town reminds me a lot of Oxford, MS except a much bigger version. It was a very "homey", clean, and unique town that somewhat revolved around the university there (which is the oldest in Bolivia). We went to a lot of museums, then walked up this huge hill to see what I think is the best view I have ever seen. Pictures do not do it justice. After that, we watched the Entrada, which is basically a dance competition/parade between various fraternities (but not like Ole Miss greek life- these were fraternities of departments and majors). It was really cool because each fraternity would dance a specific, but different dance that was from Bolivia. We saw dances from the lowlands to the highlands. It was really funny because I was sitting by Leighton, a fellow Ole Miss student and member of a different sorority, who was with me on comparing how lots of these dances were vary similar to sorority dance competitions! It was too funny!

Overall, we had an amazing weekend. This week is our last week of classes and then we start our projects. This weekend we are going to Lake Titicaca on a more relaxing (less museum intense) trip. We are excited for another great weekend exploring Bolivia!

Getting pale!

To start this blog post off, I want to start with a disclaimer: anyone who sees me when I get home, I will be very, very pale. It is winter in La Paz. It doesn’t help that we are also at around 12,000 feet high, which makes it very, very cold at night. Yes, this means that I am a lot closer to the sun, but no matter how much sunscreen I wear (I wear like 50 SPF everyday), I still burn, then turn pale again. Not fun at all! Ha-ha!

This weekend has definitely been one for the record! On Thursday night, all of the roommates went out to see a dance called the Saya, which is an afro-Bolivian dance. It was really cool to see a native Bolivian dance while in La Paz. On Saturday, we went to Gran Poder and the fútbol game of Chile and Bolivia. Gran Poder is a festival that focuses of the great power Jesus. However, when I saw this festival, it was much more than an American festival. It goes on literally all day and the costumes and preparations for this one-day are incredible. Basically, there are many fraternities that are organized around and for this one day. You can spend lots and lots of money and time just to be in Gran Poder. It is native and unique to Bolivia.  Below, I have put some pictures of it. These pictures are understating the wonderful colors, spirits, and decorations of the day. We went in the afternoon for two hours then went back at night to see more. It was incredible! It was just amazing to see all the individuality in each fraternity. Also, throughout the day, you can get delicious street food and any and every trinket imaginable. Street vendors sold glow stars, balloons, scarves, gloves, stuffed animals, tissues, etc- literally everything!

In between each time we went to Gran Poder, we went to the Chile v. Bolivia fútbol game. It was incredible. To just describe the stadium, imagine the size of Alabama’s stadium, with a backdrop of the mountains. It was beautiful! I added some photos of it just to show you. It was a very fun/intense game to go to. Many Bolivians are still bitter to Chileans about the War of the Pacific, in which Chile took Bolivia’s seacoast. Many explicit words and phrases were said. It was pretty funny because most of the time we understood what was being said by everyone (including little kids that were probably 7-10 years old). It was definitely an experience. Unfortunately, Bolivia lost 2-0.

Today, we went to the witches market and the municipal cemetery. It was really cool expect that I caught something yesterday and have been a little under the weather.

Well that is it for now. I am going to sit here and continue to listen to the Spanish Nsync CD that I did not know existed until I got here. Enjoy the summer heat, while I continue to bundle up here!