Ya estoy en la capital, es bueno estar devuelta al calor humedo, la bulla, la chercha, el agua de coco, la posibilidad de usar shorts sin que se te congelen los pies y comer el arrocito que nos caracteriza.
La realidad es que la pasé excelente, conocí La Paz, Oruro (donde estuve por 10 dias), Copacabana (R and R, HERMOSO!) y luego estuve en Cusco, la ciudad de Machu Pichu, con catedrales (me recordo a la zona) y todo y luego en Lima.
Rápidamente,
La Paz, una ciudad inmensa, con el ALTO y el LLano, casas por doquier, mucho contraste cultural (personas indigenas, cholas, personas de "ciudad").
Adornada con varias montañas glaciares, mucho color en las calles, economía informal y micronegocios por doquier.
Fui al cine a ver a Batman, y habia un 2 por 1 (ademas como a 110.00 pesos dominicanos entrar) que pena que andaba sola :P, sin embargo, disfruté la pelicula de todas formas. Visité al Chacaltaya, una montaña glaciar con mas de 5,600 mts de altura (ese fue el único día que sentí el peso de la altura en mi corazón y pulmones).
Todo en Bolivia es barato, realmente la sensación de que el dinero me rindiera tanto fue muy agradable, comida, ropa, bebidas, todo normalmente la mitad del precio que en R.D. .
.....
La aventura de Machu Pichu, la voy a tener que relatar en otro post, pero realmente fue aperisimoooo! De verdad que las cosas espontaneas a veces son las mejores, porque asi fue.
What I loved the most
Eric (8 year old, future homeowner of the house my team worked on) and Pamela both great kid demonstrate true sense of ownership and partnership.
Cheap Twin Kiwis (they were huuuge, juicy and good!)
The colors. It’s like every person wears a chromatic rainbow, live matching colors, not only on people, but also in the streets.
How light the bricks were.
Sleeping under 4 layers of fabric. It was couzzzzyyyy.
Late chats with my roomie. She became a real friend and support during the trip.
Sunset in Lake Titicaca. How can I describe this? I can’t. Wide blue, deep sky kissed by the burning sun and laying its mixed wings over the lake. Like a majestic symphony, with perfect tunes and serenity in every melody.
Don Julio y Doña Fabiana. He worked for 32 years in the mines of Oruro, lived there with his wife. Now for the first time, he was receiving a home with the help of his family and Habitat. He worked in silence and effort every single day, including Sunday.
The visit to the Aldea SOS “Orphanage” it was quick visit (or it seemed to quick to me probably) these kids appreciate so much our visit!!!! You could see it in their eyes. I met Marcos among many others. When I met him, his eyes were tired and sad, and asked me: Where is my mom? Do you know where she is? – I usually have words in my mouth, this was one moment where I had none.
Seeing Snow for the First Time.
Road Trip in the train from Machu Pichu to the city. Incredible View
I must say that I was really happy with our leaders, both very responsible, fluent in Spanish, balanced, funny, thoughtful of the team, gave us desert every day (kudos!!!!) so I would definetly recommend anyone to go on a team with them. Congrats Liz and Tomas!!!!
Challenging Things
The Cold. Specially at the beginning by the second week it wasn’t that bad. I even used capris one day to work and no leg warmers (only one day though)
The dust devils, dust in the streets of Huajara and the garbage. This something we saw a lot, specially around the area we were working.
Interesting Facts
Parades. Since we arrived to Oruro, every day (or almost) we would find within its crowed streets parades, we started loosing count at the end.
Cold as a fridge plus SUN as bright and hot as the beach?!?!??!
How the word YA means YES for Bolivians.
Tomas (the leader). Susan (a scottish resident in Ohio and fluent Spanish speaker from the team) and team went to a Radio Station and had a short interview to promote Habitat and explain our purpose in the town.
Cool Fact: People came to our worksite ‘cause they had heard the interview and other promotional activities done on tv.
I did a tour in the city, the tour guide said I was the first Dominican EVER in any of her tours (that was a surprise for sure :P)
Pique – this meal has Fried Potatoes, Beef, and Sausages in large quantities, seemed like a huge meal to me.
What I missed
Coconut Water
Rain…. I love the rain every once in a while
Things I learned
We are different. We come from different backgrounds, different cultures, all mixed together has to be a setting when everyone is flexible and open enough to accept those differences, most of the running the extra mile to love and tolerate, makes things smoother, than trying to change others people thoughts or ways.
Work, hunger, cold, being stuck in a elevator (that’s a whole another story) will always be opportunity to complain or grow, to judge or to accept, to turn your back or appreciate.
Poverty. My country is poor. We lack tons of things. But watching a family freeze on the street is way more striking that just hunger or anything I have ever seen, no matter how much further I walked, you would just find more and more people, more kids, more babies, facing nights where every cell would suck the cold and pain.
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