The Tribute
First off, I regret to inform you all that Carlos and Shaniqua, my two very cool fish, have past away. I am pretty sure that Shaniqua killed Carlos…his death looked awfully suspicious. And I’m pretty sure Shaniqua was actually a male fish. Nevertheless, they were both very chill fish and will be missed.
The Flight…
A couple weeks back, I took to the air in my first parasailing flight which was pretty exciting. A friend of my here does parapente (parasailing) as a side job so I figured it was time to try it out. Normally the flight lasts about 8 minutes. I was lucky and had ideal conditions that resulted in my flight lasting about 30 minutes. The ride started off incredible smooth. Then, by request, we did some “tricks” up in the air (i.e. some spinning, diving etc.) which was amazing! It put to shame any roller coaster ride I have ever been on. Highly recommend it. Here’s me and Christian before the flight.
My new ride!
About a month back I bought a bike. The bike I got isn’t just any bike…it is a red GT bmx bike! Since the age of 11, I’ve dreamt of owning my very own GT bmx. Ten years later, my dream has become a reality. The only thing is I am the only person over the age of 16 that I have seen here riding a red GT bmx bike. Still, it’s a great bike. The main reason why I bought a bike is because my truffi (it’s a van that follows a route, like a bus) kept running into roadblocks or parades (I live very close to a road that seems to be part of every parade route) or breaking down and I kept having to jog to work.
Biking through the streets of Cochabamba has taken some time to get used to. Main reason for that is because the streets here are absolutely insane. With no stop signs and traffic lights that are treated like suggestions, there is no such thing as the right of way. I remember when I first got here, I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what the cars in front of me were doing. To me it looked like total chaos. Five months later, I still haven’t figured out what the cars in front of me are doing. But with a lot of practice and a set of very good breaks, I have managed to figure out how to get around on my bike.
The Beef…
The month of September marked a bit of a low point for the violence and political drama that’s been taking place in Bolivia. Things were a bit wild. There was widespread violence in certain parts of the country, regional martial law, accusations of attempted coup d’tats, the kicking out of Washington’s ambassador, even charges of genocide. For a couple weeks, the news largely consisted of video loops showcasing all the violence taking place. It wasn’t the most comforting thing to watch. Lucky for me, Cocha has been largely untouched by all this chaos. Life has been relatively normal here.
The Weather
Spring has finally arrived here in Cochabamba. After a chilly Bolivian winter (and before that a very chilly Canadian winter), I am very ready for some spring weather. These past couple weeks the weather here has been warming up nicely. I have shed my jacket, toque, and gloves and broken out my shorts and t-shirts. It is going to be very weird for me not to have a Canadian winter this year (including my first green x-mas), but I think I’ll be ok with it.
Alfredo…doorman extraordinaire
And to end off, I just wanted to take this moment and give a special shout out to Alfredo, my door man. I’ve met a lot of amazing people here and Alfredo would be near the top of the list. He is a very cool guy. The best way to describe him would have to be that he is the closest thing to my Bolivian mother-figure (but in a masculine kind of way). By that I mean when I get home at night, he always asks me how my day was. He will scold me for not wearing a sweater on cold days. When I am sick, he’ll scold me that I’m sick because I wasn’t a wearing sweater on cold days. He always lists off things I should consume (albeit completely random things) when I’m not feeling well. He always asks how things are going at work. And, like all good doormen, he always opens the door for me. What a guy. And with a name like Alfredo, I think he was destined from birth to be a great doorman. So here’s to Alfredo.
Me and Alfredo
About a month back I bought a bike. The bike I got isn’t just any bike…it is a red GT bmx bike! Since the age of 11, I’ve dreamt of owning my very own GT bmx. Ten years later, my dream has become a reality. The only thing is I am the only person over the age of 16 that I have seen here riding a red GT bmx bike. Still, it’s a great bike. The main reason why I bought a bike is because my truffi (it’s a van that follows a route, like a bus) kept running into roadblocks or parades (I live very close to a road that seems to be part of every parade route) or breaking down and I kept having to jog to work.
Biking through the streets of Cochabamba has taken some time to get used to. Main reason for that is because the streets here are absolutely insane. With no stop signs and traffic lights that are treated like suggestions, there is no such thing as the right of way. I remember when I first got here, I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what the cars in front of me were doing. To me it looked like total chaos. Five months later, I still haven’t figured out what the cars in front of me are doing. But with a lot of practice and a set of very good breaks, I have managed to figure out how to get around on my bike.
The Beef…
The month of September marked a bit of a low point for the violence and political drama that’s been taking place in Bolivia. Things were a bit wild. There was widespread violence in certain parts of the country, regional martial law, accusations of attempted coup d’tats, the kicking out of Washington’s ambassador, even charges of genocide. For a couple weeks, the news largely consisted of video loops showcasing all the violence taking place. It wasn’t the most comforting thing to watch. Lucky for me, Cocha has been largely untouched by all this chaos. Life has been relatively normal here.
The Weather
Spring has finally arrived here in Cochabamba. After a chilly Bolivian winter (and before that a very chilly Canadian winter), I am very ready for some spring weather. These past couple weeks the weather here has been warming up nicely. I have shed my jacket, toque, and gloves and broken out my shorts and t-shirts. It is going to be very weird for me not to have a Canadian winter this year (including my first green x-mas), but I think I’ll be ok with it.
Alfredo…doorman extraordinaire
And to end off, I just wanted to take this moment and give a special shout out to Alfredo, my door man. I’ve met a lot of amazing people here and Alfredo would be near the top of the list. He is a very cool guy. The best way to describe him would have to be that he is the closest thing to my Bolivian mother-figure (but in a masculine kind of way). By that I mean when I get home at night, he always asks me how my day was. He will scold me for not wearing a sweater on cold days. When I am sick, he’ll scold me that I’m sick because I wasn’t a wearing sweater on cold days. He always lists off things I should consume (albeit completely random things) when I’m not feeling well. He always asks how things are going at work. And, like all good doormen, he always opens the door for me. What a guy. And with a name like Alfredo, I think he was destined from birth to be a great doorman. So here’s to Alfredo.
Me and Alfredo
