Hello everybody!
I remember when I started this blog, I thought I would update it at least twice a month. I’ve missed that mark by a bit. But it’s a new year so I thought I´d start things off well with a short update.
Work
Work wise, lots has happened since I last updated. Since October, in addition to running the after-school program for kids, I’ve become the Project Manager of a project that I wrote back in September. I received a $15 000 grant from the Canadian Embassy back in November and, up to xmas, I was insanely busy managing the project.
There have been a number of problems within the organization that has made implementing the project difficult. It’s been stressful, tiring, but it’s also been an amazing opportunity. I originally thought I would be assisting a project manager. Turns out I am the project manager, the one and only big cheese of the project. I’ve had to learn how to do a ton of new things on the fly; everything from how to find an architect and technical consultants to hiring and contracting construction workers. I’ve learned a ton. It’s been tough learning but that kind of learning tends to stick the best. But the fun’s not over quite yet. Still have a couple weeks left until the project is officially done. When it is all done, I’ll post some pics.
Thesis
Thesis work is going well. During these last three months that I’m here (wild!) I’ll be focusing more on my thesis. My thesis topic hasn’t exactly been received all that warmly here in Cocha. When I first told people at work what I was doing for my thesis, most would reply with an “Oh” followed by a pause then, “Hey you know what else you could do your topic on…” But that being said, I’m really pumped about my thesis. I like my topic a lot. For those that don’t know, I’m doing my thesis on the hip-hop movement in El Alto and La Paz. In a nutshell, I’m closely examining this very political and very social grassroots movement lead by one of Bolivia’s most marginalized groups - young, urban, indigenous youth. These rappers aren’t the 50 cent rappers of Bolivia. These young guys are using hip-hop has a tool to improve the conditions for people in El Alto, one of the poorest, most marginalized cities in Bolivia. Its pretty cool stuff and they are amazing people to be around. During these next couple weeks I’ll be traveling between Cocha and El Alto/La Paz lots chillin with the ‘rapperos’. Pumped.
Christmas break!!
For the last two weeks of December, I flew back to Toronto to spend Christmas break with family and friends. It was one of the best Christmas breaks I’ve ever happened. Nothing too exciting happened. It was just really good to chill with the fam and friends. But I definitely missed all you guys on placement. Big shout out to you guys.
Flying black to Toronto after spending a bunch of time living in Bolivia then flying a couple weeks later back to Bolivia has made me realize how well I’ve adapted to life here Cochabamba. I was gone for 7 months, which relatively speaking is not that long. But I’ve apparently done an excellent job of teaching myself how to live life in Bolivia. There are a lot of little things that I do now without thinking that has come with living in another culture. Its nothing major but those little things became very apparent during my first couple days back in Toronto. Let me give you two examples.
Here in Bolivia, like in many other Latin American countries, it customary to give a little peck on the check when you greet a woman. Whether it’s for the first time or the 100th time, when I meet a lady I generally give her a little kiss on the check. I’ve apparently become very accustomed to that because its become second nature. Back in Toronto, for the first two or three occasions that meet up with a friend who was female, I would start leaning in for a kiss. Luckily I would realize what country I was in before I started plucking. I’d play it off smoothly as some new leaning thing I do. But ya, turns out things haven’t change much in Toronto; people still don’t do the whole kissing thing.
Another example is traffic. In Cocha, cars will not stop for you. If you have the “right of way” there is still a very good chance they will sail right through. But in Toronto, cars yield to pedestrians. Wild. I remember crossing a street in downtown Toronto with some friends and seeing a car traveling in our direction. We had a green light so my friends started crossing. I just froze on the side walk thinking “What are they doing?! There’s a car coming!” But then the car just stopped. And then it waited for me to cross. That was just straight up weird to me when it happened.
But after about two days of slight adjustments, it was like I never left. No more leaning in for kisses. No more freezing at the side walk. It was all good. But now I’m back in beautiful Cochabamba and, well, I’ve re-readjusted back to life here. Ahh yes, the noise, the smells, the kissing, the traffic. It’s good to be back.
