I would like to dedicate this blog to how SWEEEEET my house is!

For her work, my mother makes and sells

All sorts of elegant chocolates and turrones...

Cakes,

and Muffins

and they are all so so so delicious!

Last week we traveled to the other side of Bolivia for a week-long case study of regional conflicts in and around Santa Cruz.  Due to a long and complicated history, as it always is, there is a lot of racial and class tension in the area that has mobilized all sorts of people.  The places that we spent most of our time were the city of Santa Cruz and San Julian.  Santa Cruz is known as an “industrialized” city that is generally controlled by upper-class elite who have for a long time been pushing for autonomy from the central government.  San Julian is a rural town about 90 km away, but 2 and half hours in a bus, that was founded based on the colonization policies of the agrarian reform, which was a product of the Revolution of 1952.  The colonization practices gave a little bit of land to citizens of the highlands that migrated to the lowlands.  Consequently, there’s been a lot of tension in the region between the highlanders and the lowlanders, but also between the “farmers” and the “industrialized” elites.  This tension has manifested in blockades, protests, marches, riots…. It’s a really interesting area. 

Anyways, more about our trip-

Santa Cruz is HOT!! Living in La Paz, I forget that I’m sort of close to the equator because with such a high altitude, it’s really not that warm.  But I about died in S.C!  I’ve never been that great about adjusting to hot climates, and this trip was no exception!   Santa Cruz also felt like a different world because there was horrible smoke the whole time that gave the area an end of the world feeling.   A lot of the land around Santa Cruz is agricultural, and the dominate practice here is slash and burn- we caught the burn period of this practice.  It was crazy how heavy the smoke was, and also rather depressing.   What’s more, our drive to San Julian revealed the huge problems of deforestation in the area.  Despite the fact that we were in the jungle, the landscapes for the majority of the bus ride were of wide open fields. 

Although the timing of our trip was a bummer because of the smoke, our timing was also really awesome because the night we arrived just so happened to be the 200^th anniversary of the city!

This is a picture at the Plaza Central where there was a parade (behind us), dances, speeches, fireworks, and everything you need to celebrate a city!

We spent a couple days in Santa Cruz, but the majority of our trip was in San Julian.  We meant with government officials of the municipality, leaders of several of the unions, local workers, and farmers.  Everyone had a really interesting perspective on the conflicts in the area, and it was fun to spend time in a town so different from the places we’d been living. 

Also, as one of the conditions for coming to the town and learning from the people, the mayor had asked that we give a “taller” as a way of reciprocity.  So, one afternoon, the six of us and about twenty Bolivians gathered in a small office to discuss environmental issues in the area.  When we were planning the workshop, I was at first hesitant to choose the topic of environmental issues.  While there is no doubt that Bolivia has many environmental abuses, they’re still far behind the U.S.  It seemed really hypocritical to talk about climate change, when really it’s the U.S. that uses So much energy.  In addition, how could I talk about environmental practices, like saving water, when I had just bought a plane ticket to come to Bolivia that wasted more gas than each family probably uses in a year- or more!     However, I’m really glad we did do it about the environment.  First of all, the workshop was not us Americans, standing in front telling everyone how they should live- which is what I have for the most part experienced in the States.  Instead, the workshop was a discussion in which we would ask a question such as, what sort of problems do you have with water?, and there would be a long discussion about the issue.  It was super interesting!

 

                Also, one day we got to go to a workshop put on by a union of women, with the help of an NGO, about organic food.  It was really impressive how well-informed these women were, and also how motivated they were.

While the trip revealed many complexities of the issues that made me more and more frustrated, it was also a pretty inspiring trip because the people of San Julian are really well organized.  They’ve been able to create change in the government, and they continue to mobilize as a community.   

The top of the world

I´m still trying to convince myself that what I just did was real!  Last week I had a showdown with Huayna Potosi, and miraculously I came out on top— on top of a 19,975-foot peak in the Andes.   It really was one of the most amazing things I´ve ever done—and one of the hardest! 

It was kind of a spontaneous decision to make this trek.  A friend of mine had been planning to climb the mountain for several weeks, but at the last minute the people he was supposed to go with canceled.  I thought of the circumstances just as a sad story, but then he asked if I would want to go.  I wasn't sure how to response at first.  I had only been in La Paz for two weeks, and wasn't sure if I was acclimated yet.  Also, I've never climbed a mountain before, and this is a HUGE mountain!  But, on the other hand- why not?!

So the next day, we were off!  It's about an hour drive to the base of the mountain, and that same day we walked almost two hours to the small hut were you spend the night and attempt to acclimate.  And you have the most INCREDIBLE view!!!! There were about twenty or so other foreigners up there as well, and we milled about for several hours, trying to stomach some food and (at least for me)- trying to calm my nerves! And then it was bedtime: 8:30.

I had a really hard time sleeping, the wind was howling outside, and I was freezing inside.  But also, I think the real problem was that the pills my friend and I had taken to help with the altitude- I found out later were pretty much just caffeine pills.  Whoops!

However, it wasn't too long of a night because four hours after hitting the sack, we woke up to start hiking.  I was feeling a bit nauseas from the altitude so for breakfast I just had a strong cup of coca tea.  Then, I put on every layer I owned, helmet, headlamp, crampons, ice axe, tied into the rope, and we were ready to start: 2 am!

It was a weird thing to only be able to see several feet in front of you.  Also though, it keeps you very focused-- all I was really thinking about was putting one foot in front of the other.  The first hour or so wasn't too bad.  You just keep trudging along in a mindless state. 

But as you continue, the nausea sets in, and breathing becomes more and more of a task.  My friend had brought some coca, so we put a good handful of that in the side of our mouth to try to ward off all normal human feelings: hunger, thirst, nausea, tiredness. 

Honestly, I don't really remember all that well how the hours passed.  When it I try to remember it, it feels a bit like a foggy dream, that you know you experienced, but you can't quite recall what happened. 

I do remember the last half hour to the top though! Most of the hike is in pitch black.  You see ice, you can sort of make out some of the crevasses, and you can vaguely see the outline of the top- looming over you.  But as we got close to the top the sun was almost rising, and I could begin to make out the scenery around me.  The last twenty minutes you walk along a ridge that has more or less solid footing on one side, and on the other is a sheer drop-off, for hundreds of feet.  It gets really really steep, and you have to fight your delirious state-of-mind to focus and make sure each step is on solid ground. 

And then the sun rises! And you're at the TOP, with the most amazing view!!

IT WAS UNREAL!

And then it became real again when my friend had to keel over and puke.  haha.  It was time to head down. 

The way back is in full daylight, and it's so cool to see everything that you didn't know existed on the way up.  Also, I realized that despite the feeling on the way up, that we were on an endless trek that was hundreds of kilometers, the climb really isn't that long.  It took about 4 and half hours to go up, and only about two to get down! 

We rested at the hut for a little while, and then hiked the rest of the way down to meet the truck.  And I have NEVER sat in a car that felt so comfortable!!!

I realized that I haven´t really mentioned anything about classes yet- which actually is a little strange because the academic side of the program has been pretty consuming.  There are just six of us on this program and in the mornings we have class based on the theme of the program: Revolutionary movements and conflict resolution, and in the afternoon we generally have Spanish class.  The morning classes are always taught by a different lecturer.  We´ve had Bolivian historians and government officials, Cuban philosophers, Venezuelan diplomats…  yeah, it´s been intense to say the least.  But also, so so so interesting.  Everyone has their own take on history, what forces are influencing the present, and where the future is headed.  Our Spanish classes are a little less formal, and we often get to leave the classroom and explore market places or nearby towns.  One thing that´s been a bit frustrating is that our university is sort of in the boonies.  The commute takes about 40 minutes each way, making our days really long.  I usually leave my house around 9 and don´t get back until 7.  However, the director of the program totally understands our frustrations and we´re slowly making changes.  (This is the first year of this particular program in La Paz, so things are somewhat flexible.)  For example, one change we´ve made is that at least once a week we have class at our director´s house in downtown La Paz.  She has an amazing apartment, and with just six of us, we can have class around her dinning room table.  We often eat lunch at her house too, which is so so great because she is an amazing cook!

Walter Solón



There's a really cool non-profit here called Fundación Solón.  It's named after the famous artist Walter Solón Romero Gonzáles who was a human rights activist.  Along with small paintings, he also did several murals in La Paz and Sucre.  The other day for Spanish class we wandered around the city to find all of his murals.  (But not all of the pictures are his murals)



He made this mosaic after his son was killed by the dictator.  (and as a side note- he often has a Don Quiote in his paintings, which is his symbol of the struggle for human rights)

The mural was in the university for public health.

I still can’t get over the fact that my family has a maid. At first, I took the weirdness just to be a cultural difference. But, it’s been almost two weeks now, and I still find myself constantly thinking about it. The maid is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, and often when I come back from classes around 7, I’ll hang out in the kitchen with her while she irons or cooks, or prepares something or other. It turns out that she started working when she was 12. Her mother died when she was very young and she went to live with her grandmother so she could go to school. However, school was really hard for her, and her grandmother didn’t read or write so she had no one to go to for help. After a while, she couldn’t stand the embarrassment of school and so… she dropped out and started working. She told me that what she really hopes to do one day is to move back to her home village and have a nice house and some time to herself. Right now she lives about 2 miles away on a road that most cars can't even drive and in a house without running water. And this is the home of a woman that works 12-13 hours a day!

While my parents treat her very kindly, the still establish definite boundaries that creates a distance between them. For example, we generally eat our meals on the dining room table, and the maid and her kids never sit with us. They always eat on stools in the kitchen.

I know that the United States is filled with inequalities, but I’ve never experienced them glaring at me everyday.