SIT Bolivia and gringolandia

My group for SIT Bolivia: Multiculturalism, Globalization and Social Change Spring 2011 is the best that I could have asked for. Don´t get me wrong, we are a motley crew walking around Cochabamba, with 21 girls and 2 guys, not to mention that one of the guys is 6 ft. 5 and we have a variety of different hair and eye colors that are most definitely not your normal shorter, darker skinned Bolivians. But we´re such a spectacle that everywhere we go turns into a scene. I.E. our first night we went to a bar called the Black Pearl with Pirates of the Carribean decorations everywhere -such a lame bar but we made it so much fun. We pushed 3 tables together and made it a party even though we were the only ones at the bar. Last night we did the same at a discoteca called Eclipto.

Cochabamba is such a beautiful and vibrant city, except for when it completely shuts down on Sundays. The people are so friendly and willing to help and so far, it´s been the perfect place to study abroad. Why would you go anywhere else when you can go to Bolivia and get delicious empanadas on the street, take Salsa classes and spend 80 cents on a 15 minute taxi?

Classes have also been great with SIT. The last few days have been lectures in the mornings by Rafael Puente who is a famous historian in Bolivia. He also served in the Evo Morales administration (but was kicked out for corruption and had a really public affair, but they don´t talk about that in class). Other than that, he´s kind of like the Howard Zinn of Bolivia, mainly known for his people´s history of Bolivia.

History runs from 9:00-12:30 every morning and occasionally switches off with a field studies method class. After class in the morning, we go back to our houses for lunch until 2:15 when we get back on the bus for Spanish class from 3:00-6:30. I tested out of Spanish and instead of doing grammar, am doing an idependent study on the visa process to the United States. I´ve been interviewing Bolivians who have been successful and not so successful on getting a visa. It´s been interesting and it´s something I´m really passionate about, so I´ve been having fun with the process.

My host family has also been wonderful. I live with the mom, dad and two sons aged 20 and 36. I live in a beautiful rustic home. All of the furniture is made out of tree bark and animal hides! The dad is a gardener and has the largest collection of bonzai plants in Cochabamba! The outside is filled with beautiful plants and two ponds with hundreds of fish!

Cochabamba, they say, is the city of eternal spring. It is about 70 degrees every day and everyone walks around in skirts, short sleeves and sandals. We eat every meal outside on the patio. Totally beats Vermont!

That´s my big update for now. Thanks for reading!