Carnaval

Querida familia y amig@s,

Well I’ve decided to inaugurate my third week here in Bolivia by finally opening communication with the outside world. I’m really sorry that it took me so long and I hope to write more every week or so, so thanks for checking in!

I arrived two Sundays ago to the idyllic Cochabamba valley, it's about seventy degrees nearly every day and night, and I swear the sky is actually a different color of blue at this altitude. Green mountains and fertile agricultural land surround the city which is watched over by the hemisphere's tallest statue of Cristo de la Concordia (yes it's 3 cm higher than Rio de Janeiro's). I’m living with a retired teacher named Sonia and her kids Antonio (22), Jorge (27), and Valeria (26). They’ve been so fun to get to know and have totally adopted me as their little sister, showing me around the city and explaining all the details of the political situation, cultural traditions, and family dynamics to me. I’m taking seminar style classes on Bolivian Culture and Development (history, politics, economics, etc.), and Field Research methods with 23 other students from the U.S. (but the professors are Bolivian and awesome!!)

I got here just in time for Carnaval, otherwise known as Bolivia's-week-long-nation-wide-water-balloon-fight. You're never completely safe from getting a bucket dumped on your head or a water balloon launched at you from a passing taxi cab. You might also find yourself covered in "espuma" or spray foam at a random inopportune moment. Everywhere you smell the smoky sweet scent of Ko'as, or burnt incense, money, and colored paper offerings to Pachamama. The week culminates with a 12 hour long parade with dancers celebrating every region's different cultural tradition, incredible water balloon battles, and enough chicha and Taquiña beer to last the entire year. I also got a kick out of seeing the Bolivian armed forces dancing in the parade dressed as giant frogs, vampires, and a caricaturized Constitutional Assembly (in mockery of the body of leaders who've been slogging through the process of rewriting the constitution and finally break free from their colonial past). I couldn't really imagine that ever happening in the States!
(El diablo or Supay, deity of the underground world and guardian of miners)

(Las caporales represents the female counterpart of to the mestizo overseers of the African slaves that were brought to work in the mines of Potosi, but ended up working on coffee and cacao plantations in Las Yungas)

I've been volunteering in the afternoons at a reproductive and sexual health clinic and getting really interested in traditional Andean medicine, which is just widely practiced here as Western bio-medicine. I'd also really like to connect with the medical anthropologists who are researching the methods and documenting them in ways that modern science can understand. Apparently the president, Evo Morales is trying to implement a policy of employing traditional healers to collaborate with the doctors in the government's rural health clinics, something I'm hoping to learn more about. I also might be able to work with a professor at the med school here who's researching Chagas disease, which is endemic in the rural areas around here.

I've been so impressed by the friendly and openness of people I've met here. For example, yesterday on a day trip to the rural town of Tarata we had complete strangers invite us into their homes and others sit down next to us outside to share food and conversation for hours on end. I also really enjoy how every time you arrive or leave a gathering of people you kiss each person on the cheek and greet each person personally. (Street in the beautiful little town of Tarata.)

(The Upper Cochabamba valley near the town of Tarata)

The stark political, social, and geographic divisions in Bolivian society are evident much of the time; from the political graffiti competing for wall space, the TV reports about Evo supporters and Autonomista secessionists clashing in the streets of Santa Cruz, to the somber look in the eyes of an indigenous woman next to me on the bus, not really expecting I would ever look her in the eye or even say "Buenos dias." Nobody lacks an opinion about the president, Evo Morales and the changes he's trying to make. My host mom talks about how when she teaches adult literacy classes in the rural Chapare region, the older indigenous people are so excited about getting educated because they finally see a point to it, that they could someday work for the government or fulfill another role in society besides that of marginalized second class citizens. It was a really moving experience to visit the union of empleadas (women that come from the countryside to live with and work for wealthier families in the city) here them talk about the emotional support they give each other, even though going on strike is pretty much out of the question since there is always competition with more young women migrating from the campo. The founder of their union was actually appointed to be the minister of justice by the Morales administration. In contrast is the entrenched Criollo elite of the Western lowlands of Santa Cruz who are threatening to secede from the country taking with them the entire oil, gas, cattle, and export agricultural industries.

It’s a fascinating time and I feel so lucky to be here and learning about it all first hand!
Okay, well I’m running out of time, but I’ll write again soon!
Chau!
Kirsten

¡Saludos a tod@s!

Lo siento mucho que tarde tanto en escribir a tod@s ustedes. Espero que estén muy bien en sus trabajos y estudios. Estoy aprendiendo muchísimo acá en Cochabamba. Vivo con una familia con una mamá y tres hij@s de 22, 26, 27 años que son muy amables. Mis clases son muy interesantes; sobre la historia, política, economía, y realidad actual en Bolivia. También estoy trabajando como voluntaria en una clínica de salud reproductiva y sexual. Estoy muy interesada en aprender más sobre la medicina tradicional andina que muchas personas usan aquí. Es un poco raro vivir en una ciudad después del mes en Santa Marta en enero. Es más difícil a conocer amig@s y a encontrar una comunidad. ¡A veces extraño mucho a Santa Marta y a Guarjila! No se come tortillas aquí y extraño eso también. : )

Es muy interesante aprender sobre la historia y la política actual de Bolivia. No hay nadie sin opinión sobre el presidente, Evo Morales. Por primera vez, la mayoría indígena del país tiene una voz en el dialogo del país. Pero entiendo por fin la trampa que es la "independencia" que ganaron en el siglo diecinueve: los mismos Criollos continuaron a administrar Bolivia como una colonia. Como en mucho de Latinoamérica, lo único que cambió era su relación con el rey de España. Así puedo entender la necesidad de re-fundar el país con una nueva constitución.

Pues, voy a escribir mas muy pronto, pero gracias por leer y si me he equivocado con mi español, me gustaría recibir sus comentarios o correcciones para mejorarlo ¡Cuídense mucho!
Saludos,
Kirsten