Saturday, November 26, 2011

The.Rotary.Gala. :)

So, my father is a Rotarian, and he was the Master of Ceremonies so he had to go earlier. I waited until 9 when my Mom's friend came and picked us up in a very, very nice car. We got to the Hotel, and I was absolutely astounded at how incredible it was. Like fountains and pool bars and waiters with white gloves. When we found the banquet room where the Gala was I was surprised to find everyone was already ere, sitting at the white tables with three sets of forks and two glasses. I wasn't surprised that my moms friend would have wanted to arrive fashionable late, as we walked in everyone in the room was looking at her, you couldn't blame them, her dress was floor length, tight in the middle, sleeveless on one side with a large black rose on the other shoulder. It was very stunning. I saw all my exchange friends and went to sit at their table. We tried to keep quiet while people were presenting, but we were all so happy and we just kept giggling and making faces across the table. Eventually the speakers stopped and they played music and we just kind hung around and had some fun.  After some dancing and socializing they brought out a cake, all the important people stood around and they took pictures and sang Happy Birthday to our Rotary club for its 23 birthday. Then my parents came over and made me dance with them. We were the only people dancing, and it was Salsa and I didn't know how to dance, then Matilde from France and Charlotte from Belgium came and danced with me. After a while we were dancing crazy and we didn't care how stupid we looked. There was a live band playing Bolivian type music and it was really fun dancing with my parents and all the Rotarians. After a while they served the appetizer, which was raw fish on top of avocados. Most of the girls from the exchange table didn't like it. I thought it tasted alright but I couldn't get over the raw part. we danced and laughed some more, then we had the main course of steak and some vegetable stuffed with other vegatables and an egg type thing. After that there was more dancing, much more dancing, then cake, then more dancing, then things winded down and people started to leave. All but me and Charlotte, my parents and maybe 12 other people were there. We sat around with the really loud music. We tried talking but the music was just so loud! As the night winded down, guests slowly left,the band packed up and left, I couldn't help but just be amazed at what a wonderful Gala it was and, most importantly, what a wonderful life here in Bolivia I have.

















Beer Factory

Now that I have captured your interest with the title, lets talk about this beer factory! So, I went to my fathers office Friday morning. My father is the head of the office, at least that's what I thought because his office is the biggest, and it has air conditioning unlike the other offices. After a while just hanging out and meeting people from the office we got in the car and drove about an hour out of town to this brand new shiny building. This was the beer factory, but right now they are still building it. From the looks of it they were just putting on the finishing touches. My fathers company supplies the resources for industrial cleaning. The two guys we came with were fiddling with these big tanks that were filled with chemicals and they were for cleaning the machines. When we had seen a lot of the factory and waited around for people to be done working, we went back to town and had some lunch. Then we went home for an hour and went back to the office. I didn't have much to do at the office so I brought my laptop. After maybe an hour, my cousin who works at the office took me to run some errands. We went to the stockroom where all the supplies are kept and picked up some cleaning supplies for a client. After that to another client to sign some papers, then we got ice cream. When we were all done with business we went back to the office, then home to get ready for the Rotary Gala....








Wednesday, November 23, 2011

In The Nick of Time.

So people say that it's the little things in life that really make a difference, and in my life this has been proven true.  I have been feeling a little down lately, not for any specific reason, just having the exchange student downs. Well, tonight I went to my first house for a snack and a little get together with my first parents. And as I was collecting the rest of my things I felt a little regret. Was I making the right choice by switching families? Was this what's best for me right now? What would my life be like if I stayed here as apposed to my other house? And most of all I felt really bad about leaving the two nicest people I know in Bolivia. They helped me so much in that first month, I feel so bad for leaving them like this. But life has taught me not to regret anything, so I'm sticking with my choice, however difficult. And I now know that there's no going back. So, as I walked into my (kinda) new house, loaded down with bags of my stuff, I felt heavy, sad, remorseful, then, as if he knew exactly what would make me happy, as I entered the kitchen my father held up a bottle of my favorite peach flavored yogurt and a bag of my favorite chocolate cereal, saying a few of the words he knows in English, "for you". This made me so happy, and now I know I have made the right decision. This is such a wonderful family I am so lucky to be a part of it. I'm right where I'm supposed to be. So even when I'm in a tough place I know that everywhere I am there will be people who care about me and will help me in rough times. Life is good and there's no point in being sad.

Friday, November 18, 2011

woops.

i feel bad for not posting in a while. I had writen a whole bok about how i was feeling, then my computer messed up and now i am sad and will gather my thoughts and make and even better post. For now I will leave you with a  quote from a song that spoke to me.

"que Bonita es este Vida"  (How beautiful is this life)

Monday, November 14, 2011

Sunday, November 13, 2011

New Beginnings....Again

So, coming to Bolivia means a new country, continent, hemisphere, family, friends, climate, lifestyle, way of thinking, diet.....I could go on. But anyway, to the point. I have switched families, at first it was just while my parents were in France for 3 weeks, but now I will be staying with my new family for longer. Not for any specific reason, just because we are all happy doing what we're doing. My new family is very nice and we are all content with our current situation. So, we have signed papers and Rotary and everyone else who's important knows about this. I'm not sure how long I will be here or if I will be returning to my first family. Possible this could have been a situation of a "second family first" deal. Where I will return to my other family after some time, but who knows, maybe I'll stay here longer. Well, for now everyone is happy campers! Things are great. There WILL be pictures I promise. Tomorrow I will take pictures of the house and everything!! I feel bad for holding back all the picture (I have yet to take).

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Blue Skies

Well, actually no blue skies here.Only gray skies, all day everyday. sometimes if there's enough wind, the sky might have a hint of blue, but mostly the smog of the city covers it up. Often times I wake up and think that it will be a rainy day, but then the sun comes out and bakes everything. The smog is so bad in this city. So much exhaust, so much garbage, litter, I guess it's just part of living in a large city. And at night only half the stars are visible through the smog. I miss the Big Dipper. Well, the lights of the city are just as beautiful after dusk. There are amazing things in this city, despite all the things that are missing.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Estoy Enferma

That means "I'm sick". Which I am, very. Now, don't be alarmed, it's not some freaky skin eating Amazon virus, it's simply a common cold accompanied with a little fever. Now at home I would just wait this out, drink tea, sleep, maybe some cod fish oil, and LOTS of vitamins! But here the natural way doesn't exist. They say the humidity and stuff could cause an infection, so of course, they loaded me with drugs. Pills, liquids, cough syrup, and stuff I didn't recognize. I am advised not to use the air conditioning, but that's okay it's only about 100 degrees! And I have to wear socks 24/7, and I am not a person who can sleep with socks on, or sleep with a raging cough, but I get past that with some of the medicine I have for sleeping. And despite all the fancy medicines they gave me, I still think I get the most benefit from the tons of vitamins my mom packed along with me. And water, water definitely helps. So, here I am, laying in bed for 3 days strait, taking vitamins, pills, antibiotics, cough syrups and more...lets hope these Bolivian way will help me!


Tuesday, November 1, 2011

El Mercado (The Market)

The other day my friend Kirsten from Canada took me to the market. It was such a wonderful experience. The market is not only a place to buy beautiful fruits and vegetables, but a place to buy clothes, books, school supplies, art supplies herbs, movies, jewelry, perfume, shoes and anything else you would ever need. The entire market takes up an entire city block, complete with a butcher shop, dentist office, and restaurants, not to mention a second level devoted solely to seamstresses. Merely walking the isles of this grand market, I felt the sheer magnitude of the poverty of this country. Yes, some veders were selling sparkly 6 inch heels and designer mini dresses, but the whole place was filled with whole families living on the street, women making a living selling rotten used shoes, and the smell was horrid. The minute I got home I needed a shower from just being in the market. But overall it was such an incredible experience. Truly a great example of Bolivian culture.