I have finally reached my destination….Santa Cruz, Bolivia!
Everything has been really hectic ever since I got here, but I am just glad
that I got here safely with all of my luggage. I was actually really skeptical
of my luggage arriving in Santa Cruz because my flight had to make a stop in La
Paz. Stopping in La Paz was kind of miserable!!!!! La Paz is a very elevated
city (La Paz is also the highest capital city in the world) at more than 10,000
feet, so I had some major altitude sickness. I was feeling horrible and I almost
fainted when I tried to walk. So while waiting in La Paz, a flight attendant came up to me (she was speaking Spanish) and she had a little bottle of alcohol (it was vodka). She was trying to tell me that to help my altitude sickness I should smell the alcohol. Since I wasn't feeling well, I couldn't pay attention to her very well and I thought she meant for me to drink the alcohol. So instead of smelling the alcohol....I drank the whole bottle....oops! Once I drank the bottle she just started laughing at me and I had no clue what was going on!!! Someone else came up to me and explained (in English) what I was supposed to do with the alcohol.
Thank god I don’t have to live in La Paz for one
year!
So my first day in Santa Cruz went pretty well. Bolivia is
very different than the United States. I have noticed a couple of major
differences so far…..
§
The drivers here are absolutely crazy and a lot
of people drive motorcycles.
Ø
I saw a bus driver who stopped in the middle of
a busy road to let people off!!!!!
§
It is extremely hot here and I have no idea how
I am going to deal without having air conditioning in my school.
§
Everyone eats organic/natural fruits and
vegetables.
Ø
The grapes in Bolivia have seeds in them…who
knew grapes had seeds?
§
It is really easy to figure out someone’s
economic class. You can tell by the way they dress, their skin color (I am not
trying to be racist, that’s just how it is in Bolivia), what kind of technology
that they have, and what type of car they have.
§
A lot of people wear American clothing brands
like Hollister, American Eagle, Tommy Hilfiger, and Ralph Lauren. I was quite
surprised when I saw how many people wore brands that are found in the United
States.
§
There are many tropical plants and trees here.
It is really beautiful. I love all the palm trees and the colorful flowers.
§
The roads in Santa Cruz are in circles, they are
not straight like in the U.S. which makes driving in Santa Cruz quite crazy.
§
The wifi here is really slow compared to the
wifi in the U.S.
§
NO ONE wears a seat belt! My host sister started
laughing at me when I asked her where the seat belt was.
Ø
While my host family and I were driving to a
dinner, I saw a 4 or 5 year old in the front passenger seat sticking out her
head in the window while her dad was driving like 50 mph!!!! There are
absolutely no safety rules in Bolivia!!!!
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| My host family and I on my first day. |
So I start school on Monday and I hope I am ready for it. I
will have to speak, write, and listen all in Spanish!!!!! School is definitely
going to be a challenge, especially because I won’t have my host sister
translating everything in English. I also have to wear a uniform to school
every day. I am actually really happy that I get to wear a uniform because now
I don’t have to worry about what I have to wear every day! I will try to blog
soon….it is kind of hard to blog here because the wifi is really slow!
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| A pretty flower in my backyard. |
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| My host family's cat, Mico. I don't think he likes me very much, he always runs away when I go near him. |
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