This week was a busy one here at the UAC, as classes are now in full swing and Jeff has been helping to prep the sleeping space for the Engineers Without Borders from South Dakota State Univ. (go Jacks!), who will arrive on Tuesday. Despite all the busy-ness. we found ourselves in the middle of a few quintessentially Bolivian experiences (QBEs) that we have to share with all of you!
So, our first QBE happened on Friday. Friday was the Dia Del Campesina Boliviana here. Campesinos/as are the rural and mountain people of Bolivia. In our area, they are mostly Aymara, and they are the group that the UAC was founded to serve. So, we got up early Friday morning and got dressed in our faculty/staff uniform -- beige button-up shirt, black pants, black shoes -- and rode down the mountain to the village. First, there was a mass, officiated by Padre Emilio, the Vice-Director of the UAC. It was beautiful, especially the music, which was led by a traditional band, complete with the pan pipes! Very cool. We were led to the front of the crowd to a couple of rows of chairs. I kind of felt bad about that at the time, because there were so many others standing, but that was before the parade. Plus, the chairs were in front, facing into the sun at the edge of the roof, so we got quite a bit of sun before mass was over.
After the mass, we all went to the Lower campus to wait for the parade to start, the students in their gray shirts milling about snacking and chatting and having a wonderful time. After a while, everyone began to line up for the parade. We had been waiting in the Guest House, so we didn't see everyone start to leave (note to self: next time, appoint a lookout!), so we had to run to catch up, but we were just in time to march into the covered sports area of the high school all in line, faculty/staff first, then students. There were many bands, schoolchildren decked out in costumes or in their school uniforms, the high school marching band, complete with flags and baton twirlers. It was a very noisy and colorful group! We all stood there for a while and listened to various speeches, plus schoolchildren did some very animated recitations. Fortunately there was abundant shade, due to the new roof over the area. Then, we all marched back out and over to the Lower campus. The bands and schoolchildren marched up to the edge of the village, then turned around and marched back down to the sports area again. Our students lined up by department this time. There was a protracted wait as each group marched proudly past the reviewing stand set up at the stage on one side of the roofed area. We marched through again to loud cheers from the crowd (every group got loud cheers, which was very cool), then we were done. By the time we got home, it was 1:30 or so. We needed cat food and lunch, so we were going to Coroico, but every bus that passed was full. By 3pm, we gave up and decided to feed the cat tuna. Jeff and Delaney had another QBE when they walked down to the village to get a few essentials to tide us over, as they had to visit 4 tiendas (shops) to get what we needed. Also, on the way back up, they stopped and visited Gladys at the coffee plant, where they got us some dried coffee berries to make tea from and helped process some coffee while they had a bit of a tour. In the meantime, a couple of the kioskas (these are little outdoor snack bars here on the Upper campus where you can get a homemade hot meal and sit at a table outside the cook's window to eat) were open by then, so we just ate there. It was a good thing we didn't go to Coroico, because Jeff and Delaney both started to feel a bit unwell and spent the rest of the evening lying down.
Saturday morning, Delaney was still unwell, but Jeff was feeling better, so he and I got up early to catch a bus to Coroico. (If you don't go early, all the buses are full from the village before they ever get to us.) Little did we know we were headed for another QBE. The first bus was full, then the second bus was full as well. The driver stopped and told us (and the 4 students waiting) that there were no more buses in Carmen Pampa. Jeff and I decided to walk up to the intersection with the road to Trinidad Pampa. Buses also run back and forth to TP, so we thought we could catch a bus there. It was a very pleasant 10-minute walk, and when we got there, a couple of campesinos were standing there waiting too. They asked us what we were doing, so we told them what the driver said and they nodded. It's amazing how much communicating you can do with broken Spanish when you have to! About 5 minutes later, an empty bus coming from Coroico and head to TP came by. The men flagged him and explained what was going on. He thought for a moment, then motioned us all to get on, then he turned around and went down the Carmen Pampa road to the UAC! When we got there, the group of students waiting for us had doubled in size. They all climbed aboard, we turned around, and off to Coroico we went with a full bus. I love these people! Can you imagine public transit like that anywhere in the US?
So, Jeff and I did our shopping and decided to take a taxi home. Another QBE!! The taxi costs a little more, but is quicker because they don't make all the stops to fill the seats. AND because the guy drove like a bat out of hell!! He was drifting around the corners, I swear. You have to understand the road to Coroico is like many in the Yungas. It's dirt/gravel, heavily rutted and full of potholes. Plus, it's one lane wide in many places, full of blind corners and crumbling edges that go off the cliff... you get the idea. I just held on and kept thinking that the guy does this every day, makes his living doing it, so he must know what he's doing.I was glad to get home, though.
I am still uploading pictures, and I will add captions to them as soon as they are all uploaded. Take care all, and peace be with you.
Susan
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