The Road Less Traveled: Peru: Ever´day I´m Shufflin´ (or, at least lately, there has been a lot of moving around)

Cochabamba recap

Cochabamba

Cochabamba from Zona Sur

One of my last nights in Cochabamba was spent dancing the Cueca with Andres, the 6 year old grandson of my host family. My family wanted to celebrate my birthday with my and a few of my friends before I left for Peru. (Just to note, my actual birthday is five day before Christmas). It was a beautiful month-early birthday night filled with friends, food, music, dancing, and, of course, Cacho (a dice game of chances).

The Cueca is a traditional dance in Bolivia that represents the beginning and growth of a new relationship. Though this dance is specific to dating relationships, it encompassed the beginning and growth of my relationship with Bolivia. In all, the whole night was a good recap of many aspects of the Bolivian culture and reminders of why Sarah and I traveled there in the first place.

Sarah and I learned to dance the Cueca while attending a dance class at the institute. We learned its basic steps (and the basic steps of another traditional dance—the Tinku). The beginning of my relationship with Cochabamba began through opportunities like this, both through the means of the institute and elsewhere.

Like the time when Sarah and I climbed to the summit of Tunari which stands at ~16,000 ft. This climb to and above the clouds in the high peaks of the Andes reminded me that we are small. It’s humbling to remember that these mountains have been standing tall since before and will continue after my life; that these mountains connect cultures (Quechua and Aymara, to be specific), but also countries (with a range of histories and struggles). They also rejuvenated me, being from the mountains, I find mountains to be a life-source which remind me of the incredible beauty Earth holds. This climb, though, was also a short Andean cultural lesson—it was when I chewed coca leaves for the first time. Who would have thought that chewing a small leaf would give so much energy and relieve most, if not all, negative effects of high altitude? (Well, the Andean cultures thought of it, so that was a silly question). This stuff is great!

The view from Tunari

Emilio, our awesome guide

Sharing coca leaves

We made it!

Or the time when we climbed to the statue of Christ which is the same but bigger figure of the Rio Christ statue in Brazil. At the top, we saw the whole city and extending communities.

Cristo looking down on Cochabamba

The view from Cristo

Bill and Kathy Collins (two wonderful, life-giving individuals)

Or, how about the time when I saw expressed popular religiosity in the form of a K’oa. A K’oa is a burnt offering to Pachamama aka Mother Earth asking for health, safety, abundance (in terms of crops), and success. The offering includes herbs, sweets, and pieces of confetti. (Supposedly, Pachamama has a sweet tooth!). Other more elaborate K’oas take place for a variety of reasons: before building a house, asking for blessing and health for a child when he/she is young, etc. Andean cultures, historically, worshiped many gods. The Pachamama was one of the most important due to their agricultural lifestyle and dependence of the success of the harvest. Despite the Catholicism which the Spanish brought when they pillaged, conquered and oppressed thousands of native cultures in South America, the ancient tradition of the Pachamama is still practiced, even in the most devout Catholic families. It is fascinating and, frankly, so much can be written on the popular religiosity of the Andean culture, of which I am still learning, so for now I am content being a sponge and taking in all these experiences.

The herbs and sweets for the K´oa

As I spent more time in Cochabamba, I continued to fall in love. I feel this is due to the people who we met (or in Sarah’s case, remet). I mean, how could you not love a host family who just “has” to throw your birthday party before you leave?

We were introduced to an amazing network and support we were given by our teachers, staff, administration and the fathers, brothers and sisters of Maryknoll. The families we visited for holidays (Halloween and Thanksgiving at Dan and Rocío’s) or just on random weekends (visiting lay missioners Jim and Karen in Zona Sur, the more impoverished area of Cochabamba, showing us another reality of the Bolivian/Cochabamban people).

I am very grateful that Sarah and I had the chance to spend these 5 weeks in Bolivia. We entered into this time as an opportunity to prepare ourselves further for our experience in Peru by means of immersion. It was also a great way to practice some language! I feel more confident in my Spanish, plus, you should have heard Sarah’s goodbye speech in Quechua!

Overall, our time in Cochabamba was formational. We were inspired by the people and their enthusiasm and heart for service, mission, and life was contagious. I left feeling more prepared for Andahuaylillas.

Life after Cochabamba

Sarah and I took our time traveling to Andahualillas, knowing that we may not have a chance to return to Bolivia. We took a flight to La Paz and landing in one of the highest commercial airports in the world (about 13,320 ft). We prepared ourselves by taking Soroji pills (anti-altitude sickness pills) and drinking lots of water! We were both impressed by the topography of the city. It is surrounded by beautiful, tall mountains. (Duh! These are the Andes).


La Paz

We loved this city.

La Paz (those are houses covering the side of the valley behind the city)

Looking down the other side of the valley

Next, we bused our way to Copacabana (named after Our Lady of Copacabana which inspired the name of the famous beach in Brazil and THEN the Barry Manelow song). We took this opportunity to rest, relax, and rejuvenate physically. Despite one short hike to the pilgrimage site on a hill overlooking the lake, we slept, read, journaled, ate whatever we wished (mostly canned peaches and yogurt) and paced ourselves. We also ate some of the best trout I have tasted. YUM! Though we enjoyed the couple days of relaxation, we both shared that we were ready to get to our placements in Andahuaylillas. After months of transition from one stage to the next in life, we were ready for a sense of permanency.