Buffy
Spiro to Bolivia

5/31/2005 12:16 AM

Alright, so here it is. My last update as an exchange
student. As most of you know, I made my journey back
to the good ol' U.S. of A in one piece. From reading
up and listening to past stories of reverse culture
shock, I had expected the worse, but to my surprise, I
eased right back in with no difficulty at all. That
last day in Santa Cruz was unforgettable. A lot of my
friends had cleared their schedules to spend the day
with me. I added a little more goofing off to my 5 1/2
hour video collection, along with some last minute
souvenir shopping. The day was incredibly hectic, cuz
you know me... Ms. Procrastinator... I didn't really
even start packing until 1:00 a.m. the morning I left.
Being so rushed to get everything done, I didn't
really have much time to think about what was going
on. When I did think about it, however, I felt more
mixed emotions than I ever thought possible. Some were
expected, like being happy to go home and see all my
friends and family again, but at the same time sad to
be leaving all my new family and friends. One emotion
that had crept up on me though was fear. To tell you
the truth, I was terrified. I didn't know what to
expect in returning. I had spent the past 9 months
creating a new life. I have had so many experiences
without my friends and family. I knew I was a changed
person, but there was no way for me to know if it was
for the better. How was I to know if I would fit back
into my old life? Thoughts of returning frightened me.
As time grew closer to my departure, all feelings
began to collide. I had become a large ball of
confusion. I didn't really seem as though I was
leaving. It didn't seem as though that part of my life
had come to an end. My friends came to the airport to
see me off, and even after I had passed the security
measures and boarded the plane, it still didn't hit me
that I was going home. By the last flight, almost all
emotions had died except for anxiety, and when the
plane landed, my heart stopped. I of course was the
last one off the plane, and the last to make it to the
baggage claim. As I came down the escalator, I could
see my goofy sisters holding a gigantic sign reading
"Welcome Home Buffy" and then out stepped my parents
wearing their Jamaican hats equipped with dreadlocks.
All fear was immediately washed away, and I once again
felt at home. As we started towards Spiro, my entire
family began to attempt singing "Bohemian Rhapsody"
acappella, I knew then everything would be ok. Within
the first 2 seconds of seeing my family, I immediately
fit back in, and now, surprisingly, it fees as though
I never left. I had been worried for no reason. 
I am so happy I went on exchange. I remember back in
August when my parents and I were on our way to the
airport. I turned to my dad and said "I don't want to
do this anymore." My dad's response was short and
simple... "Too bad." The past year has been the best
of my life. Sure, I also experienced some of the worst
days of my life, but as the saying goes, "the good
times outweigh the bad". I never truly understood that
until now. I just want to say thank you to all of you
guys. Each and everyone of you have influenced my life
in someway that made it possible for me to have such a
great exchange. You believed in me so much and I don't
think I could ever express how grateful I am to all of
you for giving me the confidence I needed. It's sad
that my exchange is over, but although this adventure
has come to an end, I know it means the beginning of
so much more. 
Gracias otra vez.... Chau chau...
Buffy

5/9/2005 8:16 PM

 Ok... I think we last left off with me going to
Cochabamba. (I havn't written in between that time,
cuz I was waiting for something to happen that I could
write about) So, we went to Coahcamamba along with the
Rotary clubs from all over the country and their
exchange students. All together, I think there was
about 24 exchange students, and half of the were from
my city. Out of the exchange students from the U.S.
that are in Bolivia (other programs included) I am the
only one thats not from a state that borders Canada.
Go south central states! (and they only make fun of me
a little bit for being a hick) Well, we had an awesome
time. We went to a large banquet and the president of
Bolivia was there! (He almost resigned the next day,
but I'm almost positive that it had nothing to do with
me) Also at the party was the largest cake I had ever
seen, for the 100th birthday of Rotary. It was so
huge, I almost expected a half naked woman to pop out,
but to my disappointment... i mean relief... that
didn't happen. We did't see many sights in Cochabamba,
because we all figured we would have time to see them
all on the Bolivia trip. Little did we know at the
time, they bumped Cochamamba off the list.
 We got back into Santa Cruz, and I did basically
nothing for a few weeks. Then, out of the blue, I get
a phone call saying to go to the Rotary office. Thats
when we found out we would be leaving in 2 days to go
on our trip around Bolivia. (but hey... at least they
let us know plenty of time in advance... roll eyes...)
The trip was for 10 days, and it was so much fun.
Bolivia is such a beautiful country. Its so diverse.
Where I live for instance (east), it is usually very
humid and hot. But in La Paz, on the other hand
(west), its pretty much cold year round. (I went
during the summer and was wearing long sleeves and
jackets) It even snows in some cities. However, in
Cochabamba (smack dab in the middle), the weather is
perfect. Not too hot, not too cold. On the trip, we
were pretty much freezing the entire time. (It's
winter now)
 We started off our journey in Trinidad, Beni. Just up
north from Santa Cruz. On the way though, we were
stopped in the Cochabamba airport. Since all of us had
complained so much about missing out on Cochabamba,
the guide took us out for the 1 hour lay over we had.
We went to the "Cristo". It's the biggest stature of
Jesus in the world. It's sat on top a hill that towers
over the city. When I first saw it, its  immensity was
so shocking that I could only manage for one thing to
escape my lips... "Christ Almighty!". We drove to the
top and had 5 minutes to run over, take a picture, and
run back. But hey... I'm just happy we got to go.
After that, back to the airport, and off to Trinny.
Trinidad is a pretty dirty town, and so much more
humid than Santa Cruz, so it smells kinda bad too.
They do have a pretty cool river though that looks
like a swamp, and we got to spend the day out there on
a boat. The strange thing about this river is that
there are pink dolphins, and we saw them! I know
you're thinking "right... pink dolphins" but its
true... and I swear, none of us were drunk.
 Next stop La Paz... One of the capitals of Bolivia,
and my favorite city. The airport into La Paz is in a
town called El Alto. Ive said this once before, but La
Paz is like a giant whole in the ground. It's like a
city built into the Grand Canyon. El Alto is the land
right before it heads down hill into the city. When we
got off the plane, it started hailing. It was so cold,
and such a drastic change coming from Trinidad. La Paz
has so many cool little tourist shops to buy
handicrafts and what not, and our hotel was right in
the middle of all of that. It was cool, because
everyone in our hotel was from a different country. 
 We were only in the city for one day, then we packed
a light bag, and hopped on a bus early in the morning
to go to Copacabana / Lake Titicaca. I remember
hearing about the highest navigable lake in the world
in middle school, and I remember how everyone giggled
at the name... "haha... the teacher said titicaca!".
But I never could have guessed then that Id actually
be going there someday. We had to take a boat across
the lake to get to Copacabana, and that night we got
to sleep on the Sun Island. Although, sorry to say it
was very sunny. It was freakin' cold, man! We then had
walked from the side of the island the boat left us
on, to the other, where the hotel was conveniently
located. We did however get to see the sun set behind
the lake, and although it that didn't help the
freezing situation much, I'd have to say it was worth
it. We finally arrived on the other side of the
island, half frozen, and sat around sipping on hot
chocolate. The next morning, we were all to get up
before sun rise to hike to the top of the mountain for
a spiritual experience. I myself was psyched. Morning
came, and people were running past our door to get to
the group on time. (I had roomed with a girl from New
York) We gathered are things, and tried to open the
door. :Note that I said tried: they had been
remodeling the hotel, and had not yet gotten around to
putting a handle on the inside of the door, so we were
locked in. Luckily, one of the others was a little
behind as well, heard our screams, and opened the
door. By the time we got to the main part of the
hotel, they had gone. Having no way to tell which way
they went, we found our own path, walked down, watched
the sun rise, and had our own "spiritual" experience.
After breakfast, we started walking down the giant
hill the hotel was on back to the shore to take a boat
to the moon islans. Right as we began to walk it
started raining and hailing, and it didn't stop once
for the 45 minute hike we had to endure. None of us
had rain jackets, and since we had all put on all the
warm clothes we could find, everything we had got
soaked. It was even colder once we got to the boat. We
road around the lake for 3 hours. Each one of us
feeling hypothermia coming on. Because of the horrible
weather, we didn't go to the moon island.
After our bus back to La Paz, we all gladly cleaned up
and put on some dry clothes. I contacted my host
brother (who goes to college in La Paz) and he took us
out dancing. We had a blast, but once again the next
morning had to wake up at a frightful hour to go to
Sucre.
 Sucre is the real capital of Bolivia, but mainly its
just a university city. We headed to a restaurant to
eat llama, then to the hotel. Like La Paz, Sucre was
just a stopping point, a place to leave our bags while
we went somewhere else. This time, we to a bus to
Potosi. We were there for a couple hours, then we
hopped on another bus to head off to Uyuni. Which by
the way was the coldest, most painful 7 hours Ive
endured in quite some time. It was through the middle
of the night with out a wink of sleep, and the bus
driver was blasting very loudly the creepiest music
i've ever heard. Id have to say, I was a little
terrified. 
 We arrived around 2 in the morning to the City of
Uyuni. El Gran Salar de Uyuni is the largest salt
concentration in the world. Its about a 45 minute
drive outside of the city. We took a 5 hour jeep tour
of the Flats. Once you're in the middle, and you look
around, as far as you can see is flat whiteness, that
is until you hit the mountains. It was like nothing I
had ever seen in my entire life, and breathtakingly
beautiful. (A must see if you're planning a trip to
bolivia.) We hopped out and licked the salty ground,
then gagged for about 5 minutes after. One stop we
made was to see the Volcano, and another to see a
hotel made entirely out of salt. Beds and all! All of
it was so amazing. 
 After the tour was over, we were forced once again
back onto the bus for another night of torture.
Fortunately, I had taken a Tylenol PM and was able to
sleep most of the trip.  :)  The next day, in Potosi, we
went to the mines. Thats right, under ground with
light helmets and all. We got to see the minors up
close and personal in their working habitat. To be
able to take their picture, you're supposed to give
them a gift. They prefer pure alcohol and coca leaves.
(Coca is a big deal in bolivia, especially cochabamba,
but they always say, "La hoja de la coca no es droga"
- The coca leaf isn't a drug. if you chew it itll just
make your mouth numb, and help you not be so hungry.
it helps the minors work longer without having to
stop) Unfortunately, one of the girls in our group got
extremely clostraphobic in the middle of the mine. We
had to crawl in very tight spaces, and she, for lack
of a better phrase, lost it. It was incredibly scary
considering we were in the middle of the mine and
there was nothing we could do, but she eventually
calmed down, and we all made it out alright. 
 After Potosi, back to Sucre for the last night on our
trip. The next day we were to fly back to Santa Cruz
with a stop in Cochabamba. With the original flight,
we had a lay over for 3 hours in the Cochabamba
airport. After the 3 hours, we went to check in for
the next flight only to find that it had been delayed
for another 4. Needless to say, with 7 hours in the
airport, we had a lot of goofing off to do, and I have
the video footage to prove it. 
 We finally made it back to our city. Santa Cruz...
home sweat home. After seeing almost all of Bolivia, I
have come to the conclusion that it is probably one of
the most beautiful/diverse countries in the world.
Every city stands on its own as something completely
unique. Every department you could pass off as its own
country. From the dolphin filled river of Trinidad to
the Salt Flats of Uyuni, the humid flatness of Santa
Cruz to the snowy mountainous peeks of La Paz, almost
anything you want to see, you can find here. The
diversity doesn't just come from the physical aspects
of the country, but from the cultural ones as well.
Every where you go in Bolivia you will find that the
people have different accents, different values, and
just different ways to live their lives. I knew
nothing of this country before exchange, and now, I
cant express how glad I am that I got to experience
its wonder. Exchange is about eperiencing and learning
something you never knew before. That having been
said... I couldn't think of a better place to come on
exchange. 

Lets try and make up for missed time (Dec-Feb)

11/30/04

Tuesday, September 14, 2004 4:30 PM