Well my title may be a little misleading, as I have not moved out of my host family's home as it may make you think. Here's the fam (plus Lenka, at whose house I spend nearly as much time!) at the SIT farewell dinner:
Why a farewell dinner already? You may wonder. Well, we have finally reached the final stage of the program: the month of independent research! The options are pretty much endless for this project, as long as you stay in Bolivia, tell SIT where you're living, and remember to check in with our director twice a week so they know you're alive. My situation has not changed much: I am still living with my host family, hanging out with the same friends, and seeing Heidi, the director, every once in a while. I decided back in October that our time in Cochabamba during this semenster was really too short and that I'd rather stay in the same place and deepen my friendships here than go somewhere new and try to enter a whole new community in just a few short weeks! So far, two weeks in, I am pretty happy with that decision!
One of the great things about this open month is that there are no scheduled meetings of the group! So even though there are 7 other students in Cochabamba as well, I can choose whether I want to see them or not! For me, this means that I am finally getting some freedom from English-speaking and American culture because I can spend all my time with my Bolivian friends instead of having to go to group classes and excursions! I've really been enjoying that element of freedom and trying to spend a lot of time with the people I've met, and keep meeting, here.
The fateful Halloween night!
Well, I would be spending all my time with people here, but a shocking change has occurred in my life! For the whole semenster until Sunday night, the wifi in my house has been pretty terrible, and I have had to go stand in the corner of the kitchen in order to pick up a decent signal. But on Sunday night, when I returned to my room from the kitchen and continued using my iPad, I realized that the wifi symbol did not disappear! I was shocked. How could the wifi magically have become so powerful? I immediately called my mom to Skype, then watched Netflix for the first time in nearly three months!
The next day, when I told my host mom the unbelievable experience of the night before, she chuckled and simply said, "Oh, I moved the router into the dining room." What???? I've been awkwardly standing in the kitchen for three months and we could have just moved the router?? I guess I should've asked about that earlier. So anyway, I now have Internet in my room, which is a great temptation to surf the web and chat with Adie all the time. But I am trying not to get too carried away! Frankly, it was probably a good thing that I didn't have it for most of the semester because I spent my time in other ways!
**News update: before I had a chance to finish this post, our internet went whack for a few days, so now my host mom has returned the router to the original location and is afraid to move it. I don't think the problem had anything to do with the location, it did not resolve until more than a day after she moved it back, but nevertheless, it looks like I will be back to standing in the kitchen for the duration!
But in happier news, I am now borrowing a smartphone from Lenka so that I can participate in the primary means of communication here: whats app. Basically it's an app that sends texts and calls through the Internet, either wifi or cellular data. Pretty much all cell use is pay-as-you-go here, and data is much cheaper than regular calls/texts, so nearly everyone uses whats app at this point. Not knowing this beforehand, I did not bring my iPhone with me, so I've been out of the loop for most of the semester. But know that's changed and I'm suddenly bombarded with messages all day! If anyone feels like chatting, download whats app on your phone and we can message for free!
Lots of photo-sharing occurs over this app, and the phone saves all of them automatically! A bit overwhelming.
And in even happier news, I joined a pool this week! The system of entry is very strict, there is very little space, but with the help of Lenka's grandmother I was able to get in! You're assigned an hour and go five days a week. There are five lanes, divided by ability level, with an instructor for each one, who gives the drills. It's been years since I felt like I was in a sports practice! Somehow I managed to make it into the top group of my hour, which is 12 people in one lane. It's very much like being in a team setting! And I'm finally learning butterfly, something I've always wanted to do! My hour is 12-1, so immediately after I rush home on my bike and eat a heaping lunch! I think I've surprised my family by how much I can put away, not that I wasn't eating twice as much as them before starting at the pool! They're a pretty sedentary group. I wish I could've been swimming all semester, but with the very irregular class/travel schedule that we had, it really wouldn't have been possible. At least I'm getting to make use of my swim cap and goggles that I brought for this last month!
Still going out for Sunday rides when we can!
I will write another post soon about what I've been up to for my independent project. But as a brief summary, I have taken to biking all over the city, talking to people, observing any and all cyclists, and gaining a better sense of what it takes to maneuver through the streets of Cochabamba! Then there are all the events and interviews and bike routes and meetings that I am going to. So far, it's been a lot of fun. And hard to believe that there are only two weeks left until the program ends and Adie arrives! Well, actually Adie is arriving first, but I'm planning to sneak him in to wherever we're having the evaluation retreat for a night or two.
A relatively small group from one of the nighttime rides. I'm in the middleish with white helmet, backpack and blue shirt.
Ciao!
Lucy
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