Here are a few highlights from the very various places we traveled over the past week (in case I failed to mention this before, the program is structured so that we have alternating weeks of class in Cochabamba & travel/activities in other locations. It's awesome!)-
1. La Paz- although not actually the capital of Bolivia, this city is, for all intents & purposes, Bolivia's capital. I was really struck by the city, which felt to me like the Latin American equivalent of Seattle (mostly just architecturally & geographically :) ). In La Paz there was such an immense intermingling of cultures & modes of being- the indigenous with the urban, the modern with the antiquated, the historical with the emergence of new social realities. My favorite was the streets full of fruit, vegetable, bread, and flower venders- rows and rows of fresh food, and people going about their daily lives. I didn't think that I would really like La Paz, as I'm not really much of a city person, generally, but I ended up loving it after all <3.
In La Paz, we met with an official from Evo's department of foreign affairs, who taught us about Amaran/Andean cosmovision, which is essentially the Andean, indigenous way of looking at the world. It was UTTERLY fascinating to have the opportunity to learn about a completely different world-vision, and even more exciting to learn that, according to this world view, a massive change is about to happen in the world. This ended up being a trend throughout the week- from the mouth of every speaker, regardless of their social group or cultural paradigm, there was an underlying sentiment of hope for the future of Bolivia. There seems to be a general perception that the political and social environment of Bolivia is changing in a BIG way right now, that the slate is finally beginning to clear after years of deep oppression, exploitation of population and land, and economic, cultural, and social colonization. I cannot even express how excited I am to be here at such a monumental time!! In La Paz, we also met with Mamani Mamani, a world-famous Aymaran artist, the World Bank (which was very interesting- the official we spoke with also expressed that the political and social climate in Bolivia today are VERY different from any previous period, resulting in the world bank being more in "check" than ever before), and with a very radical and progressive anarchist, feminist group called las Mujeres Creados, which is comprised of some of the only openly lesbian women in Bolivia. VERY cool :).
2. Tihuanacu- we visited the only-VERY-partially-excavated ruins of this pre-Incan civilization. Is highly advanced culture was in Bolivia for more than 20 centuries, yet very little was known about their way of life until very recently. According to Andean cosmovision, the site is the center of circulating energies in the world, and is thus the site of important religious ceremonies every year. It was really cool, and we had a really sweet, knowledgeable guide named Gabriel, whose father is a famous archeologist that helped excavate the ruins.
3. El Alto- we visited El Alto, the most densely populated city in Bolivia and Aymaran capital (and also, I believe, the largest indigenous city in the world). The city has historically been a power-house of social change and revolution, its population being a major factor in Bolivia's "independence," in its national revolution, and in obtaining equal rights for its 80% indigenous population.
4. El Lago Titikaka- I really feel that everyone should got to Lake Titikaka at some point in their life. The lake is an extremely essential and sacred place for many indigenous cultures of the Andes, and the reasons for this important is readily apparent once you've set foot on its banks. There is an energy and a spirit exuding from the lake that I've never felt before. We traveled by boat to the Isla del Sol (the island of the sun), which is the most sacred island on the lake, where we saw incredible Incan ruins of a temple, hiked for an hour, and drank from a sacred fountain. Standing, over-looking the crumbling stone ruins, I was overcome with the beauty and sacredness of the place. I can understand why centuries of people have congregated on the island to purify their bodies, minds, and souls. A little while later we swam in the lake, and it was definitely one of my favorite moments of the trip. No words :).
5. Carnaval- Last, but certainly not least, we went to Carnaval in Oruro, which is probably the largest and most important holiday in Bolivia. Every year, people from all over the world come to Carnaval to celebrate life, to watch or perform a myriad of traditional Bolivian dances (a lot of which were originally the dances of African slaves, but are now performed by non-black Bolivians... very interesting.), and to throw about a million "globos" (water balloons :P) and spray each other with foam. It was unbelievably intense and amazing at the same time. There was a parade in the street from 7AM-5AM the next day. We got up at 5AM as the festival ended to go the final destination, a beautiful Spanish church at the top of a hill. There, groups of dancers, musicians, and participants smooshed together inside of the church, resulting in a truly bizarre cultural interaction, or even, tal vez, "clash." It was also truly bizarre to see that the church was built on top of a MINE, the implications and inferences of which are endlessly fascinating to ponder (Spain's interactions with Bolivia were inextricably connected with exploitation of Bolivia's natural resources, so it is shockingly unsurprising that a church and a mine shared the same location). Then the whole group filled a field outside the church and listened to music, danced, and drank until the sunrise. Again, no words. I have already seen more amazing things this month than in my whole life prior to this point.
Well, I'll add some pictures later. Love to all @ home!!
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