Hasta luego, Bolivia.

The countdown officially begins: 10 days until I leave for Canada! It’s a weird feeling. It struck me today, as I was haggling for bread in a sweaty outdoor market, how much I’ve gotten used to life in Bolivia. And how different this life is from the one I put on hold in Canada. If I walked into Walmart and told the cashier I wouldn’t buy their bread for more than 10 cents a piece, that would not go down well. You don’t pay strangers in Canada to let you ride in the trunk of their vehicle. Bus rides to work don’t generally involve holding an elderly woman’s chicken in your lap. Kissing people you meet on the street is also known as harassment. I gotta say, I’m a little nervous to go from laid-back South American living to the craziness that is home. Well, my other home. Now, my little village in the middle of Bolivia is "home" as well. Leaving will be bitter-sweet. While there is much about Bolivia I will miss, I am excited to see all of YOU, eat cheese, and take normal showers again. These things I have missed. As for Bolivia, I know there will many things I will equally miss:

1)      Anocaraire – the tucked away village Hospitals of Hope is located in. Although it smells like manure, and is an hour’s drive away from anywhere I need to be, I would not want to live anywhere else. I will greatly miss walking through the little farms, chattin it up with the local women, and being greeted at recess by kids from the village school, most of whom I’ve been lucky to know from our regular check-ups there.  

2)      Casa de Amor! – the orphanage I’ve had the pleasure of working at most weekdays for the past couple of months. Out of the three houses,  I will particularly miss House 1, where 12 tots under the age of 3 live. Baby heaven. Love.  As chaotic and ridiculous as House 2, the older kid’s home, is, I have come to love the little Spanish sass-masters, and I know it’s going to be difficult leaving them. Sad.

3)      Bolivian transportation – I remember when I first came to Bolivia, I couldn’t figure out which side of the road vehicles are supposed to drive on. Because they drive on both. Seatbelts are non-existent. Turn signals are an unheard of concept. Red lights, where lights are even present, are optional. And faster is better, always. There is never not-enough-room, and the shoulder of your neighbour passenger is always fair game for napping on. These things make me happy.

4)       Frozen yogurt – There is this lady that stands next to Percy the Trufiman (see my first blog post) with an armpit full of frozen yogurt-in-a-tube. She sells them for 1 Boliviano each, the equivalent of 12 cents. I originally started buying them from her, because she looks at you with these super sad eyes, that my spineless self can’t resist, shoves a yogurt in your face, and says “Yogurt...please? Only one little Boliviano.” I have to buy one. Every time. Along with the sad eyes, they are also super delicious. One slightly suspicious fact about the yogurt – you have to bite off the top with your teeth, and it’s always super salty. It might have to do with the armpit storage system she's got going on. I try not to think about it.  

5)      The plaza – My story about Monica kind of sums up why I will miss this place. I have grown to know many of the people living in the plaza, and while it’s painful to hear their lives, I love spending time with them, and they have become my friends. These friendships, I will miss.

6)      Spanish – Never thought I would say I would miss this. The Spanish language was the bane of my existence when I first came to Bolivia. Now that I understand it, I’ve gained an appreciation for it. I even learned how to roll my R’s. Kind of. Also, miscommunications are beautiful. Example. One day, coming back to the hospital close to dinner-time, the security guard opens the gate, and a non-Spanish speaking volunteer attempts to ask, “Tienes hambre?” – “Are you hungry?”. What comes out instead: “Tienes hombre?” . Translation: “Do you have a man?” One letter. Big difference. I’ve never laughed so hard in my life.

There are so many more things I will miss about living in Bolivia. But these just give me all the more reason to come back. Algun dia. J