Three months into our semester-long stay in Bolivia have allowed us to make a number of interesting observations about culture and the way life seems. A recent class assignment allowed us time to put some of our thoughts onto paper.
“Life in Bolivia is as unique as I could have imagined it and still it surprises me almost every day. Daily life in Santa Cruz has become one solid adventure, be it using the Micro (bus) system, taking a taxi, eating out, or walking down the street. I have come to expect the unexpected and accept everything as what it is instead of turning the other way and not embracing this unusual and different culture.”
“As I ride the micro to the university, my first bus is usually never busy and I can find a seat or at least have my own personal space, but as soon as I step off the 87 or 48, I am doomed to morph into a sardine and be packed into the tin can called The Number 12 or 13 Micro. If I am fortunate enough to catch a bus on time, it will usually be stuffed to the gills and people will literally be hanging out the door.”
“(my host family) has been very gracious in accepting me into their home. Being accepted into their family, however, has created some demands for me to act according to the expectations of a son of such a family….As my stay with them carried on, I realize that many of the restrictions such as curfew are vital to the smooth running machine and continued success of the family unit as a whole.”
“Relationships assume priority over many things in life such as perception of time (promptness), productivity, and individuality. Identity is established through association instead of individual characteristics and accomplishments.”
“In the US we tend to create a space bubble of about three feet all the way around us, and we start to get uncomfortable if strangers enter into that bubble. In Bolivia my bubble has shrunk to nearly zero. I have come past the awkward “who do I kiss?” stage … my sister even told me that when we are at church, if I am unsure if I should use the “Bolivian greeting (kiss),” just use it anyways, because it would be considered more rude if I didn’t that if I did.”
“I have seen a man splash water from the street upon his face to ‘cleanse’ it, and I have seen homes far more elegant that any I have ever been in. Bolivia is quite possibly the most diverse place in the world. Not only is the climate entirely different in every corner but also the people are so vast and varied that I have an incredibly hard time remembering all the names for each people group. Yet it is what makes Bolivia beautiful.”
“Business hours are often shaped by the core value of family, allowing time in the middle of the day for the family to get together for lunch and enjoy each other’s company…. an hour and a half for lunch in our University schedule, a two and a half hour lunch break at my internship, and a three hour lunch break that my mom and sister have to allow them to travel home to all eat lunch together during the work day…If someone was asked to take a three hour lunch break in the United States and stay at work until 8:00 (to complete a full work-day), I think this would be a source of much frustration and feelings of wasted time in the middle of the day.”
“Male-female relationships have stood out to me for a couple of reasons. The first is the way guys in Bolivia treat me. The constant whistles and comments seem incredibly disrespectful to me, but it is perceived as totally normal here. Some girls even say it’s a compliment, but it makes me feel uncomfortable. By now I have learned to not be bothered by it, but I don’t think that it is right.”
“Many people will tell you that in order to change a life it requires discipline, dedication, and divine intervention. I’m going to disagree. If you want to change someone’s life all you have to do is consistently change one tiny detail in that life. In the case of my study abroad group, all our lives will be altered because we took many daily details of our daily lives and turned them on their heads.”
“The fact that eleven Americans, six of whom do not speak Spanish well, travel by car, bus, and train, attend soccer games, intern at job placements, and live Bolivian lives without major incident is solely by the grace of God. Divine intervention is the blessing of the change, not the cause of the change. I truly feel God called me to Bolivia, as I truly believe many of our group were called, and this can be construed as a divine summons to pick up the cross. And you could select any one of us to talk extensively about how our lives HAVE changed.”