amazing weekend!!!

wow! what a weekend!!! so...saturday night a large group of us from sustainable bolivia took a bus at 11pm from cochabamba to la paz. we arrived in la paz at about 6 the next morning, and i slept like a baby the entire time. the buses were actually very nice, with reclining seats and tv´s, all for the low price of approximately 4.5 dollars one way. once we got to la paz, the altitude hit me immediately. it was 6am on a sunday, so nothing was open and we roamed around the town. saw the changing of the guard and some very beautiful old buildings. we stopped at a little street vendor and ate this stuff that tasted almost like funnel cake, but with cheese inside and this weird drink that everyone else loved but me (of course). it was made from corn and i´m guessing some fruit as it was half white and half purple and hot. the only good thing i can say about it, is that it was hot as it was probably about 30 degrees that time of the morning. we then sat on the steps of this beautiful old cathedral. it was father´s day, and i went inside alone, kneeled down, the only one in the building and said a little prayer. i felt very peaceful after. i sure wish i could post the pictures on here from my camera because they are amazing...of la paz, the cathedral, the whole adventure. after buying fruit (YES I BOUGHT GREEN APPLES AND ATE THEM) and stocking up on warm clothing...i got wool mittens, a really cool knitted beanie and scarf for 8.5 dollars...we went to an open coffee shop, watched some world cup, and then went to our next adventure. we were dropped off at the cemetary where we picked up a bus to tihuanaco. however, this bus was not comfortable at all. it was an old school nissan minivan and they fit 15 of us in there. regardless, i was able to fall asleep for the 1.5 hour bumpy hilly ride in a pretzel position.

we arrived at tihuanaco around 1 or 2 in the afternoon however it was much different than i imagined. i figured it would be just ruins, but it is an entire town with a beautiful central plaza. they were going to charge us to see the ruins during the day and then again to go back at 6am for the solstice, so we just camped out on the ground, ate fruit, cheese, bread and wine and rested. the party started around 5ish. it was so amazing. they had live local bands play from like 5pm to 5am...all traditional music. we were pulled into circles to dance, traditional dance, where we all went around in a circle, then switched directions, then went in and out and so on and so forth. so much fun...literally had an experience of a lifetime. also that night i realized i am expanding my eating horizons whether i mean to or not..a girl i was with ordered a skewer from a street vendor, same as i had gotten the weekend before in cochabamba. i figured it was beef and potato. silly assumption in bolivia. she asked what it was, and turns out i ate a bunch of COW HEART!!! at the time i thought it was really good but now my stomach turns when i think about it.

so around 5am we walked to the ruins and they had a whole ceremony , with people dressed up in their native clothing, some sort of sacrifice and the light coming through the ¨door¨of the ruins. president evo was about 15 feet away from me, and the girls were going CRAZY!!! ¨te amo evo, te amo..¨ crying and all. it was amusing. at this point it was maximum 10 degrees so i wasn´t finding it as interesting as i should have because my body hurt and was numb even with many layers. i´d say it was like iowa winter. we left right after the ceremony, and took the same trip back. tihuanaco to la paz (but a big bus this time so no pretzel shapes for me) then la paz to cochabamba. we were EXHAUSTED by the time we arrived back home, and dirtier than i have probably ever been in my life.

yesterday, i had to go to the emergency clinic, which cost me a whopping TEN DOLLARS to see the emergency room doctor with no insurance. turns out i have a very susceptible immune system and had developed an infection that could have been extremely painful had i not gone. i was given 3 different prescriptions which i took to the pharmacy-there are pharmacies on every corner but this was THE pharmacy. waited in line for an hour to get in because this pharmacy is good and cheap. what i really liked was that they had 2 lines, one for the elderly and one for the rest of us. other countries sure take care of their elderly a whole lot better than we do. i´m realizing a lot of things we do kind of just really suck. for example, everyone i live with from europe or south america are required to take a second and sometimes even 3rd language all through school. how useful is that? they then focus on what they want to major in at the university and take specialty classes in high school. anyway, enough about that.

today woke up really late as someone from our house today left so they had a going away party, and seeing as though my room is the only on the first floor, i suffered thru the noise even though i went to bed really early. even the ipod was no help. had a great time with the kids, but part of my medicine is putting 30 drops of something in water twice a day to boost my immune system. i did it last night and it seemed fine, but when i was drinking my water at work today i immediately felt weak, sick to my stomach, sweaty and like i was going to pass out. my friend went with me to the bus stop because i wasn´t doing well and rode home with me to make sure i was ok. had to cancel the spanish lessons today with my teacher, carmen, so no improvement hoy :-)

i am really missing coca cola´s that i trust, in a glass full of ice and in-n-out for sure. the doctor told me i can´t eat anything spicy or any street food until my system builds up so it looks like cup of noodle for me...oh, and maybe ice cream :-) hope all is well with everyone and really enjoy hearing from those of you that write me on here or facebook. definitely miss contact with friends and family.

for those of you who have inquired about sending care packages, please only send stuff for the kids, i am good (other than hand sanitizer!!! ). They are in need of any old clothing ages 1.5 to 5 years, colored pencils and markers, tissue or handkerchiefs, books in spanish, puzzles,LOTS AND LOTS OF BABY WIPES and any cleaning supplies as the place is filthy, and enough mike n ikes for 25 kiddos. ha ha. they would like any kind of treat, but enough for 25 to 30.they are in need of much more, but i am also allotted 75 dollars each month i am here to buy stuff for their center so i will take care of a lot of it. you all are soooo sweet!

my mailing address is:
SUSTAINABLE BOLIVIA
C/O KIM BOWEN SOUZA
CALLE JULIO ARA UCO PRADO 230
ZONA LAS QUADRAS
COCHABAMBA, BOLIVIA

with love,
kim
kimmer
kimbo
kimmie

(quite an address, eh?? )