On the road again
For those of you who haven't heard the crazy plan born of a whim back in October, I'm heading up through Peru, Ecuador and Colombia to catch a flight out of Bogotá on the 20th of November. It should be an adventure since I only have three weeks and a lot of heavy bags to remind me how long I've been down here.
I've made it to Cuenca after zooming through Perú on a 27-hour bus and a 31-hour bus (both were supposed to be 26 hours). It's not as bad as it sounds -- I met a fun traveling crew made up of a Bolivian, a Colombian, a Peruvian and a German, watched a ton of bad movies dubbed in Spanish, ate chicken for two days straight and saw just about all of the surreal Peruvian coast.
Goodbyes were really hard, but in the end it did feel like the time to take off, and it's somewhat of a relief to be on the road and not just anticipating it. Just to do some sort of send-off:
Some things I learned in Bolivia:
latin american spanish in all its glory
the true meaning of FOLKdance, from and for the people
going somewhere is not so much about the destination, but about the joooouuuurney, so never ever make travel itineraries and go with the flow
patience, infinite patience in all things is a virtue
to talk openly about bowel movements
to not depend on written information or order -- that is, to always ask questions to get around
History is not easily forgotten and social revolution is more complicated than fresh faces and unexpected leaders. Pessimism, blame, disappointment after disappointment... things aren't going to be easy for Bolivia.
What I'll most miss:
family and friends
the folkdances and standard tunes that come out at every gathering and how much everyone still loves them... and that everyone knows the dances!
Quechua
speaking Spanish
egg sandwiches for 2 bs on the street corner in the middle of the night (or street food in general)
the high altitude rural night sky with more stars than imaginable
folk music - charangos, quenas, zampoñas...
taxi drivers - so friendly and talkative
being woken up every morning to eat breakfast so that I wouldn't eat alone. eating in a group and arguing during lunch.
dancing with my buddy Carlitos in the kitchen
artesanía
being called Kris (Krees), mamita, waway, kachamosa
mountains, hardcore Bolivia style
humintas, api, pastel, sopa de maní, choclo, yuca, fresh quesillo, chupando (sucking) oranges and mangos
cumbia and latin pop (no lie)
resourcefulness and the spirit of repair and do it yourself. so many people who know how to make clothes, fix a shoe, use something until it's reeeeeally broken, not just throw it out when it gets old.
And just a few of the things I'm most looking forward to back in the patria:
family and friends
cooking
hot showers and water pressure
a cat in the house and cats in general that don't carry the freaky disease that causes birth defects in women that pet them
kayak
bike
piano
dad salad, bagels, loose tea and my teapot, sourdough bread, blueberries
not being treated differently for being a woman/foreigner
the ocean
.jpg)
I've made it to Cuenca after zooming through Perú on a 27-hour bus and a 31-hour bus (both were supposed to be 26 hours). It's not as bad as it sounds -- I met a fun traveling crew made up of a Bolivian, a Colombian, a Peruvian and a German, watched a ton of bad movies dubbed in Spanish, ate chicken for two days straight and saw just about all of the surreal Peruvian coast.
Goodbyes were really hard, but in the end it did feel like the time to take off, and it's somewhat of a relief to be on the road and not just anticipating it. Just to do some sort of send-off:
Some things I learned in Bolivia:
latin american spanish in all its glory
the true meaning of FOLKdance, from and for the people
going somewhere is not so much about the destination, but about the joooouuuurney, so never ever make travel itineraries and go with the flow
patience, infinite patience in all things is a virtue
to talk openly about bowel movements
to not depend on written information or order -- that is, to always ask questions to get around
History is not easily forgotten and social revolution is more complicated than fresh faces and unexpected leaders. Pessimism, blame, disappointment after disappointment... things aren't going to be easy for Bolivia.
What I'll most miss:
family and friends
the folkdances and standard tunes that come out at every gathering and how much everyone still loves them... and that everyone knows the dances!
Quechua
speaking Spanish
egg sandwiches for 2 bs on the street corner in the middle of the night (or street food in general)
the high altitude rural night sky with more stars than imaginable
folk music - charangos, quenas, zampoñas...
taxi drivers - so friendly and talkative
being woken up every morning to eat breakfast so that I wouldn't eat alone. eating in a group and arguing during lunch.
dancing with my buddy Carlitos in the kitchen
artesanía
being called Kris (Krees), mamita, waway, kachamosa
mountains, hardcore Bolivia style
humintas, api, pastel, sopa de maní, choclo, yuca, fresh quesillo, chupando (sucking) oranges and mangos
cumbia and latin pop (no lie)
resourcefulness and the spirit of repair and do it yourself. so many people who know how to make clothes, fix a shoe, use something until it's reeeeeally broken, not just throw it out when it gets old.
And just a few of the things I'm most looking forward to back in the patria:
family and friends
cooking
hot showers and water pressure
a cat in the house and cats in general that don't carry the freaky disease that causes birth defects in women that pet them
kayak
bike
piano
dad salad, bagels, loose tea and my teapot, sourdough bread, blueberries
not being treated differently for being a woman/foreigner
the ocean
.jpg)
posted by Kristin at 3:53 AM
4 Comments:
I've loved reading your blog but selfishly can't wait for you to be back in the same country as me! It sounds like your experience in Bolivia was everything a year abroad should be -- you participated in the local culture/traditions, experienced political drama, and got adopted by a close-knit group of natives. Jealous! Safe travels ... miss you
Siempre será doloroso verte desde tan lejos, pero también espero que me siga quedando este consuelo, el de que estes conociendo, experimentado y sobretodo disfrutando la vida y el mundo.
Un fuerte abrazo,
Juanma
oye k, your little spot on the internet has been quite the intersection of words images thoughts. who knew these forms of media could take such meaningful forms. in any case, moving beyond hesitant traditionalism.. ya hablaremos sobre las revoluciones sociales y todo el resto, espero.
much amor,
y al tiempo estirado,
-s.
Kappa,
Finally your adventure seems to come to a conclusion. My experience was so much shorter than yours, yet it left an indelible mark. I can only begin to imagine what deep mark a year and a half has left on you.
I've been back in Europe for more than two months...and life here doesn't have that intensity, that breath of fresh air we had there. Soon Ana will come to live with me in Rome: it's what keeps me going.
You might want to think twice before catching that airplane from Bogotá.
I wish you the best on your trip to Colombia. Send Ana and I a postcard from some lost place over there!
(Via Archimede 143
00197 Roma, Italia)
Besos,
Matteo
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