If two germans fall in an empty jungle, do they make a sound?

So the family is back this week. Two Germans, a dutch girl, and a uni-cycling Uruguayan went into the jungle for 2 weeks and came back in quite a state. Each about 7-10 lbs lighter and a new found hate for rice and garlic.

We, on the other hand, headed to a amazing Electronic music festival on Isla de Sol while the crew recovered. As my boat arrived I saw 21 circus folks on the top of a boat playing every instrument, wearing every color make-up, and many of them stacked on top of each other.

Now I'm just winding down my last week of work and getting ready for another crazy adventure to Ecuador. Playa here I come.

Oh yea, we've also been doing stencils.

The earth shakes as I pack my things to go

You gave me all the love that's necessary
when two people try to find themselves,
love beyond all common sense
based on some sweet permanence
with only one
and baby I thought I needed you
in a changing world
baby I thought I needed you

Wanting so to give away,
important things I had to say
for many days,
suddenly you came along
helped me share my perfect song
in perfect ways,
and baby I thought I needed you
in a changing world,
I thought I needed you

The closer that we drew together
made our love seem like forever,
naturally,
and then I heard you sing the song
that I was singing all along
and failed to see,
baby,
the thing that I most fear
in a changing world:
Baby, I saw you disappear

Empty now and silently I face your struggle to be free
to be on your own,
to grow so very carefully
and suffer necessarily
for what I've done
to baby who wants to know the thing
in a changing world
to baby who's learning how to sing

~Biff Rose, "To Baby"

Never cease to amaze me

So 7 of my couchsurfers headed to the folklorica festival this weekend in Coroico. The rest of us weren't going to go but last minute on day 2 at around 5pm we decided we needed to get out of La Paz. The 4 of us caught one of the last buses and arrived at around 10pm. At the bus approached the city (in the middle of the jungle) we felt the warm sticky breeze on our faces. Oh lord, we are ready for this weather.

Bus crashed into a pole as we got into the town. We decided that was a good stopping point. The whole city is at a slant so we struggled up the hill with our tents, pots and rando gear. We were ready for some folkloric culture and some outdoor camping. Within 30 seconds we realized that we had intensely misjudged what kind of festival this would be. We found our friends, who were already 4 rum bottles deep, and realized we were going to have to stash our stuff and pull an all nighter. They had found hotel with a storage room where we could put our stuff for 30 cents a night.

The Bolivians looked like Zombies slowly and steadily making it drunkenly up the hill. One foot at a time my friend. A little sway here and there. A full 45 degree angle, head first.

The rest of the night was debauchery, complete with surfers climbing into mansion gardens, unicycle lessons (we later took him back to La Paz with us) and of course a German Mr. Hyde running like a madman.

After losing half the group we thought it would be a good idea to try pitch a tent somewhere. The hotel was kind enough to let us use their lawn, next to a big jeep and a few other tents that had already made their way there. We met some hippies and hung out with them for a while and then crashed till 11am. In the morning we were surprised that the rest hadn't come back yet. I walked to the plaza to find them. And oh did I ever...

In front of me sat 5 surfers. Each had a large beer in their hand, minus one who's was broken on the floor in front of him. I walk up to them laughing, only to be greeted by German Mr. Hyde, explaining that I needed to meet the plaza family. Keep in mind they had been drinking 22 hours straight. The family was as follows:

Eggman: Passed out sitting up with a crushed egg on his head
Newlyweds: The one girlfriend had been holding back her vomiting boyfriend's hair
Gravity Man: Who had fallen asleep with one shoulder on the bench and the rest of his body still in a perfect sitting position. When I arrived he had fallen into the dead man position face down on the floor.
Bruce Lee: Never got that one explained to me, only that he would return shortly.

The drinking continued till about 4pm, when we finally decided to go back home. I've never been so proud of my children.

Quote of the night:
"Dude we're so lost, which way should we go, where's the concert?"
Chris: "That guy's carrying a gas tank let's go that way"
Dan: "Haha, that guy's wearing a jacket maybe he knows"
Chris: "Seriously, I figured he meant business with that thing"

Winter Solstice in June

8:30 Bus is leaving to Tiwanaku
8:45 Buying rum
9:00 Arrive at bus
9:30 New departure
Get on Bus
10:00 Bus leaves
1:00am Bus Arrives

Walk to the center plaza, there is a party set up the size of carnaval. 5000 drunk people equipped with a stage and band. We danced all night long. The bitter cold was enough incentive to keep the beat going. As the sun started to rise, all 5000 (well let's assume 1000 were too drunk to move) people ran to the ruins to praise the gods. The bonfires stretched into the sky and flags blew in the air. As the sun peered over the hill each person raised their hands towards the sun. The warmth was pure sensation after the cold night. The party continued till about 10am. We sat and drank a coffee to try and sober up before the long bus ride.

10:00 am Bus Leaves
12:00 Arrive La Paz
15 minutes 8 stumblers make it back to the house and crash in all parts of the house.
5:30 pm Wake up to two friends standing over me that had not yet been to sleep.
6:30 Ate a combo of Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. A brunchner.



What a party

Valle de la Luna

American joined by 2 Chileans, an Argentine, an Uruguayan, a French, an Israeli and an Australian to venture towards the most southern part of La Paz, Valle de la Luna. The day was especially nice, sun on all faces. A short break on the sidewalk to juggle knives and play music, earned their fares for the bus. The 35 minute bus ride was filled with music. Guitar, kazoo (of sorts), and a clarinet.

Arrive at the Valley. Climbing and conquering each peak until finally conquered by the bitter cold viento. Moving down into a crater, collecting wood on the way. The fire brings warmth and allows for hot tea. Everyone sitting around the fire, singing songs, drinking ron, smoking shisha. The moon rises and the fire goes out. Continue walking along the path, only to discover a garden of cactus. Each placed in a specific design, art of nature. Continuing to the street, realizing there are no more Trufies. Thumbs out, smiles up. 7 in the back of a truck. Home free.

Lights? Camera? ...

This weekend was absolutely amazing. I currently have a few people crashing at my house, an Italian, Argentine, and Spaniard, so things always stay interesting. Unfortunately somethings become more interesting because of my own doing. So on Friday I came home from work and was told that the lights went out. Like in a movie, my eyesight got immediately redirected and zoomed into a piece of paper on the table. The electricity bill! I had forgotten to pay it. And worse was that we were suppose to have a going away party for Max the next day and my house.

The next day we got up early and started boiling water for tea since the electric kettle was obviously out. Just as the water was almost done we slowly see the gas start to fade. Great no gas, no light, and about 25 people coming to the house. I quickly brought down the gas tank to get exchanged but they said the men has already passed by that day. I left it anyways and thank jesus, they came by again.

With gas to cook the dinner now, we didn't worry too much. Instead we told everyone to bring candles and slowly watched the house fill will light, as more people arrived. The night ending up being pretty perfect. A lot of people even thought that the candles were just for show (little did they know, they were actually very necessary).

Three days later we still don't have light but it is kind of refreshing. We haven't had hot water for about 2 weeks so this just seemed like the next challenge. Instead of the usual we just around in the living room, staring at the beautiful lights of La Paz and talked about life. It is nice to slow down for a while

Arte Trabajo

For work we had a creative workshop this weekend. This meant working on Saturday but in the end it was really fun. Many of the activities reminding me of AIESEC events (especially LDS). It was a good time and more than anything it inspired me to want to put on more events like this.

Later on in the day there was a session for free expression. Basically meaning that there were a bunch of different art materials and absolutely no rules. With the help of my friend Max, by the end of the session, I was covered in art. We're talking a box tied to my leg, foam around my stomach, with pants wrapped around my shirt, paint everywhere, and other miscellaneous pieces. Good, good times.

Daily Life

So now that I have settled into Bolvia the daily life doesn't seem too different from home. For instance, each morning I wake up, I make my English breakfast tea and get ready for work. Now of course the work thing differs quite a bit, considering everything is in Spanish, but the work I do isn't so different that what I could be doing in the states.

And each day I go online and chat with my girls, just like I would if I were in the States. When I get home I make dinner with my roommates and then continue to the couch where we finish the night with a few episodes of 6FeetUnder and a HouseMix. Of course this is a pretty mild day but it is nice to know that I can still have days like these.

Still green from last night

My head, my lungs, my head, my stomach. I am wrecked. Last night we celebrated St. Patty's day like the good Irish would have wanted. Started at the Irish Bar (literal name) and there we received free shots of tequila. Don't ask why? They gave out free green jester hats and had lots of music. After much loopty loo we continued to the street and then to a bar where they also had free drinks and a game of die. At this point we were all pretty toasty and soon realized that they were trying to rob us.

I, having lost almost everything I own the week before, had merely 10 Bolivianos in my pocket. They soon realized that these were not the type of tourists to take advantage of. They cut off our supply of free booze and sent us packing. I'm gonna go ahead and say that we won the night.

Burn baby, burn

Fed up with the Bolivian food, my roommate and I finally attempt to turn on the oven. This requires cranking the gas, sticking your hand into the dark abyss and sparkin' the flame. After a very scary eruption we saw that the oven was ready to go, with little flames safety burning under it's grill. Now the temperature, that was another issue. So if a recipe says 350 degrees should we choose Setting 1, 2, 3 or 4? Not exactly precise. The cake agreed with me too.

First baking attempt turned out like nothing I've ever seen. The consistency of puddy. One of the couch surfers, Milo, did I pretty good job baking pizza last night but I don't know if I could re-create it. But tomorrow I will attempt to cook enchiladas for my couch surfing event. With this weeks Sushi then Pizza events, I have a lot to live up to. If all else fails we always got guacamole, right?

Wonder what these do

Unfortunately, my knowledge of Spanish doesn't extend to the medical industry. The pharmacy attendant went behind her little counter and pulled out these puppies. She asked me how many I wanted, put them in this blank bag and said 3 times a day.

Best Vegetarian Restaurant in Bolivia

Manantial
Calle Genaro Sanjinez 430 corner with Potosi

As you walk into the Hotel Gloria you immediately smell a delicious aroma. You walk up some stairs, and through an unmarked door you find a wonderful little cafeteria style vegetarian restaurant. The place was absolutely packed, and for good reason. There were 4 starter Veg dishes served with a choice of a wheat tea drink or apple juice, 2 yummy choices of soup and bread on the side. After round one you get up and go to the next station, which definitely fills you up, with some hardy tofu slabs and fried Spinach balls (my personal favorite) and of course a little dessert cake which I skipped out on. Not really craving sweets.

I talked to some local Bolivians of my surprise at how packed it was. The total cost was 25 B ($3.60) which is about 4 times more than you would spend on any other meal. But apparently the most common reason people eat Veg in BO is due to health issues. The doctors are finally cracking down and explaining that meat and carbs can't be their only intake. Which is in fact easy to do in La Paz. So now the trend is slowly shifting to where people (some people) will eat Veg once a week to keep their health in check.

Interesting fact: In takes 4 days to digest meat at La Paz's altitude, compared to 2 days at sea level.

Bolivian Nails

Never thought you´d see this, did you? When asked if I wanted to get my nails done, my first reaction was, "Oh, that´s okay". But after further consideration I figured it would be good to experience part of these girls everyday life.

As we stepped into the somewhat underground market you could immediately smell the fumes of nail polish and alcohol. In the back corner sat about 7 manicurists hard at work, rustling through the different colors and stencils. With my eyes opened wide I looked at the intricate detail of the designs and although I would never wear this fashion at home I figured here there was nothing to lose. So I picked my design and awaited my new experience. These girls were about to perform their art...
5 minutes later, I was done. 5 Bs later (60 cents), I had paid. Anticlimactic.

Hard goodbyes

Well never in my life has in been so hard for me to leave the country and I doubt it ever will be again. A journey usually leaves me with overwhelming excitement, but this one was all too bittersweet.

But no worry, a new beginning is here and if anything is to be said about the first day determining the future I can say that I am hopeful. Stepping off the plane I felt a sigh of relief as my lungs continued to breath in and out at a normal rate (a nurse at home assured me that I would have trouble at the 13,000 ft in La Paz). Within moments of stepping out of the baggage claim I saw 5 wonderful smiles, fighting the 5am wake-up call to come get me, and lifted up a huge sign that read ¨"Welcome Mallory".

All 7 of us piled in a little car (luggage, Mal and a Dad that was kind enough to drive that early) and they poured me some Mate. The local drink made with coca leaves, meant to cure altitude sickness. I had felt fine so far but figured it would be best to drink the tea and avoid any possible disasters. Much to my surprise, it was the most delicious thing I have ever tasted. The clear substance looked more like green tea than anything, but the creamy flavor almost tricked my mind into a smell of vanilla. I will investigate further.

We arrived at Mayra´s house where her family greeted me with more tea and breakfast, followed by a nap and then lunch. All in all, a nice relaxing day that I will finish off with a good read.

So far the Southern Hemisphere has been good to me. I still get exited when I see the toilet flush counterclockwise. It is the perfect representation of how my life feels right now... upsidedown.