Bolivia (and poop!)

I grew up hearing stories about this place. My Mom spent two summers here during college (yes, I am her clone) and so she has all these amazing stories about surviving a governmental take over and crazy bus rides -among others. But being here is something altogether different. I've been asked a few times what I am thinking and all I can say is that I'm not thinking, I'm just absorbing.

So what have I absorbed? Well, this town is busy. There's people all over. It's not a small town by any means but I'm enjoying all the different places. Yesterday, I saw a gym that was also a restaurant. I guess so you could eat and then work it off? But seriously, tables right next to treadmills! There's also a huge Mennonite community here, which is bizarre. This is the last place I expected to see an Amish person!

My crowning achievement so far has been going to the supermarket with Katie (my director) and going through the cashier line all by myself. Baby steps people! It was really difficult to figure out how many bolivianos (Bolivian dollars, also know as "b's") equal my American dollars. I bought some liquid yogurt though and it is just THE best. I want to drink the whole bottle right now.

I've gotten to learn a lot more about what I'll be doing here, as far as internship stuff goes. So far my favorite project is the Ecological Toilet project - all about poop! Basically, Etta Projects builds outhouses for people out in "el campo" (the country). They are like porta-potties, only a double seater. The family only uses one seat for six months. Meanwhile, all the waste in the other toilet is becoming fertilizer (and completely sterile!!) due to containment and the heat. After six months, the family cleans out the fertilizer, which they can then use or sell, and they seal off the other toilet for six months and the cycle continues. Is that not amazing? There are challenges to it though. The metal is corroding and some people literally don't know how to use a toilet because they've never used one before. Crazy. Needless to say, my Spanish potty talk vocabulary has skyrocketed! I'll also be working with some community gardens, water filters, first aid kits, and some stuff called "power flour." Power flour is also really cool, it increases appetite and nutrient absorption so Etta Projects has been giving it to kids to help with their nutrition.

Alrighty, I know that wasn't too much of an overview but I promise I'll write more tomorrow. And it should be super interesting because I get to write all about a Quinceanera! Check out this article on Quinceanera so you are educated :)  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quincea%C3%B1era