Impressions

My in-country experience was nothing short of extraordinary. Bolivia has unexpectedly become one of my favorite countries I have visited for several reasons. First and foremost, the people there played a huge role in this. Bolivians are the kindest, happiest, most genuine people I have ever encountered in all my abroad experiences and I couldn’t help but find this infectious optimism rubbing off on me. I believe this positive mindset set the tone for the trip and made the overall in-country experience so wonderful. Second, the culture is so rich and diverse. There is a beautiful blend of traditions between the indigenous and urban communities, which we could see in the religions practiced (Catholicism and spiritual worship of Pachamama or Mother Earth), the architecture, and clothing, to name a few. Third, the food was absolutely amazing; Cochabamba definitely lived up to being the gastronomic capital of Bolivia. Last, but not least, the views were spectacular. Cochabamba being situated in the lowlands of Bolivia surrounded by massive green mountains made it so surreal.

In-Country Activities

Our in-country itinerary was packed, to say the least. Because we had limited time there, we made sure to fill each day so we could experience as much of Cochabamba as we could. We did a combination of client work and cultural site visits.

CEOLI

A key component of our daily schedule was visiting CEOLI, our client. Each morning, we went to CEOLI to speak with Ron, the director of CEOLI, as well as the staff there, including the therapists, teachers, interns, and their new psychologist. We also had the opportunity to shadow the different classes and spend time with the students. By interviewing the staff and shadowing the classes, I was able to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the work they do and ask specific questions to help me contribute more meaningfully to the deliverables of the project. For example, I took the time to ask the staff in depth about how the classes are structured, how the students are assessed and split into groups based on functional skill level, what their specific role is in CEOLI, how they prepare(d) for their role, and many more questions along these lines that led to a deeper, more nuanced understanding of how CEOLI operates.

Of course, this didn’t come without challenges. One challenge I faced with this was the language barrier, as expected. While we had three talented translators, there were eight of us split off into groups of two, so we were essentially one translator short and my small group ended up without one. What was interesting was that this language barrier actually forced me to slow down and practice active listening, much like the discussions we had in class on the topic. The nature of the language barrier made me repeat back what I had heard (or thought I had heard) to whoever I was speaking to and either confirmed the information or allowed for corrections of misunderstandings and proper adjustment of final takeaways from each conversation to ensure that it was accurate and that there was a mutual understanding between us. By doing this, I think I was able to better hone in on what next steps would take place to achieve our deliverables. This reminded me a lot of our reading on Points of Discomfort. The language barrier was uncomfortable because neither of us could fully articulate what we wanted to say in entirety and because communication wasn’t as fast or efficient as we were used to. However, by leaning into this discomfort (because let’s be honest, there was really no escaping it other than the occasional assistance of Google Translate), the active listening took care of itself and we were able to identify what the community at CEOLI actually needs, not what we think they need.

Through these conversations with the staff, I also noticed our reading Building an Ethical Partnership manifesting in real life. Because I approached these conversations, and in some cases, participated in the activities they conducted for the students myself, with an open mind and with a genuine curiosity to get to know the people at CEOLI there was a level power dynamic between us, making it feel like a true partnership rather than us as Pitt students going to help CEOLI. I realized I had just enough to gain from this experience as the people at CEOLI did and this is truly what enriched the experience for me. I also approached my interaction with the students in the same way and by doing this, I reframed my mindset from the easy trap of feeling sorry for or feeling like I’m in a “better off” position than them to feeling humbled and inspired by just how much they were capable of, just like the rest of us.

Cultural Visits

Below is a breakdown of some of my personal highlights among the cultural encounters we had on this trip.

FOOD:

With Cochabamba being the gastronomic capital of Bolivia and with me being a foodie, I had high expectations coming into this trip. We spent most of our meals exploring a variety of Bolivian foods through buffets. They definitely seem to prioritize their meat and rice as I saw these options across the board at the different restaurants we visited. They also had interesting spins on what we would consider “typical food” you could find in the US, like hamburgers and lasagna (pictured below). However, they of course had their own dishes native to Bolivia. Some of my favorite signature food included pique, roasted plantains, salteñas, and juice (also pictured below). Something that was culturally different that I wasn’t expecting was that lunch is their big meal of the day rather than dinner or supper, which took some getting used to, but was not difficult to adjust.

UNIVALLE UNIVERSITY:

We spent a few hours one day visiting a local private university called Univalle University. We met with gastronomy students there and were placed into groups with a 1:5 American to Bolivian student ratio to converse about life in both countries and to get to know each other as we’re all relatively the same age. This was one of the most challenging positions to be in for me because up until this point in the trip, we were able to mostly rely on our translators to get our messages across, but in this moment, we were on our own to make connections while facing a language barrier. The only way out of this situation was through so I rose to the challenge and leaned into this discomfort. What I found from this was that we really weren’t all that different after all and could find ways to connect beyond the wall of the language barriers we faced.

TARATA COLONIAL TOWN:

We went to the museum there and learned about some Bolivian history. Then, we walked around the town and took pictures and explored. After that, we went to a nearby pottery workshop where we watched the owner spin ceramics on the wheel and some of us got to try ourselves. Let’s just say it was a lot harder than it looked. Because Tarata and its surrounding area is very dry, it doesn’t serve well to pursue agriculture there, so many people make their money there by making and selling pottery.

GUEST LECTURES/PRESENTATIONS:

We had three guest lecturers throughout the duration of this trip. The owners of Nutri Jardin, Augusto Terrazas, and Dr. Vivian Schwarz.

Nutri Jardin is a small business that works to promote sustainability by partnering with local restaurants and grocery stores that produce organic food waste and composting them in their soil for earthworms to consume. These earthworms then become a resource for the soil and are the source of gardening and landscaping products to be sold for personal or commercial use.

Augusto Terrazas is an economics professor at a Bolivian university and an entrepreneur who co-founded a sustainable company called QuraPlanet, which aims to bring sustainable and biodegradable packaging into the food industry in Bolivia. He spoke about the state of the Bolivian economy and about his experiences as an entrepreneur in Bolivia as well.

Dr. Vivian Schwarz co-founded a nonprofit organization that advocates for women’s and other minority rights in the eyes of the law. She shed light on some of the corruption that exists within the Bolivian government and how that affects the people she works to fight for.

Takeaways

Overall, some common threads I saw in my experiences were the people and their rich culture. The people in Bolivia are some of the kindest, most genuine people I have ever met and this shines through in all aspects of their lives. Despite the negative state of Bolivia’s economy and the corruption in the government, people live overall happy lives and pursue their passions. It’s also interesting that their passions often have to do with bettering the community in some way, like Dr. Schwarz with being a voice to people who don’t get heard in the court of law or Nutri Jardin and QuraPlanet with their efforts to help sustain a healthy environment. It really surprised me how resilient Bolivians were and how much they care about others. These are definitely things I hope to bring back with me to the US and emulate as I move through my career and life.