It has been a few days since I got back from the service-learning trip to Bolivia, and the memories I made still linger on my mind. The beautiful weather, the fresh air, the delicious food, the tremendously hospitable people and most importantly the friends I was with made this trip one that I will look back on for the rest of my life. A personal policy of mine is to go into experiences, projects or classes with no expectations, like a blank canvas waiting to be painted. Most of the times I appreciate things for what they are, I exist in the moment and move on once it’s over. It is very rare that an experience so deeply imprints itself within me that I actually feel sad that it is over. This blog is a glimpse into what I felt and what I did when I was in Bolivia…

Experience of a Lifetime

Everyday, at nine in the morning, as the sun rises above the mountains and illuminates the valley Cochabamba is cradled into, my team and I arrive at CEOLI to begin our project work. Our first day we got a tour of the premises from the Ron, the director. Then we were split into groups and sent to observe, shadow and ask questions to staff. I paired with Kayla and our first day we engaged with the staff in charge of Group 1. CEOLI splits their students into three groups based off development and ability with Group 3 being the highest level and Group 1 the lowest. This first exchange with staff during our first day at CEOLI was a major point of discomfort. There were two main aspects to the discomfort Kayla and I felt. The first is that the questions we asked at first were based off information we gleaned from before we arrived at CEOLI and hence were not the right questions to ask. The second aspect is the fact that the staff members are actively in the middle of working with children. Hence, we were stuck between helping the staff work with the children, asking the staff questions and taking down notes so we do not forget the information we gather. A specific example of this was in the sensory therapy room where Kayla and I got to observe a staff member doing their work. We took a seat and began asking questions. At first our questions were specific with our notions about the scope of work, deliverables and zoom call with Ron in mind. However, we soon realized that there was a clear difference between what administration had told us and what the staff truly felt. The biggest revelation that Kayla and I found was that the staff had no desire for new equipment but rather their focus was purely on knowledge. The staff member we spoke to mentioned how she would like to learn of new “protocols” for sensory and occupational therapy. Getting this out of the staff member took a reasonably long amount of time as they were in the middle of a child’s exercises and it felt strange for us to be interviewing them as they were doing so. So after getting some answers, Kayla and I shifted to helping out the staff in administering the exercises to the children. One said exercise was getting the child to sit on a swing with bumps then lightly swinging them as they try to focus and throw a ball into a box. We then began helping the staff work with even younger children and decided to hold off on questions for the rest of the day so that we do not get in anyone’s way. This first day helped us recalibrate our approach and helped develop of methodology to engage with the staff and children without seeming like a burden. From the afternoon onwards we spent the day touring Cochabamba. We got lunch at a buffet then went to the main town plaza after which we headed over to the Cristo de la Concordia statue that sits atop a hill and oversees the entire city. We took lots of photos here (some of which I took and subsequently got yelled at by the girls for not being good enough even though they were fine and something they later admitted themselves) Then we had our dinner which was accompanied by a presentation by a local entrepreneur and economics professor. We headed back to the hotel and joked about our day on the way. By this night I knew that not only was Cochabamba special but the people I was with were too.

Our second day, Kayla and I felt better prepared for how to go about things. We joined the staff members in charge of Groups 2 and 3 and helped with their activities and asked questions when time permitted. Our questioning brought us to two primary conclusions. The first is that staff seek further training after joining CEOLI, specifically they would like to learn methods and protocols in how to augment the teaching of children with lower development (Group 1). The second conclusion is that there is no formal professional training process at CEOLI as new employees are simply trained by the older staff or their predecessors. This discovery proved to be very useful as it further specifies what our deliverables should focus on. Overall, this day at CEOLI proved to be very efficient and insightful. After our CEOLI visit, we ate lunch and were on our way through the beautiful country side of Bolivia to visit Tarata, a colonial town south of Cochabamba. Our guide, Ariel, then took us to see a friend of his who does pottery. It was my first time trying pottery and I was more than happy that I did not stain my clothes unlike some of my peers. We headed back into the city for a presentation from an economics professor followed by a dinner at mall.

Subsequently, the next few days, Kayla and I garnered more information, interacted with the staff on a personal level and most importantly engaged with the children. We traveled to a Bolivian University and interacted with its students. After which we were given a lesson in traditional Bolivian dances in a beautiful home and were served dinner at the same place that night. We also visited an ancient Inca corn storage site where we got a magnificent view of Cochabamba. Wherever I travel I get a “taste of the air” and I do not mean that in the literal sense completely. I suppose the closest word would be Zeitgeist and for me it is the amalgamation of the mood of the people, their mentality, how they treat others and how they treat themselves. It also includes the smell of the air, how people care for the city, the weather and food. To me Cochabamba’s zeitgeist is filled with peace and love. Whether or not this is a result of me being away from a noisy, rainy and cold Pittsburgh cannot be discerned but one thing I can tell for sure is that during my time there I felt nothing but peace.

Blank Canvas

I have a strong policy of doing things with no expectations, purely so that I can experience somethine for what it is. Having expectations often means you are setting up a standard and that standard can damage the experience. Having a preconceived standard for an experience you have no knowledge of can prove detrimental not only to that very experience but also for any opportunities of future experiences. Hence why, I go into things with a mind that is akin to a blank canvas that is waiting to be painted by the experience. With that being said, I can speak about how Bolivia exceeded my non-existent expectations.

I developed a deep appreciation for the staff at CEOLI for how curious they were about me and how hospitable they were to us even as they were managing several children. One of the staff members, specifically an intern whose name was Lucio gave me a parting gift. It was a bottle of Dulce de Leche which is a caramel syrup used in various dished, cocktails, etc. I was surprised by his gift and as much as I was happy I also felt a little sad because the thought that was running through my mind was that he thought of me even after I left for the day and bought a gift based off what he remembered of our conversation but then I, on the other hand, did not even think of getting him a gift of any kind. Gifts as a material thing do not mean much to me, what I find impactful is the thought that goes behind the gift and even just the thought to get a gift for me. This act of kindness from Lucio made me realize truly how caring the people in Bolivia are and at that moment I also realized that I need to come back not just for the breathtaking views and incredible food but also for the connections I formed.

Project Goals

I think the reading that I found most influential during my stay in Bolivia and engagement with CEOLI was the Top Project Team Challenges. I really appreciated this reading and the discussion surrounding it because I made a mental note to implement the points brought up in the reading during our work with the client. A couple days in and team was a little lost due to undefined goals, so I brought the team together one morning at CEOLI right before they dispersed to continue project work to have a quick meeting. During this meeting I reiterated goals and reminded the team of our scope of work and particularly our deliverables. This brought the team back into focus and by the end of the day, everyone had all the information that we needed to build our final presentation for Ron and the staff.

Bolivia Blues

To conclude this post-trip blog, I would like to thank all the staff at CEOLI, I would like to thank Ariel and Marion from All People Be Happy and most importantly I would like to thank my friends for making this trip one that I will look back on for the rest of my life…