What do dogs, the middle of the bread, germs and eucalyptus have in common?

CULTURE in Bolivia! Each day that goes by, I’m able to recognize more and more things in the culture here in Cochabamba that I didn’t recognize before, so I’m going to share just some of them with you. Please though, don’t take any of this as overall truth—simply my own observations of my tiny glimpse of Bolivia thus far.

Let’s start with the perros. Every day I see dogs roaming around. The interesting thing is that people have dogs as pets and yet there are also so many stray dogs. I haven’t had to do this yet, but I’ve been told that if one is approaching me in a menacing manner, all I need to do is bend down like I’m going to pick up a rock and they’ll go away. Apparently they often have rocks thrown at them, which I don’t fully support but in a moment of possible danger, I definitely won’t hesitate to “pick up a rock”.

Another thing I see every day is people outside washing their cars. Every day. All times of the day. My dad would fit right in here.

He might not however take part in this next daily ritual. At the language institute, we have a coffee break every day about 9:45am. There’s coffee, black tea, sugar, cream, bread and an empty basket laid out on the table. It took me a while to get up the nerve to ask someone but I finally asked why I saw chunks of the middle of the bread rolls in this basket each day? The answer: people either don’t like it or are trying to watch their weight…not sure which one is more primary. It cracked me up that this would be so accepted and expected that the women would specifically put out a basket to collect the poor, unwanted, neglected middle parts of the bread! Yesterday I asked what happens to these good-for-nothing rejects and I was told that they give them to the guard dogs or just throw them outside for creatures to eat. Oh good, I thought, at least someone appreciates them!

There’s a mix of people I see each day wearing modern clothing and traditional Andean dress. I haven’t been here long enough to distinguish the different types, but one thing I have noticed is that many women use these large pieces of colorful cloth to do so many things: carry children either in front or behind, carry large loads of who knows what, as blankets, or as covers. I was on the bus and a woman lobbed this big load of gas tanks wrapped up in a colorful cloth that was tied in all sorts of knots onto the bus. Really resourceful—I want to learn how to do that!

I think the US Department of Health would have a cow if they came here. I don’t know whether it’s rooted in some corporation’s product or what, but we Americans are pretty sensitive towards germs. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always loved washing my hands and am still a fan…but I’ll just leave it that the general concern here for sanitation is not quite at the level I’ve been raised to adhere to. And guess what? We’re getting along just fine, and the only health setbacks I’ve had thus far are altitude sickness and a cold, which is now all over. I think everyone’s body is different of course, but thankfully mine is handling the food and drinks marvelously…so far that is!

Speaking of drinks, I went hiking with my host-family on Saturday up this ravine in the mountains and drank the water right out of the stream! It was so cold, fresh, crisp and clean. Mmmm. Never done that in the States before. I also learned about a bunch of different herbs, how to identify them and what they’re good for. For example, there were lots and lots of eucalyptus trees and as we driving up this bumpy “trail” my 12-year-old host-cousin reached out the window and grabbed some leaves. I was told to put some in between my hands, rub my palms together and then inhale—wow, does that clean out your sinuses or what? It was amazing and smelled really good. My hands continued to smell like eucalyptus for two days. You can see pictures in my picasa web album.

Each morning, my host mother wakes up and cooks breakfast and lunch. Now, when I was working back home, I’d scramble each morning to throw together leftovers from the previous night’s dinner or make a sandwich to take with me for lunch. Not so here. Lunch is the big meal of the day and I think that’s why it’s given more attention. I really appreciate it, especially knowing how hard it is to wake up early for work as it is. Each day it’s something different – what a gift!

I’ll conclude with another cultural difference having to do with dogs, to bring this full circle: they walk in and out of the church while mass is going on and it’s no big deal. I’ve been told this happens from different friends in Peru, and I guess it happens here too!

Church was a little different in another way too: the collection on Sunday in all churches in Bolivia went towards Haiti. While suffering, loss and destruction are not desirable by any means, it never ceases to amaze me how it often opens us up for solidarity and reaching outside ourselves in acts of unity. I mean, one of the poorest countries in South America is not any less a part of the human family than a rich country and they recognize that when one part is hurting, it only makes sense to help them out. It’s a beautiful reminder to me in the midst of all this war and bickering in politics, that there’s an incredible amount of virtue out there, in each of us, if only we allow it to come to the surface and guide us.

5 Things I’m thankful for today: finding DVD’s of the only TV show I watch—really cheered me up when I was feeling gloomy; fresh tomatoes from the garden; light and electricity; skype; patient teachers.

For more pictures, go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/nora.pfeiffer