Transportation strike

Today, rotations were cancelled due to a transportation strike. The only thing that gave it away was that the roads were clearer because no buses were on the streets. Taxis still worked and micros still drove around collecting people until they filled every inch of space in the vehicle. Nevertheless, I was very happy to have half the day off (we still had Spanish class in the afternoon). So, I did some errands – washed my clothes, internet, cleaned my room and then Annie, Jolene, Sophie, and I went shopping. We went to the markets in the northern part of the centro where they sell all the touristy stuff, but without the touristy prices. At first, we just asked about the prices, but eventually, we all succumbed and bought something. Most of the things sold are actually of good quality, and the vendors tell you the difference between materials (cotton, synthetic, 100% baby alpaca wool, acrylic) and how it was made (hand-made vs. machine-made). I rarely get hand-made things, primarily because I simply cannot afford it. Except here. Even the best quality items aren’t that expensive, so I have a feeling that my suitcase which weighed 47lbs. when I left, may weigh a lot more than that when I come back. I made two major purchases – a cotton blanket that ALL the indigenous women tie around their shoulders and carry stuff in (babies, produce, more blankets, money, whatever) and a stuffed llama animal (un peluche). It is very cute and Lucia even named it but I already forgot the name =(

Then, we came home, ate lunch, and ran back out again for Spanish classes. Spanish classes are okay – our teacher finally realized that we wanted to learn more medical Spanish so we are focusing on case-studies. I would have liked to learn a lot more Bolivian slang but I am hoping to pick that up just by interacting with people. So far, I know that chompa = sweater and it’s a word only used in Bolivia. Now that I know, I hear it everywhere. It’s always like that with slang and colloquial words. Also, the teacher wouldn’t let me use the word “trekking” even though the guide used that word in Spanish, and when I used to a word meaning “to spend the night = pernoctar” that I learned in class with my host mother, she told me no one uses that word anymore. It doesn’t help that we are using workbooks from Spain, where certain words have completely different meanings than here. But enough complaining – any Spanish is better than any Spanish.

After Spanish, we went to a lecture on Chagas in Dr. Uribe’s office. Chagas is caused by a protozoan that is transferred from a vincucha (a type of bug similar to a cockroach) to a person when the vincucha bites. The bugs are usually found in makeshift houses that are made of mud or wood. Chagas is really common in Cochabamba, Sucre, and Tarija, and the worst part about it is that after two days of an itchy bite, there are no symptoms for years. Until the organs begin to fail and symptoms like tachycardia and difficulty breathing show up – at that point, it’s too late to really do anything about it because the damage has already been done. 2-8% of pregnant women with Chagas pass on Chagas to their child. We talked a lot about how to treat a recently born child – it is more effective if the treatment is given before 6 months of age, but of course, not everyone gives births in hospitals so of course, many cases are not identified. The most disheartening part is that even when the baby is treated and cured of Chagas, if they live in poor living conditions, they are most likely to be bitten again sometime soon. It makes you realize that medication and technology can only help so much and that at some point, we need to improve basic necessities for people, with which we can probably reduce the number of illnesses by a huge amount.

For dinner, I got a vegetable empanada which is hot and delicious – the baked dough melted in my mouth. I love street food!!