La Paz, the Good and the Bad
Here is what I wrote one morning when we were in La Paz...
This city is beautiful. Not in the clean and perfect way like places such as Savannah, GA or Fairhope, Al but in a unique mix of old and new.
The mountains that have been here forever
cholitas walking the streets in their traditional attire
the old buildings in the center of town.
From our window, we can see college students dancing in unison in a park below and kids playing soccer in two nearby fields. Walking the streets yesterday in the market we saw older cholitas selling their assortment of items, and we also saw younger women dressed in modern clothing selling similarly. These women might be studying a book for their college classes or have a baby sleeping on the floor beside them.
Its just a beautiful place. I know its not perfect and has its flaws. Traffic for one thing. These taxi drivers have no rules for the road...they just squeeze through slots, honk to pull out in front of people or to hurry pedestrians off the street, and use a tiny car with stick shift to climb the steep streets overflowing with pedestrians walking up and down both sides of the street's sidewalks. Another flaw, no one uses ice. At restraunts, they bring the drink in a glass or plastic bottle along with a tall glass (the nicer restraunts pour it for you) and it might be nice and cold and it might be just a tad cold. I'm gonna be honest, I like to have my cokes ice cold.
The architecture was amazing in certain parts of the city, but then there'd be graffiti on the walls or the bottom part would have metal or tin or something like that lining it where words would be spray painted on it. Not every building had grafitti, but it felt like I saw it everywhere I looked. While I'm complaining about the un-American-ness of this unusual city nestled in the Andes, I have to mention the smell. With all the old taxis and buses, there was a lot of pollution. There were times when we were on the road and we literally had to cover our noses. I felt like such a snobby American, but it was bad. We really saw the extent of the pollution problem when we drove up to El Alto and could see the gray cloud of smog hovering over the city.
Enough with the negative...I loved the work ethic I saw here. I'd seen pictures of the women sitting and talking with friends while trying to sell in the markets and streets. But at midnight women were still out on the streets trying to sell from their stand or cart. I was amused to see all the variety of items they would sell at these stands...office supplies, candy, empenadas, bootleged DVD's, 2 liter cokes, etc. I also saw a woman literally selling hats IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD! Definitely a first...ha.
People are much more affectionate here. I find it very endearing. You'll see an 11 year old boy walking arm in arm with his mother or 8 year old girls doing the same. (On the downside, you also might be standing in line to buy movie tickets behind a VERY affectionate couple...yuck.) Kids were well behaved and quiet for the most part and family activities were encouraged. We saw what I would call a street fair on Sunday and there were so many things for kids...bubbles, jump ropes, face painting, coloring, cotton candy, live musicians, inflattables, etc. I really wished I had my own kids with me at that moment.
Bolivians are very active too. I honestly did not see one single overweight person here. They might be thick and strong, but not overweight in the way that many Southerner's are here in the US. They walk everywhere, play soccer, dance...probably don't spend as much time on the internet. (ouch)
So....this started out as my writing from when we were there then gradually became my present thoughts. (Sorry to all those with English degrees or certifications....) Hope this wasn't too confusing for the few people reading this...ha. I miss Bolivia and look forward to being there again.
This city is beautiful. Not in the clean and perfect way like places such as Savannah, GA or Fairhope, Al but in a unique mix of old and new.
The mountains that have been here forever
cholitas walking the streets in their traditional attire
the old buildings in the center of town.
From our window, we can see college students dancing in unison in a park below and kids playing soccer in two nearby fields. Walking the streets yesterday in the market we saw older cholitas selling their assortment of items, and we also saw younger women dressed in modern clothing selling similarly. These women might be studying a book for their college classes or have a baby sleeping on the floor beside them.
Its just a beautiful place. I know its not perfect and has its flaws. Traffic for one thing. These taxi drivers have no rules for the road...they just squeeze through slots, honk to pull out in front of people or to hurry pedestrians off the street, and use a tiny car with stick shift to climb the steep streets overflowing with pedestrians walking up and down both sides of the street's sidewalks. Another flaw, no one uses ice. At restraunts, they bring the drink in a glass or plastic bottle along with a tall glass (the nicer restraunts pour it for you) and it might be nice and cold and it might be just a tad cold. I'm gonna be honest, I like to have my cokes ice cold.
The architecture was amazing in certain parts of the city, but then there'd be graffiti on the walls or the bottom part would have metal or tin or something like that lining it where words would be spray painted on it. Not every building had grafitti, but it felt like I saw it everywhere I looked. While I'm complaining about the un-American-ness of this unusual city nestled in the Andes, I have to mention the smell. With all the old taxis and buses, there was a lot of pollution. There were times when we were on the road and we literally had to cover our noses. I felt like such a snobby American, but it was bad. We really saw the extent of the pollution problem when we drove up to El Alto and could see the gray cloud of smog hovering over the city.
Enough with the negative...I loved the work ethic I saw here. I'd seen pictures of the women sitting and talking with friends while trying to sell in the markets and streets. But at midnight women were still out on the streets trying to sell from their stand or cart. I was amused to see all the variety of items they would sell at these stands...office supplies, candy, empenadas, bootleged DVD's, 2 liter cokes, etc. I also saw a woman literally selling hats IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD! Definitely a first...ha.
People are much more affectionate here. I find it very endearing. You'll see an 11 year old boy walking arm in arm with his mother or 8 year old girls doing the same. (On the downside, you also might be standing in line to buy movie tickets behind a VERY affectionate couple...yuck.) Kids were well behaved and quiet for the most part and family activities were encouraged. We saw what I would call a street fair on Sunday and there were so many things for kids...bubbles, jump ropes, face painting, coloring, cotton candy, live musicians, inflattables, etc. I really wished I had my own kids with me at that moment.
Bolivians are very active too. I honestly did not see one single overweight person here. They might be thick and strong, but not overweight in the way that many Southerner's are here in the US. They walk everywhere, play soccer, dance...probably don't spend as much time on the internet. (ouch)
So....this started out as my writing from when we were there then gradually became my present thoughts. (Sorry to all those with English degrees or certifications....) Hope this wasn't too confusing for the few people reading this...ha. I miss Bolivia and look forward to being there again.
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