¡Estoy aquí!

Hello, all!  I've been in Cochabamba for almost two weeks now, but have had a little trouble finding wifi.  Now that I know the city a little better, though, I should be able to post more often.


I thought I'd start by posting some pictures of the city of Cochabamba.  It's unlike any city I've seen before.  For one thing, it's completely surrounded on all sides by mountains, so anywhere you look, at the end of every road, you can see them.  I love that.

Also, there are flowers everywhere - in almost every tree, in private gardens, and in the many parks that there are here.  Even though the city is huge and developed, people make sure there are plenty of plants and green spaces, which is awesome, especially in the spring (which we're in now).  The weather is also perfect - almost always sunny and 70-80 degrees in the day, and 50ish degrees at night.  You need a llama blanket or two, but no heat or air-conditioning.

On the other hand, there is also a ton of graffiti everywhere.  Occasionally, you'll see cool-looking murals, but a lot of it is pretty ugly.  Lots of names and bad drawings, some political messages, and occasionally  love notes, saying things like "Happy birthday to my girlfriend, Amanda!  I love you!" on the side of a wall.


The buildings are a really interesting mix.  There are tall, ultra-modern, sleek apartment buildings, brightly colored single family homes, and tiny little shacks selling empanadas - sometimes, all right next to each other.  There are some areas with lots of shorter buildings with pretty balconies that remind me of downtown Pensacola, some run-down mechanic shops that would have fit in perfectly in the Dominican Republic, and fancy skyscrapers that would be at home in the nicest parts of any big city.

I get to see a lot of the city every day as I go to work.  I live in an apartment connected to an orphanage for older boys, and I work in an orphanage for girls ages 8-16.  The girls only go to school for half the day (the younger ones in the morning and the older ones in the afternoon), so I work with the group that's at home, mostly tutoring them and helping them with their homework.  I sometimes help with other things around the house (such as peeling the mountain of potatoes we eat everyday) and sometimes just hang out with the girls, watching telenovelas or running around in the courtyard.  They are sweet, adorable, and a handful all at the same time.

Now that I have internet, I should be able to post a lot more often.  Let me know if there's anything you're particularly interested in, and I'll write and share pictures about it.