Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Interview, Sunday lunch, Politics

I interviewed my mom this weekend for an "oral history" assignment to hear her life according to her and to relate her experiences to the political climate at a given time in history. It was really cool to hear the personal story of someone who has lived through a lot of political turmoil and social change, especially because a lot of the guest speakers and lectures we've had have leaned toward the left and/or openly supported the current government of Evo Morales. I was pretty sure my mother and I didn't agree politically but after hearing how the politics have affected her life, I can understand much better why she thinks the way she does. She's really intelligent and really thoughtful and I think she genuinely wants the standard of living to increase for all Bolivians, but like in so many countries, she's of the middle class and hasn't reaped vast benefits from either far right or far left governments. So I'm realizing that while the country is undergoing some seriously much needed changes right now, it's understandable that the middle class feels left out. In conversations with my mom, I've only sort of brushed upon the idea of privilege and how when there is an underprivileged sector of the population, there is inevitably an opposite group that is receiving the benefits from the oppression of the others, but since the interview we've talked a lot about politics and I think we'll get to it eventually, when I'm a little more comfortable having opposing views (and when I'm sure I actually know how to say all the words I want to use).

On Sunday we went to the campo (the countryside) to eat lunch and it was really gorgeous! We brought a picnic and drove up to Parque Tunari, which is a national park just outside the city, and ate there. Afterwards, I hiked for a bit with my dad, Lucia, Carmen, and Matias, and it was so much fun. It reminded me a lot of Prospect Hill, the hill right next to my house at home. We followed the trail for a while and then sort of took off on our own following what used to be a series of waterfalls but is now just a trickling stream running down the rocks. It was really beautiful.

Monday we had two candidates for senator come to our class and have a political debate! There was a moderator and they started out with their own topics but then we got to ask questions of both candidates. It was great to see representatives of political parties that we've read about. One of the candidates was the MAS candidate (Evo's party, I think one of the most left-wing parties), and the other was from Unidad Nacional, a more moderate party (who actually ended up being one of my mom's good friends, which didn't surprise me because he expressed almost exactly the same views as she did in our interview). I loved that we got to ask questions and witness a real debate. Once again, I'm thrilled by the connections that we have through this program to get these busy people to come and give us our own presentation. So cool.

Then today we stayed after Quechua class for almost an hour talking to our professor about politics (she's an avid Evo supporter). I like that everyone wants to talk about politics here. It's so different from in the US, where it's inappropriate to discuss politics unless you know you're in agreement with the other people present. Here, everyone has been sharing their points of view, even if they know that we don't think the same way. It's been really challenging because I find myself questioning and then strengthening my points of view because I'm forced to bring them into play a lot.

Nicole came over after class today to study Quechua, which doesn't sound at all noteworthy, but to me it was because I felt like I was showing her my home, not just some place where I live. It got me really excited for when Ali comes to visit because I'll get to give her a tour of my new home and my new city. Sometimes I forget about all the things I have and appreciate here because I'm not talking about them, so bringing them up to someone else reminds me of what an amazing experience this has been so far.

1 comment:

  1. I feel you will be a changed woman when you return to the States. What an incredible experience you are having. Looking forward to chatting with your family on Skype Saturday.
    Love you

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