Updates from Cochabamba

Orientation is so crazy and incredible and I haven´t had a single opportunity to write since I left Miami! Our group is amazing and this city is GORGEOUS and the people are so kind--for the first time I´m realizing how impossible it will be to convey this experience through a blog. You´ll just have to take my word for how incredible this is.

The day we arrived, we met one of our Academic Directors, Ismael. He´s Bolivian and brilliant and enthusiastic and wonderful and I´m so grateful we have him as a resource. Our other program director had to go back to the States for a few weeks so we have´t met her yet but I´ve heard terrific things about her so I´m excited to meet her as well. The first day we took it pretty easy. We´re staying in a hostal until we move in with our host families tomorrow, and the hostal is beautiful and the staff are great. That night we went to dinner at Ismael´s home and got to meet his family and we participated in a ceremony in honor of La Madre Tierra or Pachamama (mother earth) and it was incredible. I know I´m using so many flowery words but I just can´t figure out how to put into language what the ceremony was like. It was so beautiful and sensitive and just really excellent. We placed coca leaves (among other things) into the fire as a reminder of the people who we wished could be with us and I took that literally and put a bunch in for many of you who are reading this. Then we ate dinner and it was a delicious vegetarian meal--I think it will be one of the best meals of the trip.

I have to go take my Spanish placement test now so I guess I will have to write about what happened yesterday later. I think I might have time this evening so hopefully I will do it then. Thanks for reading, everyone!