Week 6 & 7

Week 6 & 7

Now at this point you only grow closer to your team mates, or in our case have numerous arguments and still love each other anyway. We all have formed very strong friendships as we have learnt about each other, lived together  and also learnt new things about new cultures we didn’t know before and that is a unique experience I can say I have shared with 6 wonderfully charismatic  people who I’ve grown to love ( some more than others.)

The half-way point I think is the hardest, personally for me, as I am the youngest in our group, I have not had the same life experiences as the rest of the group i.e. been to university / living away from home for 4 years however I have grown and matured on this journey more than I expected and am coping very well I’ve learned to deal with new situations, different levels of stress and overcome personal goals.

Naturally I am a very open person who likes to try new things and experiences. I have become even more adaptable and accepting to new ways of living and cultures and I can honestly say this experience has changed my life and has also been the peak of my life so far, I’ve always know I wanted to travel ever since the age of 5 when my parents packed our things up in a transit van and we decided to move to Spain for 8 years this gave me the language skills I have today and I’m so great full that my parents gave me this opportunity as it has opened many doors to visit many other Spanish speaking countries.

One thing that really hits home about traveling is not to take things for granted and appreciate the small things in life such as running water and clean living conditions. When you’re plunged into a Narnia like world and it’s not quite what you expected and you begin to wonder if you can come to terms with this diversity from your quaint little home in Derby. Home sickness settles in and that pillow from home suddenly doesn’t smell like home anymore and you get that dull ache in your stomach from missing normality, you know all you need to do is have a pep talk from a fellow team member to bounce back, sometimes I have to take a minute to vanish the disbelief that I’m living in the beautifully scenic Bolivia for 3 months. Sadly this week however we lost one of our valued team members, who had to fly back to the UK due to medical reasons, the entire group miss her dearly and we are sad she could not complete our journey with us.

Being part of a team really means a lot to me and my team especially is one I wouldn’t change for anything as were all so supportive and encouraging of one and other, this isn’t to say it’s not mentally challenging for any of us as it’s a natural part of growing up and being in such different surroundings everyone cracks every now and then. In a way I like the independence after all it doesn’t matter how many times your mum tells you to do something how grating her voice gets your still going to miss that same nagging voice after a month or so… Hi mum J

I’m slightly worried at the fact that when I get back to the UK in the airport I will see my family and not recognise them especially my little sister who would have changed so much in such a short space of time as I have grown so accustomed to the love and hospitality of my host mum  who would welcome us back after the week ends when we would return from Sucre with open arms calling me her daughter and she would tell me how much she had missed me over the two days and we’d  talk about what each of us had done that very week end over a bowl of rice, locally grown tomatoes and an assortment of salad, washed down with Bolivia’s famous Mate De Manzanilla. (Chamomile tea)

The change of climate didn’t bother me so much at first but I’m finding it strange going into the main town and not being blinded by charismas lights or bombarded with the millions of advent calendars bursting out of shop windows I mean Halloween was a whole 2 hours ago what is wrong with this place they should have Christmas tress everywhere by now surely? This and the fact it’s still practically desert heat and to think when we get back we will be greeted by chilling winds and soaking snow that our body temperature won’t know what’s hit it. After all it doesn’t matter where you are there’s nothing like an apple and cinnamon canted candle from the local market that can’t fix things to get you into that cosy Christmas spirit.

I’m excited at the prospect of going home however I know it’s going to be equally as hard to say goodbye to all the wonderful local people I have met in our tiny remote village of Chuqui Chuqui. It’s not just about the impact we have made on their lives by teaching them English, teaching the local children how important it is to keep their teggies clean or even how much a healthy balanced diet can impact on their health but also about the impact and everlasting memories they have left on me such as the Quechua lessons which is the local language in this part of Bolivia which they were so keen to teach me and I equally was excited at the prospect of gaining a third language.

The few examples above are just a couple of ways in which we have encouraged cultural integration as a team. Music lessons were another way of doing this one of our team members is a music graduate with an angelic voice and head full of British musical history which she passed on to the local people who loved the experience of learning “you are my sunshine.”

I have also set up a Netball club once a week primarily this will be just for women as one evening when we all went to watch a game in “Las Pistas” (Football courts), I noticed the girls do take part in football but rarely get acknowledged or passed the ball in my opinion which showed how macho the

society is here in Bolivia. This will hopefully be a long term impact in that when I leave the women can have some control and teach the men how to play. Hopefully when they get asked how they leaned this new sport a nice story will be passed on about the time when 6 gringos came to chuqui chuqui to help out.

The one thing that will always stay with me from this trip is the tranquillity of our little village and how happy the local people are with so little, how much of a close nit community they are. I wish everyone back home would greet one and other in the street and be as kind hearted as the people of Chuqui Chuqui.

Thank you Bolivia and thank you ICS for giving me this opportunity to leave a positive impact and change to people’s lives, no matter how small it be.

Jess smith

Cohort 14

Bolivia