Village Stay

I spent 4 days in a small rural village on the coast of Lake Titicaca in the Altiplano of Bolivia - Tocoli, at an altitude of around 13,000 feet (or higher. It was on a mountain and different levels). Really interesting, really fun - got to learn a lot about Andean culture.

Expectations - going into it, I thought that I would be working all day in the fields, with a family that speaks only Aymaran (an indigenous language of Bolivia, and also a national language), and that I would have a comedy of mishaps occur throughout the duration of my stay.

Reality - Comedy of cultural mishaps, for sure. However, I had a father and son, both of whom spoke spanish. By father, I mean 25 year old. By son, I mean the most adorable little 3 year old ever. Also, since we´re coming out of the winter here, the crops weren´t ready to be planted yet, so there was little to do in terms of cultivation - so instead, we did a lot of hiking, and walked with the animals as the grazed. It was absolutely gorgeous, climbing mountains overlooking Lake Titicaca.

In general, in this village, all of the food grown stays within the village for subsistance. Many families have other hobbies with which to make money on the side (my host dad made women´s shoes), but in general, they live off of their land, with little outside money coming in. However, most children now in the village have the opportunity to go to high school (though it´s a two hour walk each way, and they don´t have cars), and even university (since it´s free if it´s public), which has recently caused the younger population to move into the cities, leaving the community to its older members and very young children. One way that they are trying to deal with this deteriorating situation is by creating ecotourism in their community. Our program staying there those 5 days was a preliminary stage towards launching a new program, in which they bring outsiders into their community for an exercise in intercultural exchange.

Food - I ate potatoes for every meal for 4 days straight. That´s what they grow here, and that´s what they eat. However, there are more than 20 different varieties of potatoes and potato-like crops that they cultivate, so we ate types of potatoes you ain´t never heard of before.

Never play a game of soccer at 13,000 feet, unless you live there already. Just advice for life.