Days 37-43

Tuesday all my classes were normal. In gym we did gymnastics and then Shadia and I played volleyball while the rest of the girls played a different game. The gym teacher loves Shadia and I. Then in history we got our tests back and the teacher announced to the rest of the class that I got a better grade than half of our class even though I don't understand a lot of it. I HATE when the teachers do that. It was also Shadia's birthday and she shared some delicious coconut cake with me! After school, I went to Karla's house for awhile. I met her sister and talked to her parents for awhile and se gave me a tour of her house. Apparently her family really likes me. Later that night, they drove me home and I got ready for bed.

School on Wednesday was beyond extremely boring! All I did during all my classes was work on Spanish homework and draw. My Spanish class went really well again. I love talking to the other people during the breaks from other countries who are there taking lessons. I met a girl from Liechtenstein who's here for 7 months so that was neat. During class we watched some more of Innocent Voices and I absolutely love that movie! When I got home I worked on my Rotary presentation and ate fries and fried chicken with mamá and Nico. 

We actually did something in my first two classes on Thursday. But then in my last two clases we didn't. During my final class the class argued even more than usual about their trip. We had a really good lunch and I also got a hot dog that Tía Angelica had brought from Chile and papá and mamá told me I have to prepare hot dogs for them sometime like we have them in the USA. After lunch, I went to Nico's tennis tournament with mamá but we didn't actually get to see him play before I had to leave to pick up my passport. Papá took me to get my passport but they didn't have it ready yet! So I went to my Spanish class but had to leave early to walk and meet papá at the migration office once my passport was ready. Now all we have left to do is get an ID card! At my Spanish class, the activity my teacher and I were doing turned into just talking about random stuff. We talked a lot about church/religion and dating differences between the US and here. Next I had supper with Nico, his tennis friend from La Paz, and mamá. I got to try something that was similar to cornbread except the corn wasn't ground up, it was still in visible corn pieces. 

On Friday I had to leave earlier for school than normal because we were taking Nico to a tennis game on the other side of town. Once I got to school (later than I normally do) NOBODY was there! I was so confused but it's because they were getting the packets ready to give out that they had sold for their class trip. Half of my classmates didn't come to school at all because they were busy handing out the packets to other schools so there was only about 20 people at school. We didn't have any classes so it was pretty much going to school for social time! Karla taught me part of the Caporales dance but I didn't realize everyone was watching me! They all clapped for me and said "Awww" when I was done but I was so embarrassed! A ton of people had brought snacks too so we were enjoying those and I tried something like dulce de leche pudding. I love dulce de leche but the pudding stuff wasn't my favorite. Also, after we handed out the packets, EVERYONE at school got a salteña from El Patio and a coca-cola or Fanta. After school, I walked to a hamburger place to have lunch with some of my friends. The hamburgers are better everytime I have them but I think it's just because I'm missing hamburgers so much! Then I walked to my Spanish class. I loved it again and even though our movie ended kind of sad I really recommend watching it. After class, I walked Adrianna (other exchange student) home before heading to my own house. While I practiced my speech, one of the ladies in the salon curled my hair in a waterfall braid. Then I put a dress on and walked to my rotary meeting. I met a guy named Dhiro who's originally from Spain but has been living in all kinds of different places. Then the meeting started and a guy who I think is from Romania and is going to be in rotary for a year sat across from me so I talked to him. His Spanish is about the same as mine right now! Then I gave my presentation and I surprisingly wasn't as nervous as I thought I was going to be. My rotary club was also nice and helped me out a few times. We all had a little laugh when I showed them a picture of my house covered in snow and accidentally said that in the winter it's really hot! My speech went really well though and everyone too me I had done a good job on it. (:

On Saturday I finally got to sleep in. When I woke up, I found Tía Angelica in the kitchen making cheese empanadas for lunch. THEY WERE AMAZING!! Then I walked around with Adrianna to show her some places and to get to know her better. We hung out all afternoon and it turns out I'm not the only one who loves fresh fruit. We went to that fruit juice place in El Mercado. I got mango juice, she got banana juice, and we shared a fresh fruit salad with yogurt and a spoonful of cereal on top. It was so good! My goal is to try all the different kinds of fruit juice before I leave. Later, after Adrianna had gone home, I went to Itzel's house to celebrate her birthday. We were going to got to a dance but since it was El Día de los Estudiantes  Primavera, Amor, and Amistad (which is also why we didn't have clases on Friday) all the places were full so we went back to Itzel's to dance, snack, and sing karaoke. 

Sunday, I got to sleep in for a little while again and when I woke up I helped mamá clean the house a bit before getting ready to go to church with my grandparents (papá's parents). Church was really different. It wasn't catholic but it was a christian church with 40 or less people and the service lasted 2 hours but it didn't seem like two hours! It was also just in a little café type area and not in an actual church. First, with a tiny little hymnal each person had brought, people would take turns reading the stanzas they liked and then we would sing the song and then read parts of it again. When they were reading and during the prayer afterwards, people would be constantly saying "Amen!" or "Sí!"  Then we had communion but we stayed seated for that and one of the leaders would bring it to us and after that we read different verses from the bible together and after each verse one of the leaders talked a little bit about it. Then we split up into small groups for a bible study  and I had to read part of the devotion.  My group could probably barely understand me! After that, different people would stand up and talk for a few minutes and give a short little message to the rest of us. Lastly, I was introduced to everyone but I had no idea what they wanted me to say so my Abuela introduced me! Later that afternoon, I went out to eat chicharrón and ice cream with my family and on the way home we bought some movies. Then that night, I went to Karla's house for her birthday. I had a lot of fun and there was a lot of really good food. I also met one of her guy friends from the college. Then I took a movíl (safer taxi) home to get some sleep for school. 

Monday (today) school was really boring as usual but I realized how I'm starting to understand things better! Both mamá and papá picked us up from school today so I knew something was up and it turns out Nicolasa didn't show up today so we went out to eat fried chicken, fries, and pop. :/ I always feel sick after eating fast food like that no matter where I am. Then I walked to my Spanish class and I met this really cool girl, Petia, from Australia who's taking a year off of work to travel around South and maybe Central America. She was super cool and I liked talking to her. I also LOVED her accent! However, it turned out I didn't have class today because Mary (teacher) was gone. I walked back home (and bought a mango on the way!) and once I got there Nico wanted me to get ice cream with him so we took a taxi to the Plaza to buy ice cream and then walked home again. Then I watched TV until I convinced myself to stop procrastinating and pack my bags since we're leaving for Trinidad tomorrow for a wedding that's on Saturday. Mamá is going to go on Friday and Sarurday but Nico and papá aren't going at all. Then I had some supper with mamá and Nico before showering and heading to bed. 

My classroom and waaaay on the left hand side, in the corner, is my loner desk. (: (it's facing the other direction)

Karla and I

Cinthia and I after she did my hair. 

The two llama key chains I bought the afternoon I spent with Adrianna. 

Shadia and I singing karaoke. 

Nedenka and I at Itzel's party. 

Adrianna and I at our Rotary meeting the night I gave my presentation. 

Days 29-36

I was busy all day on Monday. I was actually given a book to use in Biology until my class on Thursday and I had a lot to read, translate so I could understand, and summarize. In religion, I had to write a little bit about Lutheranism and what I believe and the teacher was really impressed with my Spanish so my next assignment is to write a small paragraph about anything from the bible. Most of the people in my class are Catholic I'm pretty sure. We got a lecture in chemistry, I started my biology homework during German, and the teacher didn't come for physics so I sat in the back and talked to Karla the whole time. For lunch we had some really good pasta with spicy chicken and afterwards, while I was helping Nicolasa clean up, I found out her birthday was the next day. I went to my room to make her a birthday car until 3 when I went to talk to the Rotarian who owns a Spanish School. I had to take a 5 page test to see where I'm at and it took me more than 2 hours! It was so long! I'm going to be taking individual lessons, 14 hours a week, for 3 weeks. Mamá told me my Spanish will improve so much that I'll be better than her! I wish! On my way home, I stopped at the Abis Café and met the owner, Yves, who's from Belgium. He's super nice and I like talking with him. Then I bought a box of assorted chocolates and a white chocolate bar for a birthday present for Nicolasa before walking the rest of the way home. When I got back, I took some pictures with the ladies in the salon and they all loved when I showed them they could use a front facing camera to take pictures. Around 8, mamá and I went to my volleyball game but it wasn't my team! So we watched for about 45 minutes before heading home for bed. 

Tuesday signaled one full month away from home. Wow!! That's hard to believe. My first class was music but the teacher only came for about 10 minutes so I helped some of my classmates cut out a TON of paper flyer things for a fundraiser. In art, I got my two previous projects back and then I left to walk home since the police were coming for visa stuff. However, I found out we had to go pick the lady up from the police station so while we were waiting mamá bought some beans (similar to lima beans) and something else that you chew until all the sweet liquid stuff is gone and spit out the rest. I didn't really like either of them very much but it was cool to try something new! After the lady from the police station was done filling out forms, I gave Nicolasa her present (she loved it and was SO happy!) and set the table for lunch. We had pollo picante because that's Nicolasa's favorite dish and she got to sit at the table and eat with us. Gym was interesting because all the girls except for me and three more had to run a lot because they weren't doing anything and then we played soccer after the boys finished their game. I learned that NONE of the girls, including me, are good at soccer. Then we had history (Karla had tuned my bookbag inside out! (: she likes to joke around) and I had my first history test. I actually did really good on it too! After class, I walked to the Abis Café to eat ice cream and work on my homework. Afterwards, I walked home and got ready for bed. As I was saying goodnight to everyone, Abuelita came to get me to tell me there was a call for me. I was really confused at first but it was the other exchange student in Rotary Sucre! Her name is Adrianna and she's from Oregon. I made plans to take her to the Abis Café on Thursday. 

Wednesday I woke up in a really good mood and I actually WANTED to go to school. We had the superintendent as a teacher in philosophy and all we did was full out a worksheet. In chemistry, Karla showed me how to start one of our problems but I'm still confused about a lot of it! I didn't do much in German and in literature some of my classmates gave a presentation on graphic novels that was super boring so I watched Shadia draw me a picture. (: For lunch we had piqué and afterwards, mamá and I spent the afternoon working on my visa stuff. Later that night, we went to pick up my Tía Angelica (Abuelita's oldest sister) from the airport and once we were back at the house, my Tía Maria (Abuelita's other sister) and Tío were there with my really young 2nd cousin, Angelica, Miguel, and Abuelita. We had tea and ate a bunch of different pastries (including cream puffs!). Later that night I went out to eat with a few of my friends for Itzel's birthday. We went to the pizzeria and I had a lot of fun. Then I walked home to Skype Kara but ended up falling asleep because I was so tired! On my way home, however, I gave some money to a homeless lady with a young child. I felt so good about doing it too.

Biology was terrible on Thursday. I'm not going to go into detail but I don't like that class much.  Next we had math and the teacher's nephew was there as a substitute. We took a test that was only 5 questions but took up the entire class period. I didn't do anything in German and in physics, the teacher came with 20 minutes left of class but I figured out why he almost never comes. He teaches another class at the university. I was so tired and almost fell asleep on the way home from school. Then I took a shower and got ready to walk back school but when I went to say goodbye, mamá reminded me we needed to finish my visa stuff. I was so exhausted that not having to go back to school made me so happy! We spent the next 3 or 4 hours doing some EXTREMELY frustrating visa stuff but it's finally done!!! All we have left to do is pick up my passport and papers next Thursday. At 7, I walked down the the Abis Café to meet Adrianna. I loved talking to her and she's super sweet! She doesn't know much Spanish right now but she likes to cook and play volleyball (like me!), is from a small town, and will be in the same Rotary club as me! (: Once I returned home, Nico and I talked to Tía Angelica until it got late and we needed to go to bed. 

On Friday, we headed to school because yesterday they had told us that morning classes were normal, but once we got there we found out there wasn't school! Oh, I was so so so happy! We didn't have school because of all the dancing to celebrate La Virgen de Guadalupe. Then I worked on my presentation about myself for Rotary for next Friday until Nico and I walked down to El Patio to eat salteñas with Tía Angelica and mamá. After we had finished eating, we walked into a part of the mercado that I hadn't seen before. It was absolutely crazy! There was raw meat sitting out to buy EVERYWHERE (it was cool to see but the smell of all the raw meat kind of made me want to puke) and we bought some pork and there was an area where you could sit down and buy some fresh fruit juice that I hope I get to go to sometime. While mamá and Nico were buying the meat, Tía and I went to buy some super tiny bananas that tasted amazing and some choclo (cooked corn stuff). Then we stopped at a cosmetics store so mamá could buy some stuff and Grethel (my classmate) was there with a puppy the size of my shoe! So while I was waiting for mamá, I got to play with the puppy. :D After taking a taxi home, I Skyped Kara until it was time for lunch. We had pollo picante again this week and we always have chuño (the grayish potato-like food) with it, which isn't my favorite because it doesn't have much taste. In the afternoon, I walked down to La Plaza with Tía Angelica and while we were waiting for Tía Maria to get there, Tía Angelica bought some rice cereal type stuff for us to eat. Then we sat down to watch all the different dances. They were so cool and there was even groups for children 4 or younger and for mentally disabled people! It was great! Later, Oscar (classmate) saw me and invited me to go to La Plaza with him where we met some other classmates. We hung out for awhile but Oscar and I left around 7:30 to walk back to the salon and get permission for me to hang out later instead of going to a Rotary meeting (but there wasn't a meeting anyways because of the dances). We walked back down to the hotel his parents own and where a few of my classmates' moms were making sandwiches for us to sell tomorrow. On the way, it started POURING rain (those poor dancers!) so at the hotel, we had tea and sandwiches along with Indira (classmate) and her sister. When the rain had stopped, we went out onto the terraza of the hotel to look down and watch all the dancers. It was so pretty! Around 10, when the dances were pretty much over for the night, Oscar and his dad walked me home since there's a lot of drunk people during these festivals. They're such gentleman too!!

At 10am on Saturday, I walked down to the hostel to sell chicken sandwiches and coca-cola with my class and we walked around selling them until 4:30. I saw 3 of my classmates dance in the Saya Afroboliviana Variado group (because the dances had started at 8:30 that morning). When we had finished selling stuff to raise money for their senior class trip, I went and sat by my Tías, cousin Angelica, and cousin Angelica's parents. We watched the dances until a little past midnight (mamá and Nico joined us later) and there was still 14 dances left that we could've stayed for! I got to see 4 more of my classmates dance the Caporales. Each dance takes between 10-25ish minutes to pass where you're seated and each group starts on the main street and ends at the plaza. It takes about 6-7 hours for the group to get from the main street to the Plaza. There's 6 different kinds of dances and there's people who are in charge of the small groups within the big groups who have whistles that they use to signal stuff. 

      1) Variado: A variety of different dances depending on the group so the costumes are something different for each group. For example, there was a group called Mineritos Ocurí and they were dressed to represent when the Bolivian people had relied on mining. Also, the group that Pruedencia and some of my classmates are in is Variado. 

      2) Morenada: I think that each different Morenada group represents an animal or creature because they all had a different animal or creature on their costumes. The boys and men all wear these huge, crazy costumes. The younger women wear really flashy dress type costumes that have short skirts, their hair in two braids with ribbon tied in, a hat, and high heeled boots that go up to right above their knees. The older women wear short lace up boots, a longer and kind of poofy skirt, a shawl, and a hat. - This is the dance I really want to learn!

      3) Tobas: This group represents the tribes that were originally in Bolivia. The guys wear animal skins and usually don't have a shirt, or masks and crazy costumes, with a bunch of Indian type accessories. The girls wear a feather headband, flat shoes, hardly anything as a skirt, their stomachs showing, and also a ton of Indian type accessories. 

      4) Chaqueño: For this dance, the girls and guys are partnered up. The boys wear boots, slightly poofy pants, a long sleeved shirt, and a hat. They look similar to the typical image of a cowboy. The girls wear long dresses that they can hold and use all the extra fabric in the skirt to dance with. 

      5) Tinku: I feel like this dance is also more of the cultural history of Bolivia. The guys wear pants and shirts of the same bright color with lots of colorful designs, a pouch thing around their waist, sandals, and a helmet type hat. The girls have a long, bright cloth dress with a head covering similar to what a nun might wear, and sandals. Both the men and women wear tons of brightly colored scarves all over their body. There's also purple dressed up as bears or as elders with some crazy masks. 

      6) Caporales: The guys part in this dance is my absolute favorite because it seems the most upbeat and all around crazy. The guys even get people watching to dance with them in the two beat pattern. The girls wear costumes similar to the girls in the Morenada, except without the animal design, hats, their hair in two braids with ribbons tied in, and high heels that match the color of their costume. The guys wear really fancy, shiny costumes with long sleeved shirts, a cumberbun, long pants that poof out at the hips, a hat, and tall boots with tons of bells attached. 

Sunday, I woke up to go to church with my Abuelos (papá's parents) but because there was still dances until the afternoon, we didn't go. Nicolasa was at our house on a Sunday and I didn't understand why until I found out we were having lunch with a lot of relatives to celebrate my host parents' anniversary that's Monday (16th). I went to get ice cream with Nico, mamá, and papá and then to the supermarket and to pick up a toffee cake with mamá and when we got home I helped get ready for lunch. We had pork (the meat we had bought from the mercado the other day), noodles and vegetables similar to lo mein, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and bread. Then for dessert we had the toffee cake but I didn't like it as much as the last time I had it. Then I went to work on my presentation until Nico came to get me to go to the movie Aviones (Planes) with him. It was good but I still think the original Cars movie is the best. Afterwards we got ice cream and filled up the car with gas before going home to sleep. 

Today (Monday), was something new for me. I had all my classes as normal this morning (all boring and long) and ate lunch with my family. Nothing too extremely exciting happened. But then I walked to my first Spanish class at 2:30! Adrianna is taking classes at the same place as me but she's with a group. I'm taking individual lessons so it's just me and my teacher, Mary. It was a 4 hour class (with a 15 minute break in which I talked to Adrianna and had hot chocolate) but I really enjoyed it! My teacher teaches me in Spanish which helps me improve a lot and even though I think she knows a little bit of English, she isn't fluent. For part of it we watched the first half of the movie, Innocent Voices, which was about a war in El Salvador. It was really sad but really good too! And it helped me with comprehending Spanish. We're going to watch more of it during my next class on Wednesday. I also got to read a really strange story about a groom at his wedding being taken away to a cemetery with a skull by some mysterious force. Huh. I think I'm gonna enjoy these three weeks of Spanish classes!  

Cinthia with Pruedencia giving her bunny ears. 

My Copa Frutilla from the Abis Café. 

Some of my classmates at the pizzeria for Itzel's birthday. 

The ADORABLE puppy that was the size of my foot. 

Me, my Tía Angelica, and my Tía Maria. 

Watching the dances from the terraza of the hostel on Friday night. 

All the girls in green and the two girls in costumes on the left are my classmates. This is the Saya Afroboliviana group. 

Two of my classmates. He is also in the Saya Afroboliviana group. 

My little cousin Angelica!!

Morenada 

Tobas

Morenada

Cow muzzle anyone?

Caporales 

Caporales 

Tinku

Chaqueño

Me with one of the Caporales dancers 

Days 22-28

Here is my school schedule to make it a little less confusing. Hope it helps!

    Period            Monday             Tuesday             Wednesday            Thursday              Friday

        1                Biology              Music                Philosophy            Biology                Math

        2                Religion             Music                Philosophy            Biology                Math

10 Minute Break

        3                Chemistry          Art                    Chemistry              Math                   German

        4                German             Art                    German                 Math                   Chemistry

10 Minute Break

        5                German             Math                 Literature              German               Literature

        6                Physics             Physics              Literature              Physics               Literature

12:50 School Gets Done

        7                                         Gym                                               Geography  

        8                                         Gym                                               Geography

10 Minute Break

4:00 School Gets Done

        9                                         History

       10                                        History  

5:30 School Gets Done

On Monday I had my first biology test and I think I actually did okay on it! Then during Religon the teacher showed us a presentation that Natalia (my host sister on exchange in Wisconsin) had made about different religions. During my first break, some of the boys were wrestling in the classroom and they actually BROKE a table. And we have really sturdy wood tables as desks too, not weak tables. It kept falling apart the rest of the day and apparently this isn't the first time they've broken a table. Then I had chemistry and I think we were reviewing for the test we have on Friday but I'm not exactly sure. Chemistry and Physics don't make sense to me yet. During German, I spent the time learning some new Spanish vocabulary and in phyics the teacher didn't come so the class spent the period talking about their class trip. Their top choice right now is Aruba located in the Carribean. After lunch, (I'm really loving the homemade fries that Nicolasa (the maid) makes for lunch sometimes) mamá and I went to work on stuff for extending my visa. It sure is a long process! Both mamá and I were tired so she bought us each a small chocolate cookie and some chocolate con macarrón to "wake us up". (: I wasn't gonna complain! I had to go get a picture taken so we could order small prints to give to the police station for my visa and of course mamá had to give me some lipstick and make sure my hair was all nice and stuff. Then I waited to get my pictures and mamá headed back to the salon. Once I got my pictures I bought some AMAZING white chocolate ice cream and started my walk home. When I finally got home, I filled out my August contact report for Rotary and then got a chance to skype with my parents! I was SO happy to talk to them again!! :D

I didn't have to go to any of my morining classes on Tuesday because we were still working on stuff for my visa. However, I had to go get my blood drawn so that I could get a medical form for Sucre. I hate needles! 0_o When we were done working on stuff it was only 10:30 but mamá didn't make me go back to school (: After relaxing for about an hour, I went with mamá and Christian (someone who works with mis padres) to try to sell some shoes to other shoe stores. It was pretty boring but it beats going to school. After we picked up Nico from school, we headed home to have lunch and I got to try quinoa for the first time. I really liked it and it's a lot healthier than rice or pasta too! At 2:15 I headed to my afternoon classes. You know that surprise math test that I felt lost on and thought I had failed? Nope didn't fail. Apparently I got the best grade in my class. Ummmmm.. what? How in the world did that happen?? Anyways, we did all our warming up for gym class and then we split into teams for soccer. I'm terrible at soccer! But we only played for 15ish minutes before it was another team's turn and the rest of the period I helped Karla (one of my classmates) proofread an English paper for her English class. After that, we had history and I actually understood a lot of what the teacher was telling us about. I was so excited! I learned about Bolivia becoming a new state and what their first flag looked like. Once I walked home from school I watched Scooby Doo in Spanish on TV until mamá came up and we had some coffee and fruit. Then mamá, papá, Nico and I headed to SAS (the supermarket). Mis padres told me that if I saw anything I wanted to try I could put it in the cart. I didn't take advantage of that but Nico sure enjoyed sneaking stuff into the cart! We each picked out and ice cream bar and I got some kind of dark chocolate covered chocolate ice cream cone. It was soooo good! Finally, I helped put away the groceries and did my laundry before getting ready for bed. 

One of my classmates wasn't at school on Wednesday so Karla told me to sit at a different desk in the back of the room with her. We weren't really doing anything in philosophy and we were really bored so Karla and I just talked and played games on paper the whole period. Then we had chemistry and Karla, Luis (another classmate), and I laughed about the awful notes I take when I don't understand what the teacher says. Carolina also told me that the class is going to sell sandwiches for their class trip and then go to a dance not this Saturday, but the next one and she invited me to go. During German I didn't do anything and in the next break I bought a cinnamon roll (I miss the cinnamon rolls my mom makes. They're so much better!) and talked to some of my classmates who asked me what I missed most about the USA right now. I told them my parents, friends, family, dogs, and hamburgers! Then in literature we pushed all of our desks to the back and put our chairs in a semi-circle around the white board to watch a video that a student from a different school had brought to show us. It was a really sad video and when it was done, we spent the rest of the period talking about it. After lunch, mamá and I did some more visa stuff and then picked Nico up from tennis. When we got home, I was told to go down to the salon and I was really confused at first. The ladies did my hair all fancy, mamá did my make-up (WAY too much!), and I got my toe nails and finger nails painted and the entire time I was being filmed. I think it was for some kind of promotion thing for the salon but honestly I have no idea what was happening. Then we washed off the excess make-up before the doctor came to our house to make sure I was healthy so he could sign my medical form for my visa. He was really nice and him, mamá and I talked for awhile until it was time to leave for a tennis meeting for Nico. Before we left for the meeting, Abuelita gave me a bracelet, a ring, and some earrings. The meeting was really boring but I also got to watch some girls my age practice for awhile. I think I'm going to start taking tennis lessons three times a week sometime later this month. When I got home I called Luis (my Rotary counselor) and found out I'm going to my next Rotary meeting this Friday and giving my presentation about myself and the USA to Rotary on the 20th of September. I'm excited! 

On Thursday, the class was talking about more fundraisers for their class trip while the biology teacher was calling people up so he could grade their tests and give it to them so I sat and talked with Karla the whole period. I ended up only missing three questions on my biology test and when the teacher took the tests back to record the grades he didn't even take my test! (: My next class was math and we actually learned something that I remember learning in Seward. It was pretty easy for me and the class seemed to go by faster. During German class, I spaced off again and didn't do anything and in physics I talked to Karla and Natalia until the teacher showed up for the last 10 minutes of class. After school let out, I headed home real fast to eat before going to a movie with four other girls from my class. We went to the One Direction movie but it was in English with Spanish subtitles. I'm not crazy about One Direction but I liked the movie (and not having to go to my afternoon class!). The only thing I didn't enjoy was all of the screaming, crying, and singing girls in the theater. *eye roll* After the movie, we sat down at a table in the hangout area outside the theater (which is on the floor above the supermarket) and proofread Shadia's English paper for her. Then we walked to the Plaza and talked with some more classmates who were there. It seemed like everywhere you walked you ran into one of your classmates. It's crazy! Around 7, I walked home to get ready for my Roteract metting. (Roteract is part of Rotary for ages 18-25.) I loved the meeting! It's a lot less formal and ends earlier than Rotary meetings. We got done at 10. 10! Anyways, first everyone was standing around talking so two of the girls looked at all the pictures on my phone. Then we had some coffee and delicious chocolate cake before starting the meeting. I talked to the Pedro and Elizabeth a lot, the two people sitting next to me. I even got invited to one of the members' parties but I think I'm a little too young for their parties. When I got home I was super tired so I fell asleep right away. 

I've began to notice that the more indigenous women ALL wear skirts, sandals, an apron, and their long, dark hair in two braids down their back. There is a really distinct difference between the more indigenous people and the not so indigenous. My first class on Friday was math and once again it was pretty easy to understand. Then during the first break I got to meet Karla's parents and they were super nice! During German, I worked on some math homework and studied a little for my chemistry test. Not that it would help anyways. However, in chemistry the teacher kind of questioned if I wanted to take it. I tried but I didn't get anything. I gave it to him anyways because he wanted to take a look at it. After the next break, I got to leave school to walk down to the police station to meet mamá. We didn't have one of the papers filled out by someone who doesn't live at my house though so we had to get that done. By the time it was finished, the police station was closed for lunch. We had lunch and I tried something really different. It's called papáaluankainas or something crazy like that. It was boiled eggs and potatoes on top of lettuce with some really interesting sauce and tomatoes to top it all off. After lunch, mamá and I went back to the police station and gave them everything we needed to. Now we just need to wait for them to come on Tuesday and get proof that I'm living here and then we can finally finish up all this visa business! Thank goodness! Then I went with Nico to buy some unflavored yogurt and when we got home he was making something (no idea what) that didn't really have any taste but he ended up just making a HUGE mess! Next I showered and got ready for my Rotary meeting. I walked to my Rotary meeting around 8 and once I got there I talked with Luis (counselor) until he had to leave for a different meeting that he was invited to. I met another girl (18 years old) who is in Roteract and talked to a doctor guy who did some work in the Amazon. I loved talking to him! Eduardo also told me the other Rotary exchange girl who is going to be in Sucre is from Virginia and she's going to arrive on Sunday! Then the metting was called and I sat next to the girl from Roteract. We actually had supper around 9:45 this time and I talked to her the entire time. I don't know her name but I gave her one of my business card things and once she adds me on Facebook we might go to some museums and stuff together. After dinner, the Vice President gave a presentation on how to get the youth more inolved in Rotary and I was in a lot of the pictures! The meeting got done around 11 but I stuck around until 11:30 talking with Luis who had returned from his other meeting, one of the ladies in Rotary, and one of the men in Rotary who owns a Spanish school here in Sucre. I'm going to the Spanish school on Monday to take a test and see where I'm at so I can finally get started in some Spanish classes. Finally, papá picked me up and I headed home to get some sleep.

I was up bright and early on Saturday morning for my volleyball practice but only four other girls and the coach showed up. We worked harder than the past two times but we got done an hour earlier. I have a game Monday and Thursday night and I might be going to a volleyball camp in another city  with some of the other girls from my team. Then I walked home to have my breakfast (super juicy kiwi!) and help Nicolasa with some work. I got to wash dishes, put some blankets away, clean my bathroom, water the plants, and set the table! I'm really starting to like Nicolasa. After lunch, I wroted down Bolivia's national anthem and started to memorize it. At all of the Rotary meetings they always open and close the meeting with the anthem and if you hear the national anthem while you're walking in the street you have to stop until it's over. Then I just watched TV and slept for a few hours until I went down to the salon and 7. Emma straightened my hair because I was going to an overnight party for MaJo's (a classmate) birthday at 10. I also met a new worker in the salon and talked to a girl who was an exchange student in Switzerland two years ago. She told me my Spanish was really good. (: Before I left for the party, I went up to the terraza (roof/deck thing) and enjoyed the peacefulness of the stars in an open sky, the city lights, the perfect weather, and the fireworks that were going off. Once I got to the party, everybody was really excited and we just talked and danced until around 11 when we had supper. We had Pique de Macho (again! it's super popular here) and afterwards MaJo left the room. At 12, she came back followed by her parents with a cake. We all sang to her and gave her hugs, she blew out the candles, and then she had to put her face in the cake and take a bite! I wonder if that's a tradition kind of thing here. Then we danced and hung out again until her parents brought us each a slice of the toffee cake. I LOVED it. We stayed up hanging out and listening to music until we got tired and started falling asleep around 4am. 

We all woke up around 10 today (Sunday) and had breakfast. We had a bunch of little pastries filled with cheese, jam, or some sugary filling, something similar to hot chocolate, and more toffee cake. When I got home around noon, mamá and papá took me to La Plaza and to the Main Street because today is El Día de la Virgen (Mary). There's over 130 different groups of dancers that make their way down to the Plaza dancing for about 6 hours straight! There's decorated cars and vendors selling stuff that has to do with the Virgin Mary. Anyways, we watched a bunch of different groups and Pruedencia even stopped dancing in her group for a little bit to talk with us. She was so good and she looked so pretty! Her group and a few others weren't wearing the really fancy costumes today because they're going to be doing the same dance next Saturday with the costumes. Then mamá bought me some white chocolate covered strawberry ice cream and a toffee chocolate bar from Chocolates para Ti and the we went to pick up Miguel and Abuelita from the house to have lunch. We went to a higher area of Sucre for lunch and the restaraunt only had one dish called Fricasé. It was like pork chops, potatoes, something similar to potatoes, a ton of garlic or onion pieces, and a broth all together. It kind of tasted like chicken ramen noodles and it was definitely interesting and new to me. Afterwards, we stopped at a little lookout place and the view was stupendous! Absolutley breathtaking! Then we dropped Miguel and papá off at home and us girls (Nico was at a friend's house all day) went to get some ice cream. (Again!) Then we came home and I've just been relaxing until now. I'm not sure if we're going to watch a movie or do something else tonight or not. We'll see!

My newly painted toe nails done by Cristina.

Maya, MaJo, Itzel, Shadia, and I at the One Direction movie. 

Delecia (from the salon) and I. 

A car decorated for El Día de la Virgen. 

Dancers on El Día de la Virgen. 

More dancers and Pruedencia with her partner in the center. 

Mamá, Pruedencia, and I on El Día de la Virgen.

Some super cool traditional costumes that I loved.

Fricasé

Me with the AWESOME view as a background!

Days 16-21

I was much better on Tuesday and my first class was music. During that class period, the class talked more about their senior class trip so I just kinda sat there and dayderamed. They do A LOT of arguing when the have class discussions like that so I don't really like to listen. After music I had artes plasticas and we ended up creating a screw with what we had drawn. It was pretty cool and we turn our desks around for that class so I end up sitting in the back of the room. (: Then we had physics but the teacher didn't show up for 20 minutes so I spent that time talking with a few of my classmates. On my way home, papá told me that my Spanish is really improving so that put me in a pretty good mood and after lunch I got ready to head back to school again for gym and history. During gym class, the boys played soccer and once they were done all of us girls played a game called Qué Mala. It was kind of like dodgeball and kind of not. Definitely something new though! In history, the class had a test over previous stuff so the teacher let me read through her book on what we would be taking notes on. When we actually did take notes, I still had difficulty understanding but it was a lot easier than the last time. When school let out at 5:30, I stoped to buy some chocolate con mani on my walk home and once I got home I changed out of my uniform before heading down to the salon. Once in the salon, all the ladies came over to talk to me and Vicki asked me a lot about school and the boys here in Bolivia. (: Then I got my hair done by Pruedencia and my nails done by Delecia. While I was getting my nails done, Emma brought me some tea and pan and talked to me for awhile. Then after making sure I was all wrapped up to go out in the cold, Abuelita and Vicki took me down to the Plaza to find me some leggings, a jacket, and a long sleeved shirt. Abuelita bought me the shirt so of course it had to be in purple, her favorite color! The we had some tojori (a super rich drink made from corn) and pasteles (pastries) before we all headed home. 

I'm loving all the decicious fruit that I eat for breakfast here! On Wednesday my first class was philosophy which is an double period class. The class had a test so once again I daydreamed the entire class period. My second class was chemistry and I couldn't seem to focus so I hardly got any of the notes down. It's hard to understand the teacher because he doesn't wait for everyone to finish talking and he kind of mumbles, and since I'm not fluent in Spanish, I don't understand all the words he says. For that reason, during German class, I copied down one of my classmate's chemistry notes. My last class was literature which is also a double period class. The class worked in their textbooks and talked about an upcoming presentation of some books they have been reading so I just listened and spaced off some more. When I got home, papá and I ate with Miguel and Abuelita (Nico and mamá were in La Paz from Sunday night to Thursday night) and we had some really good fish! The only part I didn't like was making sure I didn't swallow any little bones. After lunch, I watched TV before walking down to the Plaza to buy 2 alpaca scarves, a turtle to add to my collection (: and a cool, indigenous made journal to write down my experiences in after I'm done with my first journal. Then I walked to the Mercado to buy another scarf (I do love my scarves!) and some flowers for Abuelita. I bought her two red roses and a pink carnation. When I was almost back to the house, I saw Emma on her way to buy some bread to bring back to the salon so I walked with her to get it. Back at the salon, I gave Abuelita her flowers and she loved them! She absolutely loves roses. Then I sat down and talked with the ladies until I got tired enough to head upstairs, do a small workout, and relax until going to bed.

Right now all of my class periods are either 40 minutes or 80 minutes and I have two 10 minute breaks in the morning and one 10 minute break when I have classes in the afternoon. Starting Monday my class periods will be either 45 minutes or 90 minutes.

Every night since I arrived here, I find myself dreaming about family, friends, and home but Wednesday night was the first night that I dreamed in Spanish! That was really exciting! Thursday, my first class was biology. We worked on some worksheets that the teacher gave us and he asked me to read something but I had no idea what he wanted me to read! I felt so stupid and after class he asked me if I understand anything he's saying! I have my first biology test on Monday but part of it is over stuff the class learned before I joined them. It should be interesting. Then we had math which I understand after he starts the problem, but I have no idea how to start any of the problems myself. During the second break, I bought some gummy candy to snack on (every day, my host parents give Nico and I each 5 bolivianos since you can buy snacks during the breaks at school). Next was German, and I used one of my classmate's biology worksheets to finish filling my own out. Finally, I had physics and it was so crazy that the boys were actually wrestling until the teacher came! Once the teacher got there, he just started writing a bunch of SUPER confusing stuff on the board that I didn't understand at all. After school, I ate lunch with papá and then watched TV until I had to go back to school at 2:30 for geography. The teacher (it's the same teacher that we have for history) handed out the tests at exactly 2:30 so the people who were late had less time to do it. Depending on the teacher, if you're late to class you might have to wait outside until the teacher lets you in. And if you're late you ALWAYS have to greet the teacher and get permission to come in. I hope I never arrive late to a class! After I had walked home, I started to get a really bad cold and a headache. However, I thought it would go away and at 5 I went with papá to pick up Nico and mamá from the airport. I got to try some pastry thing they had brought from La Paz and then I went to my room to lay down hoping I would feel better. At 7:15 mamá came to get me for volleyball (which was supposed to start at 7 I think) and realized that I was getting sick so after she had stopped somewhere to talk to someone, we went to the pharmacy and got some cold medicine. Once we got back home, she made me some tea to help my stomach while Nico kept saying my cheeks were as red as a tomato! Then I just watched TV until mamá came back upstairs at 10:30 and we ate some leftovers together from their trip. After that, I finally got to sleep! Thank goodness!

Friday, I still had a bad cold but it was a little better. My first class was math but our teacher didn't show up for 30 minutes! Once he finally got there, he was upset that not very many people had even tried the homework so he gave us a test. He read the questions off so I didn't even have the right questions down and then I just had no idea how to do it. I'm pretty sure I have failed my first test ever!! Next was German and I had no notes to copy so I just wrote some poems. After that was chemistry and all we did was take notes but I actually picked up on some of what he was saying. I have a test next Friday. Yay. -_- My last class was literature (80 minute class) and the class had a test over authors or something the whole period so I just wrote some more poems in my boredom. After lunch, I went with mamá to buy flowers for Abuelita's 40th anniversary (I think wedding anniversary even though she's divorced but I'm not positive) and it was a HUGE bouquet! When we got back, Eva (another one of the ladies in the salon) curled my hair for my second Rotary meething. After she was done, I had some time to spare so I walked down the La Plaza with Paula (another girl in the salon) to look for some candies that Abuelita wanted. I learned that Paula is 18 and is going to graduate high school this November. We walked all around the Plaza but didn't find the candies. When we were almost back to the house, we walked into a little convenience store and found them. It was a good walk anyways and I got to know Paula a lot better. (: Back at the house, I got my blazer on and got ready to go to my Rotary meeting. When I got there, I greeted all of the adults and talked to my YEO, Eduardo, and my counselor, Luis (who wants to have lunch sometime this week so I can meet his family and we can get to know each other a little better), before sitting down with Teresa, the president of Roteract. I think she's around 25 but I'm not sure. She has to go to all of the meetings but not everyone else from Roteract has to. There was 5 new members who joined Roteract that night and about 10 (more or less) new members who joined Rotary. The meeting went really late again, probably midnight, but beacuase of a bunch of misunderstandings I left around 11:30. Once I got home, I did a workout and headed to bed. 

Saturday wasn't too eventful but that's my own fault. First thing at 8, I had volleyball practice and the coach was actually there this time. Practice ended up starting around 8:30 and ending at 10:30. After it was over, I walked home and went upstairs to have breakfast. When I was done eating, I talked to the maid, Nicolasa (I think that's how you spell her name), and then helped her out. I walked across the street to buy some milk since she was making mashed potatoes and then.. I washed dishes! Why am I so happy about that? Because it's been 21 days since I've washed dishes and it's crazy but I actually miss it!! Then I watched TV until lunch and after lunch mamá and I talked about what my schedule is going to be like during the week after we talk to a piano, Spanish, and (maybe) dance teacher. I didn't do much the rest of the afternoon and I was going to go to a dance around 12 but I was tired and didn't feel too good so I'm just going to hang out with some of my classmates next weekend. Instead, at about 10, Nico, mamá, Abuelita, and I had some pastel de nata (really good cake) as part of Abuelita's 40th anniversary on Friday, and just talked for awhile. Then Nico and I watched TV in our parents room until I couldn't stay awake any longer. 

Sunday (today) was El Día del Peatón (the first Sunday of September) which meant that ALL automobiles were prohibited until 6pm. I was actually able to sleep in until 9:30 because I didn't have anything going on and I didn't have to wake up to the sound of a super noisy motorcycle driving by! After I had breakfast with mamá, Abuelita, and Paula, I went down to help Abuelita in her garden for a couple hours. Then Paula and I walked up to the Main Street area and it was awesome! It was so peaceful and relaxing! There were people racing on bikes, playing soccer in the streets, walking and pushing strollers, roller skating, walking their dogs, and even riding horses. I really wish there was El Día del Peatón in the USA. It was absolutely amazing! When we got back to the house, Paula, mamá, Abuelita, Chachi, and I all sat outside the front door by the street to talk and just watch everything that was going on. Around 1:30, we walked down to La Plaza where Nico met us on his bike and Miguel met us at the pizzeria for lunch. I love the Italian food here! I got some alfredo pasta stuff and I loved it! When we were done eating, Paula headed back to her house and we came back to ours. On the way we stopped to buy papá some lunch because he hadn't gone with us, and to buy me a small Bolivian flag! Then mamá, Abuelita, and I walked to El Mercado Campesino to buy Abuelita a dress for the wedding that we're going to near the end of September. Only they decided they would look for a dress for her on a different day and had ME try on dresses instead. What?? At least I'm used to the "dressing rooms" now. I tried on a bunch of dresses and shirts just to humor them but we didn't buy anything. Then we looked for some fancier shoes for me for the wedding to go with the dress I brought from home in the United States. However, we found it's really hard to find shoes my size here. We're gonna look at mamá's shoe store later this week. At one of the last little shops we went to I bought a big, pink, fuzzy........ BLANKET!!! (surprise, surprise, huh?) :D On our way home, some cars were already starting to show up on the streets. :( It was so peaceful without them! Then I went up to Abuelita's room and did a word search with her until the pizza got there and we watched the last half of Batman 2 because Nico didn't get to watch the whole thing last week. Now I'm going to study for that biology test I mentioned so maybe I can get one or two questions right (or maybe not) and then get some sleep so I can get over this cold! 

The street going down from where I live (I live on the left side) on El Día del Peatón.

Paula, me, Chachi, and Abuelita sitting outside our front door.

The Main Street on El Día del Peatón.

Nico (in green) and my uncle, Miguel (on the bike) on El Día del Peatón.