En Route to La Paz!

3/25/17

Before Arrival—by Connor Yarnall

My First Meal in Bolivia – Argentinian Beef with French Fries & Rice

Today is the day I travel to La Paz, Bolivia. I have never been to La Paz and I am extremely excited to learn about the people and their way of life. I hope to find a culture that is unpredictable and completely different than my own.

I am like any other traveler who wants to experience the atmosphere of a city with its architecture, food, and history. However, what I expect most out of this trip is communication. I have studied Spanish too long, even though I loved every minute, to not have a better grasp on speaking the language. I hope to share my thoughts, opinions, and background with the Bolivians in Spanish and receive from them the same. I hope to find a sense of accomplishment in my study of Spanish during my stay in Bolivia for being fluent in another language as always been a dream of mine.

3/26/17

Arrival Day—by Jordan Pryor

The thick fog made it seem as if we had landed in the pitch black at about 4:30 in the morning. Immediately, the city of La Paz was a culture shock. I felt as if I knew what to expect when I got here, but no extent of research can really compare to experiencing something in real life.

View of La Paz from the teleférico

Obviously, the air here is pretty thin, at least too thin for my liking. I think that the excitement of finally arriving kept me from noticing the lack of oxygen immediately, but after standing in lines and carrying bags around the airport, it was noticeable. We were all split up into cabs and were rushed down from El Alto to our hotel. After all of the excitement of arriving in a new country, it was impossible to fall asleep right away. Lauren and I are sharing a room, and we were so excited because we got a corner room with double windows that we started jumping around. After maybe ten seconds of this we were out of breath, and this was probably the first time I really felt the effects of the altitude…

Come on, Vámanos! Everybody, Let’s Go!—by Lauren Reynolds

One of my favorite parts of traveling is the flight itself. I love airports and the cramped cabins and all the different people that flying introduces you to. On Saturday, the group and I flew out of St. Louis in the afternoon and landed in Miami. Next, we got on our final plane to La Paz, Bolivia! It wasn’t a full flight and we spent the first twenty minutes trying to find window seats to move to (with no luck). The plane ride to Bolivia was a cultural experience, as most of the people on the flight were from Bolivia. Upon descending into La Paz our plane was struck by lightening, which was the scariest but coolest part of the flight.  Landing in La Paz at 4:30 a.m. was quite the adventure. Not to brag, but I was the only one who filled out my forms correctly. Going through customs was way quicker than I expected and before I knew it we were on the way to the hotel. Once we got there we had the luxury of having a few hours of sleep. We woke up at 12 p.m. to meet for lunch with a professor in Bolivia and his family and they were very welcoming and invited us to their house after our meal. The first day, I had some altitude sickness but I was able to get that under control by drinking a lot of water and some coca tea. I think we all spent the first day groggy and under the weather, so we called it a night rather early.

Mission Accomplished—by Connor Yarnall

I arrived in Bolivia around four in the morning. I was in a hazy state and I could not remember much of the taxi ride through the town of El Alto but I could remember the mountainous terrain. As the ride continued toward my hotel, I became aware of the ever-changing elevation from street to street. From this simple taxi ride, I started to gain an appreciation for how the landscape had shaped the lives of these people.

I woke up in my hotel hours later around lunchtime. The highlight of this day was talking in Spanish to the wife of a UMSA (Universidad Mayor of San Andrès) professor. She did not speak English and was gracious in slowing down her speech and complexity of language to interact with me. As we continued to talk over lunch, I became more confident in my ability and was accomplishing the goal I set for myself. She gave me a good introduction to Bolivia and I could feel the friendliness of the people around me.