Damn it feels good to be a Bolivian
Alright so over the last few months I have started to feel really comfortable around Cochabamba. I mean I am beginning to know my way around the city and know what to look for. It’s great. However, over the past three days there have been 2 interactions that have made me feel truly Bolivian. The first was on my way home from the post office the other day (read my prior post You got the stuff?) So I got out of the Trufi at the Cala Cala Plaza. I got out and started walking down Simon Lopez (I know these names don’t mean much but suck it up and read them) towards my house. About two blocks away from Jamie Mendoza, where I turn to go home, a friendly lady approached me. As I was walking, minding my own business trying to keep the rain out of my face, some lady asked me a question. “¿Iglesia de Cala Cala?” she asked. Usually when people ask me these questions, I look at them and tell them in my most respectful Spanish that I am not from around here. They look at me like I am crazy, cause I am walking around this area and that I must surely know something, and usually I or them walk off. However, today was different. This lady asked me where the church was in Cala Cala, and since Santa Ana is one of the 8 places that I am familiar with in Cochabamba I knew this answer. It also helps that I had just past it like 3 minutes earlier. I told her to continue straight and that it would be on her left. She looked at me and gave me a sincere “Gracias” and walked away. As I headed back to my house, I noticed that I had a little bounce in my step and was like yeah that’s right…I’M THE MAN!
My second experience was this past Sunday. I usually go to mass around 7:30 PM on Sundays. For some reason it just feels right, maybe because back at school mass was in the evening or maybe cause it’s the only one that I have been to. However, this past Sunday I wouldn’t be able to attend since I was going to see the Kumbia Kings in concert. So I decided that I would go in the early morning/afternoon. So after we went to by our tickets Sunday morning I had some time to kill. I start reading The Far Side which is always a good way to kill time. Then I realized that I had no idea what time mass was. I figured it was at 11:30 but my family assured me that it was at noon. So ten minutes till the hour, I started walking to mass. By the time I got there at 12:02, I could hear the priest saying a blessing. I had gotten to mass late. I was completely shocked, mass started on time. So as I walk to my seat in the back, so as not to disrupt the mass to much, everyone started shaking hands and started forming a line. I was kind of confused, and then realized that I had gotten to mass not 2 minutes late…but an hour and two minutes late. Communion was starting. After mass I walked out, only to find Emily and Ryan laughing at me. Basically they told me that I am becoming a true Bolivian, attending mass only for communion and then walking out.
Alright so over the last few months I have started to feel really comfortable around Cochabamba. I mean I am beginning to know my way around the city and know what to look for. It’s great. However, over the past three days there have been 2 interactions that have made me feel truly Bolivian. The first was on my way home from the post office the other day (read my prior post You got the stuff?) So I got out of the Trufi at the Cala Cala Plaza. I got out and started walking down Simon Lopez (I know these names don’t mean much but suck it up and read them) towards my house. About two blocks away from Jamie Mendoza, where I turn to go home, a friendly lady approached me. As I was walking, minding my own business trying to keep the rain out of my face, some lady asked me a question. “¿Iglesia de Cala Cala?” she asked. Usually when people ask me these questions, I look at them and tell them in my most respectful Spanish that I am not from around here. They look at me like I am crazy, cause I am walking around this area and that I must surely know something, and usually I or them walk off. However, today was different. This lady asked me where the church was in Cala Cala, and since Santa Ana is one of the 8 places that I am familiar with in Cochabamba I knew this answer. It also helps that I had just past it like 3 minutes earlier. I told her to continue straight and that it would be on her left. She looked at me and gave me a sincere “Gracias” and walked away. As I headed back to my house, I noticed that I had a little bounce in my step and was like yeah that’s right…I’M THE MAN!
My second experience was this past Sunday. I usually go to mass around 7:30 PM on Sundays. For some reason it just feels right, maybe because back at school mass was in the evening or maybe cause it’s the only one that I have been to. However, this past Sunday I wouldn’t be able to attend since I was going to see the Kumbia Kings in concert. So I decided that I would go in the early morning/afternoon. So after we went to by our tickets Sunday morning I had some time to kill. I start reading The Far Side which is always a good way to kill time. Then I realized that I had no idea what time mass was. I figured it was at 11:30 but my family assured me that it was at noon. So ten minutes till the hour, I started walking to mass. By the time I got there at 12:02, I could hear the priest saying a blessing. I had gotten to mass late. I was completely shocked, mass started on time. So as I walk to my seat in the back, so as not to disrupt the mass to much, everyone started shaking hands and started forming a line. I was kind of confused, and then realized that I had gotten to mass not 2 minutes late…but an hour and two minutes late. Communion was starting. After mass I walked out, only to find Emily and Ryan laughing at me. Basically they told me that I am becoming a true Bolivian, attending mass only for communion and then walking out.
posted by Roy at 6:37 AM
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