Avocados and Zebras (Paltas y Cebritas)

My last two blog entries have shared my weekend adventures but I wanted to give an update of what I’ve been doing on the weekdays!

My second week in La Paz I commuted to El Alto once again, but this time to Virgen Niña, a health and education center for kids with disabilities. I was blown away by the support this center provides for the kids. The center is complete with a clinic, classrooms with usually no more than 10 kids, a kitchen and various therapies. I spent most of my time in physical therapy and play therapy but there are also rooms for speech, psych, hydro and music therapy. In addition to learning about physical therapy techniques and playing with kids in the balloon pit for sensory and social stimulation, I spent time with kids in classrooms. Some classes are grouped based on disabilities, others are mixed. The center supports many kids with cerebral palsy, autism, down syndrome and other disabilities. I appreciated the focus on both health and education and felt compelled to go back and spend more time with the kids and the staff there. This week and next, my final two weeks in La Paz I am returning to Virgen Niña.

During week 2, Alison and I discovered Bits and Cream, a popular ice cream store here similar to cold stone. We took full advantage of the 2 for 1 Tuesdays. We also saw a Bolivian film called Averno! It was one of the weirdest and most confusing movies I have seen but it was most definitely entertaining. The protagonist, Tupah sets off to find his Uncle in Averno, a place in the Andean belief system where both living and dead coexist.

Alison and I with our Averno tickets!

Last week, I spent my mornings in the infectious disease unit in Hospital del Niño. Clark, Alison and I were all in separate units of the hospital so I got to know the 3 medical students who were also learning under Dr. Velasco. Participating in rounds, when the residents present the patients and their plan to the doctor, it was very difficult for me to understand. The combination of the speed at which the residents spoke and the medical terminology that I wouldn’t have understood in English, made this week a bit frustrating. Luckily I was able to mostly piece together what I observed when reviewing my notes with Alison at the end of the day. She’s going to be a great pediatrician :) Dr. Velasco was also a wonderful teacher and explained things in more detail to me. We talked about vaccines, HIV, bulbous impetigo, and Kawasaki disease.

Hospital Del Niño

Alison, Clark and I finally tried the gigantic avocados here, or paltas, with warm bread. Best avocado I’ve ever eaten and that’s saying something since I live in California. In Spanish class we tried Chirimoya, a fruit that is only found in Bolivia and a few other South American countries. I loved it but it gave me a bit of a stomach ache. 

The HUGE avocado and a Paceña beer (made in La Paz)

The chirimoya with the Spanish song we were listening to in class

On Thursday, Alison and I had a very cultural experience. We participated in La Paz Cebra Por un Día, or zebra for one day. In 2001, a group of 24 students dressed up as zebras, inspired by the black and white cross walks, to teach the people of La Paz about traffic safety with a positive and friendly spirit. Since then, the number of cebras or cebritas has grown and they can now be found in cities throughout La Paz. They are loved by many and are an important part of La Paz city culture. Gonzalo organized it for us and we were the first students of our program to ever participate. There was a group of about 20 of us: me, Alison and high school class with their teacher. We all sat in a circle for our orientation before we received our zebra suits. Orientation consisted of introductions, sharing why we wanted to be cebritas and an activity that got us on our feet and moving around. Then we were all given blindfolds and instructed to relax and breath through our noses. I cheated and opened my eyes briefly and underneath my blindfold I could see zebras walking around placing zebra suits and heads on the blindfolded students bodies. Then I felt the suit and head being laid on top of me. Finally we were told to open our eyes and meet our hermanitos mayores (older brothers/sister zebras), who helped us get into our zebra suits. My hermanito mayor Ezekiel and I linked arms and headed to our assigned street. We helped direct traffic, danced on the crosswalk, said hi to everyone , asked drivers to buckle up and hugged some cute kiddos who adore the cebritas. The experience was truly unique and very beautiful. On Friday, Alison’s last day we had a little fiesta as a way to say goodbye to her, thank Olga, and celebrate my birthday a little early. The party was complete with brownies, fruit, chips, cervezas and a little bit of salsa dancing.

Cutest cebritas around :)

Making some brownies

Olga, Clark, Alison, and I at our little family fiesta

Apparently Saturday was international dance day because I came across dancers in Plaza San Francisco on my walk to rent climbing shoes. Yep, climbing shoes! I went to Aranjuez yesterday, located in Zona Sur of La Paz, for a one on one rock climbing session with Jose through Andean Summits. It was all in Spanish per my request. He could also speak English but I try to take advantage of moments where I can practice speaking Spanish. I think I climbed five different routes, which increased in difficulty each time. I love that climbing is like a puzzle when you are up there trying to find a tiny hole or rock to grab or to place your foot. And it is definitely a full body work out! Jose was very friendly, patient with my Spanish, and a wonderful climbing instructor. Also on Sunday my new roommate, Elisa, arrived. She is a 3rd year med student from Wisconsin and will be rotating this week in Hospital del Niño. She is very sweet and a great Spanish speaker. I have enjoyed showing her around the city a bit.

It is crazy that I only have 2 more weeks in La Paz before I head to Tarija. I really love this city and I don’t think I’ll be ready to leave. Thank you for reading. Stay happy and healthy!