CULTURE SHOCK

I am still processing. And the ache is growing, as reality sets in that my time in Bolivia is over. I arrived back in the states yesterday, to a healthy dose of culture shock that is continually increasing.

In the airport bathroom I looked arourunnd for the basket to put toilet paper, not realizing that here you can flush it. In the food court, I thought twice when there was ice in my cup, before realizing that here you can drink the water. An occasional gracias has slipped when a cashier hands me my change, and when i saw people running for exercise i was confused. That is something I hadnt seen, since in La Paz you dont run due to the alititude. When I took the bus today i wasnt elbow to elbow with bolivians who are breast feeding or shaving, and I had to wait until a designated stop to hop off.

So the adventure did not end yesterday. I hailed a cab to the airport at 4 am straight from salsa night at our local disco. Sleep is SO overrated. Checked in and forked over the 25 $ exit fee. get in line for customs, and i get beckoned off to the side. hmm. Turns out that when i came into the country my little stamp in my passport had scribbled on it 30. 30 what you ask? since it doesn't specify! 30 days it turn out. my visa was a 30 gosh darn day visa! how absurd, no ve? and nadie me aviso! como deberia sabe?! The customs man and I didnt get along so well. And i had to fork over 200 BOLIVIANOS in fines. 10 bs for every day over 30. And as if I wasnt paying enough, the customs man had the audacity to try and give me 150 bs for a $20 bill. i didnt have any of that. that is not the exchange rate. he mumbled about how the dollar is really going down, blah blah. and so i took the $20 and got it exchanged outside. i got 157 bs. darn right. who's ever heard of a 30 day tourist visa. Lesson: keep your eyes peeled for what people scribble on your passport stamps.

I got all settled in, in Cville VA. and it slowly sank in that the experience is really over. During actually airplane time, it is hard to process, because others around you are in transit as well. But once you are are in a place where people are settled, going about their business, their routine, and you are not as settled in that place, observations are acute and comparison is frequent.
So, now i am surrounded by college kids in pearls and expensive collared shirts who talk loudly on their cellphone. and i am conscious that i feel SO superior in some way because i have showered in a couple days and i was just in boliiiivia. i am just sooooo worldy. i am have such a gloooobal perception. However, i know that i am just like them, and soon will convert to being a clean cellphone talker too. i may even bust out my bolivian pearls. but right now, the ideas seems stifling.

I miss Joss Stone, and the sunny terrace. I miss crowded minibuses and cholitas elbowing you. I miss reggaeton and late nights at Traffic. I miss pan in the afternoons and checking the donation box for toothbrushes at the office. I miss having the altitude as an excuse for not running, and having to hand wash clothes as an excuse for wearing dirty ones. But most of all I miss the company. I was so fortunate to make amazing friends, and grateful that I will get to keep in touch with them. And I am am confident that a piece of my heart belongs to Latin America, and I will be returning many times to come.

Although I may be back in the states, the adventure continues. I am in VERY good company, and have a lot to accomplish. The plan for the week ahead includes potlucks, a UVA football game, which I hear people wear sundresses to, and continuing much of the work on an independent nonprofit I started in Bolivia. Meanwhile I am looking ahead to Spain. In just 3 short weeks I will be teaching English in Ronda, Spain.. for the next 8 months.
Let the Spanish speaking continue, and the good fortune of positive experiences and amazing memories reign.

Salud: asi es la vida.