mi nueva familia // my new family

Today was the big day! At last, I got to meet my host family, with whom I will be staying for the next three months. Before they came, we had a few more parts of orientation to wrap up. I found out that I'm officially going to be taking Quechua, along with two other SIT students! Jody, Alex, and I got to meet Evelyn, who will be our teacher. We'll be taking Quechua classes two to three times a week, and also participating in some of the activities and sessions in the Spanish classes.

After finishing orientation, we were called one by one to meet our families. My host family includes Sandra, my mother; Iván, my father; Diandra (25), my sister; and Esaú (22), my brother. (Ivan wasn't able to make it because he is on a business trip in Paraguay, but I'll get to meet him in a few weeks!) I had been really nervous to meet my family, but as we began talking, my fears quickly dissolved.

We have so much in common that it's almost eery! Sandra and Esaú love to cook, and the family even has some nights where they eat vegetarian meals (I call myself a 90% vegetarian because I will eat some meat when traveling or as a guest in someone's home). Sandra especially likes to make desserts, and she sells the empanadas and cookies that she makes every day. I can't wait to cook together! And we all love chocolate and coffee--excellent.

My family is also very active. Sometimes, they like to walk or bike up the hill behind their house. Sandra used to be a spin class teacher and a very good volleyball player, and Diandra likes to go to the gym (hopefully I can join her soon- I'm pretty sure I am turning into a potato because we've eaten them at nearly every meal so far.)

After dropping off my luggage at the house, Sandra, Diandra, and Esaú took me to a vegetarian restaurant. So sweet of them! The food was delicious. We walked around a bit afterwards and they took me to a place called El Correo. There are a lot of book stands there, which provoked a lot of conversation about our favorite books and recommendations of what we should all read next. I bought a book of quotes from the author Paulo Coelho- me encanta!

As we walked out of El Correo, the rich sound of marching bands floated toward us. We went to investigate, and found ourselves next to an entrada (parade/procession going to a church) for the festival of San Joaquín. There were dozens of groups playing instruments and performing dances, all dressed in distinct outfits according to which part of the country they came from. My host family told me that there are always lots of fiestas (festivals/celebrations) going on in Bolivia.

My family lives on a hill in the north part of Cochabamba, in a lovely house overlooking the city. I met the dog, Moka, and the cat, Milu. I can already tell we're going to be best friends. :) We all took looooong descansos (naps) when we got home, and then I showed them some photos of family, friends, and places in the U.S. Later, we had a little snack of pan y cafecito (bread and coffee- in Bolivia, it's typical to have a light snack in the evening rather than a full dinner).

My siblings had plans with friends for the evening, so I got to have some quality time with my mamá. Sandra taught me how to make the cookies that she sells- little round wafer cookies with dulce de leche cream in the middle, rolled in coconut powder. ¡Que ricas! We spent the evening talking about the politics of Evo Morales (president of Bolivia), President Obama, and the presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. I also learned a lot about Sandra's relatives, many of which live in Cochabamba and the surrounding area.

Can't wait to spend more time with mi nueva familia. ¡Hasta pronto!

With love and gratitude,

Theresa