Bolivia Day 2

Our little delegation had decided that we would meet in the hotel lobby at 6:30 so that we'd have plenty of time to eat and socialize before our car came to get us at 7:30. In an out-of-character fit of punctuality, I headed down at 6:16 only to realize that no one else was down there. That's fine. No big deal. I decide to just head up to the room to spend some time with my roommates. No sooner had I entered the room that the phone rang. Being the only one who wasn't doing hair or make-up, I answered it.

It was our head delegate, Sheila. "Ally, I need you, Cindy, and Brittney to come downstairs right away. I have some disturbing news."

"Right. I will tell them." Because this is what I love to wake up to in the morning. Cindy and Brittney seem to feel the urgency of the situation so we grab our coats, binders and head down to the breakfast room. Of course, everyone is already there, seemingly having appeared out of thin air. They're all wearing the same solemn expression. I drag a chair over to Sheila and, being a bit too nauseous to eat (Thanks altitude sickness), I ask her what's going on. She tells me the sordid tale of how her class ring ($$$) and her roommate's iPhone ($$$) have disappeared. That, paired with the fact that the rooms had no heater/ac and it was WINTER TIME (the room temperature was 60 degrees), the fact that the other girls' room had no electricity whatsoever, the fact that the boys' room didn't have working plumbing and that another room had mold growing in it, led us to make the most obvious choice: we were going to have to leave the hotel.

We finish breakfast in the most awkward way possible and head upstairs to pack our things. We're all a little on edge and of course, feel so uncomfortable. We have our bags packed and are just doing the last sweep when we hear a crashing from the bathroom. We freeze of course because, due to the window in the bathroom, we think someone is breaking in. We cling together as the crashing and shattering glass continue. Finally, it stops long enough for us to poke on over to see what had happened. The bathroom light had fallen out, straight off of the ceiling, and exploded all over the floor.

We call the front desk to let them know what happened and run all the way to the lobby, still shaken from the experience. By then, again, everyone is there, wearing the expression that could only mean: "Is this really happening on our first Bolivian morning? Seriously? Whatever. Just , , , whatever."

Our professor is trying to explain what had happened to the manager, who cryptically alerts us that we should re-check our rooms for our missing items. So fine. The girls who had things taken went upstairs. Their things were still missing. The manager then suggests that we should check ALL of our rooms, just in case. The ring is recovered in the boys' room (strangely enough since none of us had gone into each other's rooms) and the cell phone in another room's safe. The hotel then accuses us of being liars. Our professor's jewelry never shows up. So we leave. We just roll ourselves out of the hotel at 9:00 am, the exact time that our convention is supposed to begin. But we won't be there. Because we're trying to find another place to stay. The hotel charges us for the light and calls the Bolivian police on us, who then proceed to follow us around for the REST OF THE DAY. This post is getting a bit long so I'll split it into two!

Bolivia Day 1

I know that chronologically, graduation should come first since I graduated a full TWO DAYS before I left for Bolivia but I've been missing these people and this place lately so I've decided to write this post first. Like I said, 2 days after my graduation, I had my bags packed and was sitting in the Dallas airport, getting ready for our 12 hour trip to Bolivia. Now, the flight itself is really only about 7 hours but we would have to fly from Dallas > Miami > La Paz > Cochabamba. I like to think of myself as a champion traveler so this seemed like no big deal.

There are a total of 10 kids going and maybe 10 minutes after getting to the gate, I find out who I'm sitting next to. His name is Ewan and he continues to pledge to constantly annoy me the entire time. He goes so far as to say that perhaps he should set an alarm to go off every 30 minutes in case he falls asleep so that he can wake me up and alert me to the status of the plane: It's flying. This is clearly going to be the best trip ever as is further evidenced by the following exchange:

Rafa (adorably awkward Puerto Rican friend): Cindy, wait, you dropped money! *chases her with $2*
Cindy: Oh, thanks Rafa.
Rafa: That's for last night -wink-

This marks inappropriate exchange #1 out of what will ultimately become 7402342, estimated. So I spend the flight doing sudoku with Ewan and we finally get to Miami where we have just enough time to dine before we get to La Paz. Now, just in case anyone doesn't know, Miami is basically at sea level. La Paz is at 13,000 feet elevation. This is a very rough transition on the human body. When we land, sleep-deprived and starving, 9 out of 10 of us are hit with this overwhelming feeling that we're going to pass out. 'Soroche' is what they call it in Spanish- altitude sickness. The ground keeps shifting beneath my feet and I can't shake the ever-present feeling of nausea. We end up seeking refuge in an oxygenated lounge until we check in to our flights. We then proceed to pass out on the plane the rest of the way to Cochabamba.

By now, we are sleep-deprived, sick and starving and the day has only just begun. I don't remember much about that day except sleeping, going out to eat. At some point we went out to go get water because at 9,000 feet elevation, one dehydrates pretty quickly. We're RSVPed to attend a cocktail party that'll kick the whole convention off so we make our way down to the venue. It turns out that the cocktail would not be held at the Regina Hotel but rather the Regina Hotel and Resort. Naturally, this resort in 45 minutes away. Taking into account the fact that we were already an hour and a half late, we decided to eat at some chain restaurant called Dumbo's. Then we slept some more. Truthfully, this was the last uneventful day we would have in Bolivia. The rest of the week, while exciting!, is legitimately insane.

Changes

A lot has happened since I last updated this blog. Among them are:

I became a college graduate.
I traveled to Bolivia and back.
I booked a plane ticket to London.
I started moving my life out of my apartment to head back home.

So many changes have been happening in the course of the last 2 weeks that I'm still having a hard time coming to terms with it all! For today, I have to watch an entire season of Doctor Who, eat a fridge full of food and move out EVERYTHING. (I feel like my things have multiplied...) I'll be back home tomorrow and I'll crank out the blog posts!

Hope everyone's having a happy May :)

Last morning of undergrad

You know, there are days that you wait your entire life still, but that you cannot possibly anticipate how they will occur. Today is my last morning as an undergraduate and I am beyond excited. I think. I can't really tell because of the obscene amounts of caffeine in my system. Apparently, a paper I'd done last night needs to actually be a research paper. Surprise! And there's still 2 finals to study for and a take-home portion to contend with but I know it will be okay. It'll be okay because this is it. Regardless of how anything turns out (with the exception of complete failure which will prevent be from graduating), this is my last morning of insanity until August when law school starts. So I will enjoy this . . . after 4 pm.