My apartment is a small, basic 3 bedroom place. The bathroom is huge. The kitchen and my bedroom have amazing views. None of the bedrooms have flooring, just concrete. The rest of the place is tiled. It's one floor below the street level, but because of the steep slopes, I still have awesome views. But there are no windows on the uphill side of the apartment. Most of my furniture and house stuff was left to me by a previous missionary that left shortly before I arrived. Huge blessing! I have a gas oven and stove. Gas is super cheap, but I have to buy it by the tank, which can be a bit of a hassle. I don't have a microwave, but I'm pretty ok with that. I have a little mini-fridge for perishables, but my kitchen is almost at fridge temperature! I don't have hot water. I boil water for drinking. My shower is heated by a small electric heater inside of the shower head. It works pretty well, but fluctuating water pressure means that I constantly need to adjust the flow to keep the temperature right. I wash my clothes by hand. I really hated it at first, but I've gotten into a rhythm now and don't mind too much. I wash once a week and it takes me about 1.5-2 hours. I bought a metal rack to hang my clothes on inside, since I don't like to risk hanging my clothes outside during rainy season while I'm at work or out of the house all day. I buy food at three different places. There are several small corner stores in my neighborhood where I buy bread and eggs and other small things. I buy my produce at a large market in El Alto where women set up their own stands with the produce that they have to sell. I also buy some dry goods at this market. I buy dairy and other random household items at the new super market in El Alto - Hipermaxi. I don't have internet in my apartment. But I do get good cell service, so one of my bosses sold me his USB modem. It works off of cell antenna signal and you buy credit via text messages in different packages of MBs. It works surprisingly well! Also - I have one roommate. She is Bolivian, grew up in the northern department of Beni. She just turned 20 and is studying gastronomy. It's always a challenge and an adventure to live with someone new. The fun thing as that we are both super goofy, love Jesus, and tend to play hard, especially on the soccer field.
I get to my house either by bus (called a micro) or by trufi (a collective taxi with a set route). I often opt for the micro because it's cheaper and it makes me feel closer to the people. But the trufi is definitely faster and more comfortable. One of the most frustrating parts of living in my neighborhood is the transportation. There is not nearly enough public transportation, especially during rush hour and late at night. A few days ago I walked up the main drag of downtown looking for my bus, but it never came. So I walked all the way back to the other side of downtown to find a trufi. The trufi line was huge and the sidewalk was all torn up. I ended up waiting in that line for almost an hour until I realized that the "real" trufi line had been moved a block over. I was so upset that I started to cry and I even verbally expressed by frustration to one of the trufi drivers and other people in the trufi line. My biggest pet peeve here is when taxis or minibuses pull up to offer rides to the people waiting in the trufi line. But for some reason they always pull up in the middle or end of the line. People sprint, push, and shove to get in the vehicle and cheat all the people ahead of them in line. I try to avoid using these cheater vehicles, by principle, because I think it's so unfair! I eventually made it home that night, after 2.5 hours battling with the ridiculous public transportation system. The next day someone reminded me that it was Father's day the previous day, so most of the drivers were probably out celebrating... i.e. drinking. :-/
I also wanted to share about a few of the interesting and unique aspects of living in Pasankeri. The main road through the neighborhood is paved, but most of the other roads, including mine, are cobblestone. I would call Pasankeri a lower middle class area, but it's definitely growing and changing rapidly. Many families are expanding their homes (upward) and the city has invested good money in the neighborhood to improve streets, utilities, etc., making it a "barrio de verdad" or a "real neighborhood". There is quite a bit of traditional culture in the neighborhood. Many of my older neighbors speak Aymara. Neighborhood associations are very involved in the welfare of the people and property of Pasankeri. From one of the community center buildings, neighborhood leaders often make announcements over a loud speaker about community meetings and things to be looking out for. Lately, the neighborhood has been buzzing about a suspicious white vehicle that has been connected to a recent robbery. I loved what one of the leaders said over the loud speaker last week, "we need to be good neighbors to one another and knowing your neighbors and communicating with each other is the best way to control crime in Pasankeri." Oh, and one thing that is interesting about my neighborhood is the hanging dummies that you will find about every block. The used to creep me out a little bit, but now they actually bring me a sense of security. The dummies are supposed to represent people that have been hanged for stealing. And yes, communities on the outskirts of La Paz as well as all through El Alto often take the discipline of criminals into their own hands, hanging or burning criminals caught in the act. It shows that communities are aware and involved in issues that affect them, but also shows how little faith is put into the criminal justice system here in Bolivia... and sadly, it's probably justified. Finally, one of the things that I love about Pasankeri and La Paz in general are the amazing murals! The one pictured below is my favorite one in Pasankeri! One last thing... the exciting news around La Paz is that there is a huge gondola system under construction to connect the cities of El Alto and La Paz. The first of the three lines is set to open to the public next month! The second line to open will start pretty close to Pasankeri. I walked over to check out the construction process a couple of weeks ago. Can't wait to try it out! That's all for now. I hope this post helps you understand more about my day-to-day life here in Bolivia!
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