Bolivia

Bolivians are very kind and very warm people for the most part. I think people who are from the Paz are often a little bit colder. They always say like the warmer the country is, the warmer the people are. So you know in the west of the country it's very cold and the people there are often a little bit colder. And then on the east of the country it's very hot and the people there are a lot friendlier. But Cochabamba is right in the middle and people come from all over and they're pretty warm and they're pretty accepting and they love to listen to what you have to say.

Don't take the kindness and generosity of the people for granted. They are amazingly generous and they will, every time they invite you in, they will usually give you a refresco, something to drink, either soda or pudding or jello, or I remember them having us drink a whole pitcher of tamarind juice. And just recognize that these people are, they're so poor, yet they give everything. They're super kind and super generous, such good people. So don't take that for granted, just thank them, be grateful to them, show your love back to them in any way that you can. They're just the best.

Don't be afraid to immerse yourself directly into the Libyan's culture. It is so beautiful with all the different dances, as well as a lot of the older women still have their typical dresses on with their long braids.

So Bolivians have a really, really rich, beautiful culture. They do a lot of different ceremonies, things like being the Pachamama, which is the mother earth. So they'll have different festivals and things to kind of bring honor to her in order to receive the blessings that they're looking for. So that's something that can be a little different. They'll have different offerings that they'll burn. So things like fake money or llama fetuses, which is a little different, coca leaves and things like that. And so usually that's on the first Thursday of the month in some of the different areas. And so you'll be able to smell it in the air. They do a lot of colorful dances, colorful dress. Chewing coca is a big part of their, I guess, culture as well. So you'll see a lot of people walking around with just kind of what looks like a wad in their cheeks.

With regard to the culture, I would say that no matter how much you think you won't have culture shock, you will, just because it is so different. And my advice would be to, as soon as you can, embrace the culture and just love it. There's, Bolivia is like the coolest country. There's so many, I just, I miss it. All the little tiendas, all the little chulitas, the little ladies in their traditional outfits, the music, the food, the way the people are, I'd say embrace it, love it, appreciate it. It's so fun. One of the things that was hard for me was greeting women. Women greet women by kissing. Sometimes it was one cheek and sometimes it was both cheeks every time. And when you say goodbye again, that was hard for me just because it's, you do it all the time, but just embrace it, embrace it all, and you will be so happy.

Bolivians are not that punctual. When you're passing by people and they're eating in a little pension, then you say provecho, and that's just like, have a great meal, have a great meal. And so you can say that to people. It's important to always finish your food, always do that. I mean, people offer you food and they are very generous and so just always try to finish your food. You can learn a little bit about their music because they have a lot of different parades that they do and dances. And so if you have a general knowledge of that, you can talk about it with them.

Dance and music are also a really big part of their culture. Every single region has a different dance and they practice those dances and they take it very seriously. Sometimes you get kind of caught in a parade and everybody in the entire town is there so you kind of just have to be there anyway. And it's really fascinating to see they spend months and months and months practicing these parades and then they do them and they do them all the time and they still practice months and months and months for them. So that's a really huge part of their culture. So mining is also a big part of the culture in some parts of the country like in Potosi and in Sucre. You know in the mines they worship El Tio which is basically the devil so you kind of have to be aware of that.