Okay, like two useful things. I want to write more about my crazy first few days back in Bolivia, but I figure once I have a decent schedule and routine figured out, I'll have more time to write reflective things. I just don't want to have to handwrite these things in my journal before I go to sleep tonight.
1. The red bus
Thanks to my Airbnb host, I've been getting to know some of the buses that would take me around the part of Cochabamba where I'm living. Mostly I've been trying to stare at a map of Cochabamba and memorize the major avenues that exist near where I live, in order to be able to ask random bus drivers that pass by if they stop along some of them because there isn't a definitive bus map anywhere (like in Kigali and like in many other places); people just kinda know and tell the driver when they're getting off. This morning, in order to get to the Cochabamba International Church for mass, we took a big red bus that stopped along a stop on Avenida Simón López, one of the major streets our neighborhood is located next to. The bus basically goes down this avenue all the way until it ends at the Plazuela de Cala Cala, where there are a bunch of banks and a big church, which was not the church we went to. We got off at the edge of the roundabout then had to cross the street basically to make a semicircle onto the other side of the roundabout and go down that street, which Google Maps is telling me is called Juan Huallparimachi. I'm pointing this out because I saw a place called Cowork Café on that street and seeing how close it is to my house, it looks like a good place to check out sometime.
Oh yeah, a one way trip costs 1.50 Bolivianos. 7 Bolivianos = $1 USD. Like, I can't even get a one way trip in Boston on bus for $1.50 USD.
2. Tacos à la Jenny
Jenny is my Airbnb host. She is an amazing chef and is making me feel extremely ashamed that I don't even know how to fry an egg (rightfully so). My time in her house is teaching me to become a real person and I'm so thankful. Anyway tonight, we made these absolutely delicious tacos. They weren't tacos like I would find in a traditional Mexican place, but as Jenny said, "You can put anything in tortillas." So here is what we put in tacos and how I saw her prepare everything!
Chicken
Chicken was the meat of today. Jenny just sliced chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces, put them in a pan with olive oil, onions, ketchup, soy sauce, and squeezed papaya juice from papaya slices. Would honestly have never thought of that. Left them to simmer in the marinade or something like that.
Corn
I used a knife to take all the kernels out. They were rather large, way bigger than corn I was used to. Anyway she also put them in a pan with olive oil and cilantro.
Salad
As a precaution it's necessary to wash all fresh vegetables here. So with boiled water that had cooled down (I'm pretty sure), she washed this bag lettuce, put it in a bowl, sliced a large mushroom, put this seasoning powder, and just mixed it.
Guacamole
I sliced avocados because I can at least do that (I ate avocados so many times in Rwanda), put all the good stuff in a bowl, and mashed them to make guacamole. We added olive oil and seasoning powder.
Secret sauce
Holy shit, this sauce was the bomb. She asked me if I liked spicy food, and I said I really do, so she took out some chili peppers from the fridge then had me cut them into little bits using kitchen scissors and put them into this sauce bowl. Then I cut cilantro and added it, then she added soy sauce and something called azucar negra or something like that. I need to verify. Anyway then mixed it and it was one of the best sauces I've ever eaten.
I think that's it? There was also mayonnaise and sweet potato on hand–and tortillas, of course–but that's just kind of self-explanatory. Yup, there it is. Hope I get to try this out again sometime soon!
1. The red bus
Thanks to my Airbnb host, I've been getting to know some of the buses that would take me around the part of Cochabamba where I'm living. Mostly I've been trying to stare at a map of Cochabamba and memorize the major avenues that exist near where I live, in order to be able to ask random bus drivers that pass by if they stop along some of them because there isn't a definitive bus map anywhere (like in Kigali and like in many other places); people just kinda know and tell the driver when they're getting off. This morning, in order to get to the Cochabamba International Church for mass, we took a big red bus that stopped along a stop on Avenida Simón López, one of the major streets our neighborhood is located next to. The bus basically goes down this avenue all the way until it ends at the Plazuela de Cala Cala, where there are a bunch of banks and a big church, which was not the church we went to. We got off at the edge of the roundabout then had to cross the street basically to make a semicircle onto the other side of the roundabout and go down that street, which Google Maps is telling me is called Juan Huallparimachi. I'm pointing this out because I saw a place called Cowork Café on that street and seeing how close it is to my house, it looks like a good place to check out sometime.
Oh yeah, a one way trip costs 1.50 Bolivianos. 7 Bolivianos = $1 USD. Like, I can't even get a one way trip in Boston on bus for $1.50 USD.
2. Tacos à la Jenny
Jenny is my Airbnb host. She is an amazing chef and is making me feel extremely ashamed that I don't even know how to fry an egg (rightfully so). My time in her house is teaching me to become a real person and I'm so thankful. Anyway tonight, we made these absolutely delicious tacos. They weren't tacos like I would find in a traditional Mexican place, but as Jenny said, "You can put anything in tortillas." So here is what we put in tacos and how I saw her prepare everything!
Chicken
Chicken was the meat of today. Jenny just sliced chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces, put them in a pan with olive oil, onions, ketchup, soy sauce, and squeezed papaya juice from papaya slices. Would honestly have never thought of that. Left them to simmer in the marinade or something like that.
Corn
I used a knife to take all the kernels out. They were rather large, way bigger than corn I was used to. Anyway she also put them in a pan with olive oil and cilantro.
Salad
As a precaution it's necessary to wash all fresh vegetables here. So with boiled water that had cooled down (I'm pretty sure), she washed this bag lettuce, put it in a bowl, sliced a large mushroom, put this seasoning powder, and just mixed it.
Guacamole
I sliced avocados because I can at least do that (I ate avocados so many times in Rwanda), put all the good stuff in a bowl, and mashed them to make guacamole. We added olive oil and seasoning powder.
Secret sauce
Holy shit, this sauce was the bomb. She asked me if I liked spicy food, and I said I really do, so she took out some chili peppers from the fridge then had me cut them into little bits using kitchen scissors and put them into this sauce bowl. Then I cut cilantro and added it, then she added soy sauce and something called azucar negra or something like that. I need to verify. Anyway then mixed it and it was one of the best sauces I've ever eaten.
I think that's it? There was also mayonnaise and sweet potato on hand–and tortillas, of course–but that's just kind of self-explanatory. Yup, there it is. Hope I get to try this out again sometime soon!
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