Just a photo set with descriptions

I don't really have any particular themes I want to touch upon on this blog entry, so I figured I'd take a selection of photos that I took throughout this past week or so since the last time I posted and talk a little about them for this weekend update.

Last Sunday, I visited a charango workshop with Ignacio and his friend Daniel. It's kind of far from the city center (not as far out as my field site though), but thankfully Ignacio was able to drive us out. I met the charango maker, Alberto, during Parlana the language exchange night, since one of the live performers was a charango player whose instrument was made by him. I had such a fun time picking out the designs and type of charango that I wanted and I can't wait to pick it up! My ukulele is gonna have a baby brother :') Not sure what I'll name it yet but it'll come.

I wish all my field notes looked like this. The animal is a dog that I drew from above that was laying on the ground next to me, and I visited one of the women's houses so I sketched out a floor plan and one of the tables she had in her house with stuff on it. 

The red gate is where the office is located and where most community savings group meetings in this area are held, and the large flat open space is basically where the end of line 108 is. It's from there that I take a minibus to get back to the main part of town, and there's also a woman who cooks at a stand and provides food for drivers taking breaks. 

This was taken in a barrio even farther from the city center than the one where the office is based at. There were some children coming or going from school, since they had backpacks on, and you can see one on the swing set in the background. 

In current news, a municipal law regarding the land regularization process was just passed. Guess I'll have to read it at some point. Anyway, it's always fun when things relevant to your research come up on the news, and to have to think about how it's going to apply to the people I'm working with in the barrio. 

This is the beautiful Plaza 14 de Septiembre, one of the main landmarks of Cochabamba. I ended up there on my own just to roam around and continue exploring the city. After I took this picture, I put my phone back in my pocket, and then when I took it out again to take another picture, the screen was black and the phone wouldn't turn on no matter what I did. I freaked out a little because my phone is my lifeline, so I roamed around the area looking around for some kind of place that might be able to repair it. I ended up going into this Entel (mobile carrier) store and internet café and went to a guy at a table in the back and asked if he'd know a place that could repair it. He said, "Right here," and I was relieved. Thankfully it turned out to be some kind of glitch in the software and he was able to restart my phone without any issues. Also still feeling proud of myself for taking care of such mundane life activities in Spanish. 

After the phone fiasco, I roamed around that area a little bit more and stumbled upon this library in the corner of a narrow street. I didn't go to the area where you can take books out but they did have this reading space, and I was the only one there, and I had things I needed to read, so I hung around a little. I'll probably be back, considering how close it is to the beautiful main square. 

This is Niky, one of my best friends in the city. I spend at least every Saturday with her and she has been such a good friend, making sure I feel included and introducing me to people. We went to a house party that one of her friends had for her birthday, and there we took this picture.

Overall I've been having a very rich experience and feel confident being a resident of Cochabamba. At the same time though, I can't help but think longingly about Boston, and am eager that each day that passes is a day closer to my return to the city I'm proud to call a home of mine. But for now, there's more work to be done and I'm gonna give it my all!