Politics
Not sure what it is I miss the most about Bolivia. I do know that I miss talking about politics with the family. We talk politics while we eat, on the micro, during TV shows, and each night before bed. The family here is very well read and my abuelo remembers everything from back then (well kinda). Here is the new report, read to the bottom… cause guess what? Pictures!

12-18-2003 Irish Pub
On the blog of my brother Andres he mentioned the Irish Pub, a place I actually have never been to in Santa Cruz. The place is right on the plaza on the second floor of the Shopping Boliviar and has huge signs above it. I went up for a late lunch and checked it out.

The view was awesome, got some nice pictures from up there and a coke. The menu they brought me was in half English half Spanish (maybe I got the gringo version, but I think they are all like that). Also while I was up there I met a group of Canadian guys who were trying to pick up a pair of beautiful cruceñas who happened to be eating there as well. The food was not so good, and I always forget that in Bolivia refills on coke are not free (Ramiro this place is for you), so each time I get my bill anywhere I rack up the price on the refills. Which to a Bolivian is very expensive, I usually pay 5 Bolivianos per each coke, so for the 4 cokes I had, we are talking almost 3 dollars! For that I could of bought Toby Burger for myself and one of my cousins...

I took the long way home. I decided to walk the micro route, stopping along the way to take pictures and buy more items. I got a pair of head phones (the little ear bud ones) for one one dollar, and bought some DVDs. Well actually they are VCDs. I got American Pie II and the Gladiator. What is funny is that when you go into a store they ask you if you want the original DVD or if you wanted a copied VCD. DVDs are about 24 dollars and the VCDs are 3 bucks. Easy choice. The quality is not as great, but not that bad. All the stores here sell copied stuff, CDs, DVDs, VHS, mix tapes, everything.

After walking for more then an hour on my micro route I got tired. I had been walking all day, nearly 6 hours now. All the stuff I bought was getting heavy in my hand. So I stopped, flagged a micro and off I went home. Dinner was interesting as always. Abuelita trying to get a word in around abuelo and Jorge, the three of them arguing over a food recipe, which president ruined the country more, or who is playing futbol next week. Everyone once in a while Loyda and I would make eye contact, shrug our shoulders and watch them argue.

Now when I say argue I don't mean fight, I mean discuss, in a special Centellas kind of way. Anyone who knows my family well, knows us Centellas sure like to contradict whatever it is you have to say, and then argue it until we have no breath to keep on going. Or we get hungry, which ever comes first.

The abuelitos go to bed these days right after dinner. For being in their late 80's they sure look good. My abuelita has lost most of her eye sight but gets around just fine. My abuelito is still as feisty as ever. He works around the house in his sleeveless shirt, always quick to help my tio with anything.

Abuelita went to bed first, and then began another argument over a food recipe. We were talking about all the things I wanted to eat. On each recipe they would argue, over how much of this... how long you cook it... with rice or potatoes... how to prepare the yuca... the list goes on. What is funny is that my abuelito can barely cook, from what I have seen he is very slow in the kitchen and can rarely even find napkins in there let alone salt or other things to cook with. With abuelita not able to cook she sits in the kitchen and tells them what to do. I am excited to see this process. Monday... the Centellas family chefs (Jorge and Abuelo) and their instructor (Abuelita) will cook for Miguel and I. Can't wait.

Before bed I had some Mate with tio. He taught me some etiquete with the Mate and how to prepare it. I have to get me a good mate bowl to take home. He gave me a packet of his favorite mate and I can't wait to drink it at home. I think I might become a more avid mate drinker, replace coffee in my life.

12-19-2003 Fricase, fricase, fricase
I have a few foods in Bolivia that are my favorite. Of course you all have read about my love for cuñapes which are a small bread made with interesting cheese and floor (maybe my mom will leave a comment with the recipe). My true favorite food is chuño, which is a basically a freeze dried potato, but done naturally in the mountains, I can explain more to those interested later. I am sure on my way to La Paz I will pass by some places that make it. Then is my fricase... ah.

Fricase is a soup. Eating it is nearly a ritual here. Almost like Mexican menudo (but different meat), which is why I think I like Mexican soups like menudo and pozole so much over there. They cook the soup early in the morning and more typically on the weekends. Like menudo it is used for hangovers, or after a long night of partying. Me, I am just going with my tio and abuelito. Half the adventure was just watching them argue or which place we should go to, my abuelito saying, "If we take him to the wrong place his whole vacation will be ruined because he has some terrible fricase... let me pick the place, I know the best fricase in town." Everything to my grandpa is very dramatic.

Alright, I must shower and hit the road. Today will be fun. After the fricase I am going to my cousin David's work at 1:30. Then I am going to meet up with the rest of my cousins and tonight we are going out. I hope Miguel gets here soon, everyone wants to go to Semipata now, looks like we will have a big gang and it will be a blast! I got to get on ticket prices.

The fricase was great. Sitting with just the men was nice, had some Malta and fricase and then I headed downtown. I wanted to post this and them some pictures before going to David´s. It is crazy hot today, but a nice breaze is blowing so that helps a lot.

Pictures!

Picture from the window in La Paz from the plane. Mt. Ilimani.

Here you can see the difference from the two cities. This view of Rio Pirai shows how tropical the other side of the country is.

There is always some type of student protest in Santa Cruz. This is right on the plaza.

Around the main plaza are all the government buildings.

Beautiful palm trees line each side of the plaza.

The streets are always busy, vendors line each corner and everyone is on their cell phone.

The inside of the social that would not let me eat there cause of my attire.

I remember when they first built this, it was the tallest in Santa Cruz.

When I ran into the abuelitos in the plaza. They were feeding the pigeons.

I scared off the birds, but it made for a great picture.

Every store has pretty girls in front to try and lure you in. And if you set foot in the store they won´t let you leave until they have shown you everything. Talk about sales people on commision.

The Irish Pub in Shopping Bolivar. Great Location.

As I walk all the girls like to make gringo comments. These ones saw me with my camera and wanted me to take their picture.

Then I had the girls take my picture, finally a vacation picture that I am in. Gracias Cruceñas.

From the Irish Pub I had a great view of the Cathedral, beautiful huh

I also love the cars here, some of them you can not get in the USA. I have no clue what type of car this one.

Full size picture gallery coming soon.

Continued
Since the internet is dirt cheap, and easy to get to I think I shall post most days in the morning. I am trying to plan a trip for this weekend to Semipata. We will see how that pans out. But for now, I am in the city and posting. Also, no comments on grammar, I am not proof reading much. I am just trying to get as much down, as fast as possible so I can get back to being a tourist.

12-17-2003 The Tourist
I was super tourist all day! For real. I took about 180 pictures of downtown Santa Cruz. I did not get many of the surrounding city so I will carry the camera again tomorrow. So more walking and photo taking tomorrow.

So far I have taken every imaginable picture, at every angle of the plaza downtown. It is so beautiful, and they are doing even more construction to repair some of the buildings. The colors, architecture, style, and people were just amazing. I got some amazing shots. No sloths in the trees of the plaza though, they took them all to the zoo. Abuela told me the one had a baby so they took them to a safer place. I will have to get to the zoo to visit them.

I walked, and walked, and shopped, and walked, and shopped, and walked, and shopped, and walked, and then ate. I did not buy Bolivian souvenirs yet, just two shirts for me... but I priced out all the stuff people wanted me to bring. Prices can vary a lot from store to store here on touristy things, especially for a gringo like me. So I got to watch out so I don't get jacked on the price again. I had the best lunch, kinda boring eating alone, but the food was amazing. I ate surubi, which is a type of fish. Of course accompanied by some potatoes and a coca-cola. Then I left to walk some more and take a few more pictures.

As I was returning to the plaza, taking a few more pictures, I was distracted by a beautiful cruceña... and when I looked up... there were los abuelos. They were sitting on a park bench, talking and relaxing. I took a few pictures of them before they could notice me, and then walked up and asked, "una photo?", before realizing it was me they waved me off thinking I was some beger with a camera. Then we sat, I took more pictures and we fed the pigeons. Of course we discussed Bolivian politics, and the reasons why Miguel should be president, bought some cafe con leche, and headed back on the micro.

I just had dinner with everyone at the house (Jorge, Loyda, y los abuelos). Abuelita told me she does not like to be called abuela, I got to remember that. We talked politics again, and abuelo complained that from the ministers to the vagabonds; everyone in Bolivia is corrupt. Everyone will cheat you, from the micro driver, to the cabinet staff of the president, to the girl from the shoe store last night.

Now I am waiting for Ivan to come over. He brought his two kids and later on his wife joined us as well. We had a great talk about politics, how much money Tiger Woods makes (it was on the news he made 100 million this year), how our kids are doing (well he has kids, I have kid), and what we are doing the rest of my time in Santa Cruz. Ivan has a soccer game on Saturday I think I will go watch, and it looks like Sunday we are off to Semipata.

It is now time for bed. I am getting a much more regular sleep pattern these days. Feels good and very refreshing. Off to downtown tomorrow, right now I am downloading all my pictures from today, charging my camera and getting ready for another day as a tourist.

12-18-2003 The Tourist II: Chammy on the loose
I headed downtown. I did some shopping, and this time for other people. Trying to find gifts for the family back home and my friends as well. Touristy things are kinda expensive though, especially for a gringo like me. They do not mark prices here often, they tell you the price according to what they think you will pay. I did find a store, with a nice couple working and they had great prices. They seemed honest, and had christian music playing. The wife was pregnant, and they offered me deals on everything. Much better prices then what I looked at yesterday. So I bought the place out. I think after me they were going to shut the doors.

Then I walked to the plaza. Taking more pictures. Speaking of pictures, an email on one of fraternity list serves had me cracking up this morning. My fraternity Brother Rey Myles posted this quote, ¨I hope you got some digital pics to put up...this way I can see the "real" Bolivia through your eyes and not some wack book with pictures of some old dude standing by a basket full of whatever harvest that just got picked and some mountains in the background wearin' a throwback pancho he jacked from some Australian tourist back in '78.¨ Too funny bro, and yes I got the real scoop.

I was excited to come and eat at the private social club on the plaza. However, since I decided to enjoy the warm weather and act extra American I wore shorts and flip flops. It is mad hot, I was not about to wear jeans and dress shoes. They would not let me in, they didn´t even ask me to pay to get in. So to put a long story short, I got disced.

So now I am back in Shopping Bolivar (the mall on the plaza) in the cyber cafe. It is funny that everything in this city closes from noon to 2. Lunch time. The only things open are the street vendors, cyber cafes, and places to eat. I am sitting next to some business man who is watching a DVD here on his lunch break. Well I got to send out this post, and then head off to take more pictures. On the way here I stopped a few times and got off the micro to walk and take pictures of different parts of the city. I figure at 20 cents American per ride I can afford to get on and off a few times in the name of my photo journal of Bolivia.

Update
While in Bolivia I will write often, and post when I get the chance. So it will be more of a digest instead of daily posts. I will have dates throughout my posts to let you know where I am and what I did. Pictures will be posted when I can, but more the most part I doubt it at least until I get to La Paz with Miguel.

12-15-2003 The Trip
Well I am on the plane to Miami right now. It got delayed at O'Hare and I am a little worried about how tight my time will be to get to my terminal for my flight to Bolivia. This is two days in a row I was delayed in O'Hare... coincidence? I think not.

I rode here with Hermen and Ramiro. While on the highway we got passed by some Betas from University of Michigan. Abel and Ricardo passed us, I happened to make eye contact with Abel and we were both surprised. We yelled at each other through open car windows at 80-mph and then went on our merry way. The airport was big and crazy. We got food for 30 bucks at some hot dog stand... 30 bucks! Ouch. But I covered it as a thanks to my Brothers for bringing me. Thanks again guys. Sorry we didn't get Giardanos Pizza Hermen, next time.

My flight got delayed, and I just happened to be sitting waiting next to the most annoying people ever some Wisconsin. Talk about weird uneventful stories, which they laughed at while telling. Man, some people just manage to entertain themselves with the most worthless things. Oh well.

The cool thing about the delay is that I got to chat with Novali more. She was funny, she kept saying things, telling me to look, and then she would crack up. Not sure what she was doing, but she found herself very funny. She made some funny animal sounds for me, and then told me she had to go, she was busy. Funny little girl. I will miss not seeing her for the holidays...

I just got done reading the new issue of Sport Compact Car. Guess what car was in the burnout section? None other then a Nissan NX 2000. Nice to see my model Nissan getting some media coverage. Now I am sitting wondering what it is that I forgot... I just know I forgot something. Maybe I will remember once I land in Miami.

My time in Miami was very short. Barely 40 minutes to cross that huge airport and get to my plane. Once on the plane it was a little delayed and I got to make some phone calls and say bye to those I had not called yet. Nothing like making those last minute calls before leaving the country.

With my luck I got to sit next to a family with kids. A little girl about 5, one about 7, and a boy about maybe 2 or 3. They are funny to watch, two parents trying to control three rowdy kids on a plane. I am sure many other passengers get annoyed, but I enjoy it. I guess I now see what mom and dad went through traveling with us three boys... bet we weren't much fun on the plane. When we were sitting in the airport the little girl asked, "Porque aren't we moving?" Reminded me of Novali's Spanglish.

I just got handed this customs sheet, not sure how to fill it out. Figure it isn't a huge deal or the directions would be more clear. So I am leaving a few things blank for now and I guessed on a few items. I did realize that I am not allowed to travel with two laptops, so I guess it is a good thing that I did not end up getting one for my cousin Ivan. It might have caused me trouble at the border.

The flight has a lot of Bolivian military on it, kinda strange. They have UN Badges and look really young. In a time of unrest throughout Bolivia this bothers me a little. Oh well, what can I do? Changing the subject, I wonder what the in-flight movie will be... but I think I am going to try to catch some Zs.

12-16-2003 The Landing
Well I landed. Touched down first in La Paz, then on to Santa Cruz. It felt good landing there, knowing I was back in Bolivia. It has been over 3 years since my last trip. I have been away from family, sites, and Bolivian food for far too long. I have a lot of catching up to do.

I am on the La Paz run way right now. The song Beautiful Day by U2 is on, the sun is glaring off the wing of the plane and the sights out my window are making my day. What is not making my day is that the captain keeps asking if there is a medical doctor on board. Hm... kinda like from the movie Airplane with Leslie Nielson. At least that is all I am thinking of. I took some pictures from the plane window of Mt. Ilimani. It was amazing, the sharp mountain peak breaking through the clouds with the sun reflecting off of the royal point.

Now I am waiting to fly home; funny that I still call Santa Cruz home. It always feels like home when I am there. My Spanish is mediocre at best, childhood memories of my family traditions leave much to be desired and I have not seen the faces of my family in over 3 years. I can't wait!

My Tio Adrian and abuelo came to get me from the Santa Cruz Viru Viru Airport. They were a sight for sore eyes. It was raining in Santa Cruz, a crazy down pore. It has been off and on since then, the roads are all wet. It feels good to be in town. My abuela is already fussing over me. Bringing me flip-flops to wear around the house, double-triple checking to see if I have had enough coffee, and reminding me that even though she can't see very well she will get me whatever I want. I am used to being really independent, but I know she needs to do some things for me to feel needed. Little does she know that all she needs to do is sit and tell me stories, but I guess some coffee goes well with abuela's stories, so I will let her get me another cup.

Tio Jorge and Tia Loyda will be my gracious hosts during my stay here. Oscar, one of my cousins near my age is coming over at 8 pm, I think we will go and see the Matrix. Last time I was here I saw Matrix part one like 5 times. I mean when a show is like $2 why not? The rest of the afternoon will be spent relaxing, stretching my legs and telling all the stories about the family back home to my abuelos.

I am excited to get out and see all the sites. Rio Pirai, Casco Viejo, La Plaza, Shopping Bolivar, and get my shoes shined downtown. The phone keeps ringing, all my cousins are calling. I am excited to see everyone. I am staying kinda far from town but taxis are cheap (well cheap to me) and micros are cheaper (20 cents American). Miguel is set to arrive here on Monday, then we will stay until after Christmas and then head to La Paz for New Years and lots of family visiting and sight seeing as well.

Santa Cruz has grown, a lot. But the good ol' downtown is unchanged. I headed down there after a short nap and a late lunch. I took Micro Azul 21, abuelo said it would pass right by the plaza. He even drew me a map, he took out his pencil (always has one in his shirt pocket) and his pad of paper and made a little map. I thought he actually meant right by the plaza. After noticing that downtown was getting farther away, I jumped off the micro and headed back. I realized the micro only went three blocks away from the plaza (the plaza was not in the drawing so I should of known). Good thing I still remember my way around Santa Cruz.

First stop; Kivon. Had to get some ice cream and cuñape at my all time favorite place. Next time I will stop and eat inside with the parrots, monkeys and other wildlife they might happen to have in their little tropical wonderland masquerading as an ice cream place. Got to love it. Pictures coming soon

Next stop; Plaza 24 de September. It has not changed, but was busier then ever. I could not find any sloths in the trees (sloths are my favorite animal), but I did use the rental cell phones. What is a rental cell phone you might ask, well let me explain. There are people in the plaza wearing colored vests, you go up to them, show them a phone number and they call for you. Once you are done with the call they check the minutes used and bill you. How convenient. You also can get your picture taken from an old school camera (I will get one tomorrow), buy flowers for your girl, or get a sweet shoe polish (Hermen you would be jealous). I used my call to tell my primo Oscar that I am downtown and he does not have to come to get me from the house. I decided to kill some time and then head to his work.

To welcome me home I got ripped off buying shoes. I wanted a nice pair of black shoes, and what better way to get welcomed home then to get hustled cause I am a gringo. Somehow during the negotiation I got confused and walked out thinking I got a good deal. But a few blocks and two cuñapes later... bam! It hit me, she ripped me off. I really need to carry a calculator on me. Either way 35 bucks for some nice dress shoes isn't bad, and I guess I am doing my part of circulating the Bolivia economy.

Once Oscar got off work we went to none other then... Toby Burger! Man it was just as good as I remember. His wife came along and we had a great walk (stopped at Kivon for more ice cream) and then headed home. I sat the rest of the night at the house. Had the typical Centellas discussion over politics and why Bolivia is still poor. Drank some Coca-Cola (seriously it tastes better here) and then went to bed.

Right now I am trying to sleep, but can't because I am anxious for tomorrow. The schedule for now is to head downtown and be a tourist. I will be packing the camera and taking Santa Cruz by storm. I will get all the pictures out of the way in one day. So hopefully I won't look too much like a tourist the rest of time (I think the pasty skin, poor spanish, wide-eyed look, and American clothes give me way anyways).

12-17-2003 Yes I am fat
I got up around 9 am, didn't want to pull a Miguel and sleep until noon. I had some good breakfast and watched the abuelos work around the house. My abuelos live here with my Tio Jorge, they have a spare room which is great and I am glad to have a place to stay. I dropped off some clothes to get washed, and now am going to jump in the shower.

Loyda's father was at the house this morning as well. When introduced the first comment was, "estas gordo." What's the deal? Every single member of my family has commented on my fatness. Not in a derogatory way, but still. Everyone here is so skinny and in shape. I guess I will have to get used to it, got a lot more family members to meet. Alright, the pity party is over, I got to get ready and hit the road.

First thing after hitting downtown... cyber cafe. I can not go much more then 3 days without internet. My mailbox fills up, and I just need to be connected. So first stop was to a computer. After this I am off to an exciting photo shoot of my Santa Cruz. Pictures coming soon

Los abuelos dicen hola a toda la familia alli! Abuelo reminded me 5 times before leaving to say that en mi pagina de internet. Lunch time.

Bolivia!
I am packed. Got to run a few errands and I am done. One hour ahead of schedule. I am very excited, nervous and just wanting to get on the road. I am walking around the house, assuming I forgot something. I hope not.

I will be blogging from Bolivia, but more then likely without pictures since I will not have my laptop on me. Maybe I will find a way to post some pictures. Either way, keep checking here for updates. Ramiro, Hermen and I leave for the airport in a few minutes. Take care everyone! Be safe, and have a happy holidays. I will miss all of you, and bring back tons of pictures... and if you are lucky a gift. Anyone need a llama wool sweater?

Peace!

Not in First Class
~ I am writing this post while on the plane.

The San Antonio trip is over. The conference was excellent, some great stories to share and funny times with the Betas, team GVSU, and all my AFA/NIC friends. Right now I am writing this from the plane, with Shawna stressing over the fact that sometimes planes can crash on take off (she was really scared). I have never really been scared on planes, I get on, find my seat, take my shoes off, and pretend like I am in first class (we are one row behind them) by putting my feet up on the seat (or wall) in front of me. Good times.



The conference ended well. Our stay at the Quinta hotel (it was across the street) was interesting. The sign in front read, "Yes we are still open", how inviting. It was next to a Denny's and one night walking home I got to watch the cops wrestle a guy to the floor while he still yelled what he planned to do to the other guy. What fun. But we got free continental breakfast, so it worked out. The cinnamon twists were awesome.

The closing banquet was great. Ammar (SLB President) did the invocation and showed how much of a powerhouse the Betas really are in the Greek world. It was a good feeling sitting with all the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NALFO) and we represented for the cultural Greeks. The weekend of networking was great. We also had a mini GVSU reunion when we all skipped a session to watch the national championship football game. We won the game, and then Shawna and I ran to some receptions.

One of the best parts of this conference are the fun receptions. It is a nice change to catch up with some folks and have a beer and talk about how work, school and family life are going. I love being in such a personable field. Example; when I saw Jon Hockman, who is one of most well know Greeks in the country (Delt Sig Executive Director for many years, now a consultant) the first thing he asked was about Novali. How cool is that?

It was also a good time at the Order of Omega reception to get recognized again for the hard work on winning the case study. The Order of Omega scholarships and competition are all normally dominated by folks from BGSU. It was nice for us to get some representation for our program at GVSU.



~ Right now the first class people are getting their hot towels. Would it be that hard for the rest of us 'common' folk to get a hot towel?

We land in a Ohare in a few hours, then a one hour layover and off to Grand Rapids. Tonight I will have to pack, hopefully talk to all my family, do the Beta photoshoot, relax (not too much), take care of some school items, and get everything ready to fly to the homeland. I am so excited.

I am sure you are wondering what I mean with Beta photoshoot. I was asked to help do some pictures for the new national website. So as part of my break this afternoon when I am in Michigan I invited the GVSU and WMU Betas to come over and we will take tons of pictures. I want some fun shots, I was hoping for some snow to get those pictures but no luck (probably a good thing since I am flying and all).

Being sick is no fun right now. I have been sick for the last few days, all the stress and traveling caught up with me. Shawna and Aaron were hoping I would not give it to them. I hope not to, cause being sick sucks. Especially for me since tomorrow I have to fly again. This entire weekend I had to run to the bathroom to blow my nose and it just plane out sucked. I am not a huge medicine person either, but I just might have to pick up some 'Tussin. At least the sun burn (okay... 'tanner' burn) is starting to feel better.

Well I am on the plane, and I think I might try to get some sleep. Shawna is eating her granola bar one kernal at a time, I inhaled mine, and now I need sleep. Oh yeah, this time I got the whole coke can, not just that mini-cup with lots of ice and a little pop. The whole can! It is the small things which make me feel special, I mean since I am not in first class.

I will post this when I touch down in Michigan. Adios!