Buen provecho

The food in Bolivia is very good. Meat and potatoes are central to the diet here. There are not that many good quality vegatables which is hard because I have really developed a craving for dark greens. Fruits are abundant and can be found in the market year round. The fresh fruit juices sold all over the streets of Sucre are amazing and extremely refreshing. My personal fruit favorites are the mango manzanas and the maracuyas (passion fruit). Bolivians tend to eat a lot of carbohydrates; white bread, rice, pasta or fideo, and quinoa (an amazing source of protien) always accompany chicken, chancho (pork), or carne (red meat) dishes. Unfortunately, Bolivia is a landlocked country so seafood is extremely hard to come by. However, I have sought out the few resturants in Sucre that are known for their seafood when I needed the fix and they are pretty descent. On a side note, La Paz has a good amount of fish because of its close proximity to Lake Titicaca. Bolivians for the most part to not use a wide range of spices. Salt is central to every meal. I hardly ever see pepper. Ahi is a tasty spice used on many of the Bolivian dishes. It is red in color, a little spicy, and absolutely delicious. Yaqua, a picante salsa, is another personal favorite of mine and I put it on everything!

Almusquivar news

 

pictures taken later at Ale and Julio’s wedding

Ale, my younger hermana is engaged! Wedding is set for March. Looks like I will be able to experience a Bolivian wedding!

Back to normal

Sucre is back to normal now and the police are back in the city.  It is wierd to think that just a week ago it felt like a civil war was about to start. You can still see remnants of the fighting around the city. There is a lot of hate graffiti against Evo, and my flip flops and feet still turn a little black from the ash left over from the burning tires that the university students set up around the city as roadblocks. 

I have my first day of work at the Psicopedagogico hospital today. Basically it is just a short get accuainted day but I am really looking forward to meeting the kids and getting a better feel for what I will be doing there becuase as of now, I really have no clue what my job will entail.