Saturday-Sunday

At 7 AM on Saturday, March 4th, our team left campus for Pittsburgh International Airport. 24 hours later we arrived in Cochabamba, after four flights and three countries and having come through the dual trials of immigration and altitude at La Paz. Welcomed by our fantastic companions from Amizade, Jean Carla and Rolando, our team (despite exhaustion) was really excited to become fully immersed into Cochabamba's culture. After a short rest at the Hostel Maya, we headed out for lunch to a spot picked by Jean Carla. A homey yet busy indoor/outdoor place with fantastic food, decor and a mariachi band; we were immediately exposed to the culture. Calvin and I ate a fried Guinea Pig, and we all enjoyed excellent conversation with Rolando. Following lunch, we headed up to El Cristo De La Concordia, a statue of Jesus built to commemorate a visit of Pope John Paul II to the city in the 1980's. From this mountain side with picturesque views of Cochabamba City and the surrounding region, we took in the sites and established memories of the place we will call home for the next week. Later, we walked through the main portion of town on our way to a terrific dinner and ice cream to close out a long but excited two day stretch. Now that we have settled into Cochabamba, we can get down to work tomorrow with CEOLI to start making a difference through our project.