Día Mundial de Turismo

World Tourism Day announced itself a sunny, clear Tuesday in Cochabamba. We set up our booth with posters about natural resources and listed the “Leave no Trace” slogan translated into Spanish. We were one of the only educational booths, not offering package deals to the Chapare region or Amazonia, but instead offering games and conversation about responsible travel and saving what little natural resources we have left. The theme was Travel and Transportation, celebrating the centennial of Jules Verne’s death in 1905. This was a quote that struck me: “En 1950 eran veinte millones, el año pasado 760, y para 2020 se calcula que el número de los viajeros
internacionales superará los 1.600 millones anuales. “ Basically saying that the amount of travelers worldwide in 1950 was 20 million and by the year 2020 that number will be up to 1.6 billion. Our booth was one of the most popular, kids enjoyed the games and adults were fascinated with what the gringos had to say; I also think that the engaging manner of standing in front of our table, willingly entering conversations (and apologetically declining offers for dinner and tours around the town) was an approach unlike any Bolivians are used to.
What amazed me was the success of our presentation with the bare minimum supplies (markers, chart paper, poster board, and candy). PowerPoint, color copies, laminations, brochures, and advanced technology were not an option, and in hindsight would have been extremely unnecessary. The best part, however, was looking at my watch and realizing that Shannon, Sarah, and I had conversed with hundreds of people in Spanish for a 5 straight hours! I remember staring up through the jacaranda trees in the main plaza and thinking how lucky I was to be able to do this only a month after arriving in-country!
The days are getting warmer and my village of Bella Vista is getting ready for its annual festival. Each night in the church square, people are dancing the tinku, diablada, caporale, and cueca- all practicing for the big weekend. Unfortunately the same weekend we leave on our “tech week,” traveling to different sites and visiting current volunteers and observing their work. Tomorrow I am giving a presentation to 8th graders at the middle school about renewable natural resources and the physical characteristics of Bolivia; I hope to learn as much from them as I am teaching them- especially considering most of my information is out of a textbook and not through experience like them.
In other news, I have undergone a new Bolivian haircut, learned new card games, wandered aimlessly in Cochabamba, and fall more and more in love with Bolivia each day I wake up. I hear of my site announcement in about 2 weeks and am anxious to find out my new home!