Life after Bolivia
Being back home is a lot stranger than I was expecting. Just yesterday my mom, friend, and I went to the mall to buy a few things and I found myself acting very differently. Something that otherwise would be so boring for me was such an adventure. I wanted to go into all of the stores to look at stuff and found myself having nice conversations with store workers (something that I definitely used to avoid). My mom even joked that Bolivia seems to have made me a lot more social and appreciative for the little things.
More than learning to actually enjoy conversations with strangers and walking in a mall, this trip has changed the way I see a lot of things. First of all, living and working in Bolivia for 6 weeks taught me that there is such thing as Bolivian time. I already had an idea that this was a thing but actually living it and experiencing it is completely different. And this doesn’t just mean that things happen later than expected. It means that things aren’t as rushed as they are in the United States. In the U.S. we are constantly running around thinking of what we have to do next instead of focusing on the task at hand. In Bolivia, your focus is on what you are doing and that is that. Other issues or problems will be handled and thought about when the time comes. Personally, I think this is a great way to work. It might not always be as efficient, but it allows for better quality work and just an overall happier experience I think. A slower pace of life lets you enjoy the little things and I like that. Business works in this way and just overall life works in this way.
Moscoso also taught me that it is very easy to talk about making positive environmental impacts. It is not easy to actually implement it. But looking at nature and the way that everything works so perfectly together, we have the ability and the knowledge to have that same harmony. It just requires patience and a passion to make a change.
In terms of what I learned about myself, I found out that I am much more easy going than I knew. If I have a place to sleep and food to eat, I will be okay. Obviously certain things are very direly missed (such as hot showers, wifi, and In n Out) but they are simple luxuries that I can live without. And coming back to the U.S., I realized how spoiled I am. I knew before this trip that no matter what I worked in, I wanted to help people. Now I know that I want to travel to the people that need help and just live an overall simpler life.
Bolivia is a beautiful and inspiring place that has forever changed me. I am immensely thankful to all of the people I met throughout these 7 weeks and hope to implement everything I learned from each person in my life. I will be back one day to see the place that made me realize a lot about myself and the life I am living.
