Carpe Diem
I’m now going on my third week here in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Crazy how it can feel like it’s flying by, but also how slow each day feels. That’s one difference I’ve noticed since touching down, the lifestyle is much slower. People take their time going from one place to the next, eating, and even in the work setting. Coming from a very efficient background, it would seem like there would be a lot less to take in, but really it’s the opposite, and I’m a fan. Every work day consists of work in the morning starting at 9, a three hour lunch, then work again in the afternoon for only a couple hours and I’m usually out before 5. This allows a lot more free time and honestly, I was uncomfortable with it. I’m not the best at being alone, but since getting here, I’ve started to see the importance of taking time for myself. No matter what you do in a day, seize it. Plus, I’ve really enjoyed the many conversations I’ve had at the lunch table instead of throwing a sandwich in my mouth on my way to class. And the food is a LOT better than a PB&J lemme tell you.
The work can be sporadic, but I’ve really enjoyed some of the tasks I’ve been on. I really enjoyed my time doing cost analysis for the five products AHA hopes to put on Amazon in the next few months, and I’m really looking forward to more. I’ve always viewed myself as a juggler of sorts and this is a lot of juggling. Taking a look at a product, viewing the cost of every minute piece of metal, leather, or plastic, etc. and questioning if it is necessary, all while managing three separate mark-ups from the manufacturer, AHA, and Amazon, and trying to make the most profit has really been fun for me. I also have the coolest side gig. Has anyone ever gone to Home Depot or a paint store and looked at the names of the colors of paints? They’re hilarious, like actually highly recommend it. Well now I have the nerdiest of dream jobs of naming every color of AHA’s inventory of alpaca yarn and I’m really having too much fun with it lol.
The weekend trips have been a blast since there’s really so much to do here and transportation is so cheap, but bumpy, but I’ll take that tradeoff every day of the week. Last weekend, the group of 6 of us sent it to La Paz and Lake Titicaca to visit the Earth Regeneration girls on Isla Del Sol and captured every minute. Sunsets on the island, Irish Pub hostels in La Paz, and bartering with every single vendor on the streets was a blast. Lacey and I also worked on our bartering skills when hitchhiking our way up to Death Road for a run at 10,500 feet of altitude and we were dumb enough to be blinded by the greenery and accidentally ran down 2,000 feet. Made for a fun run back up!! But at least we saved 740 bolivianos..
I’m excited for the many adventures, challenges, ups, downs, and hopefully MANY more quesadillas and banana pancakes to make with DJ Lambert in the next few weeks.
Signing off,
Brendan
