You know that clichéd airport scene that you
see in 2 star movies shown on Netflix where tears swamp the suitcase covered
floor? The one that I've always thought doesn't really happen? Yeah...that
happened.
Leaving La Paz to return to London was an
experience much more emotionally charged than I could have anticipated 10 weeks
earlier. Saying a heavy-hearted ciao to our new families, new friends and new
home. Leaving the hyperventilation inducing hills, the Spanish verb tense
mistakes, the daily salteña - empanada choice, the traffic-Tetris streets.
Bolivia is a country of great variation, from seemingly endless salt planes to
otherworldly volcanic vistas, every one one of us will be left with some
overwhelmingly beautiful mental pictures (and real ones too of course).
Whilst in Bolivia with the ICS programme,
some of us made life decisions and gained new perspectives, some realised new
skills and harnessed new linguistic capabilities and we all made lasting global
bonds. For me, one of those bonds has been with a group of young people who can
be seen wandering the jungle streets of La Paz adorned in zebra stripes. Before
arriving in Bolivia, I had little knowledge of who the zebras were and their
role within the city let alone the staggering impact that they have. Early on,
we suited up and were zebras for the day...a day filled with sweat, smiles and
ecstatic children. The positivity that the zebras spread across the city is
immeasurable. But who are the people inside the suits?
We were fortunate enough to find out over our
ten weeks here through our weekly workshops with 15 of these incredible young
people. Their honesty, enthusiasm and general attitude towards all aspects of
their lives is something that will be impossible for us to forget and something
I endeavour to always adopt. The spectacular human beings that made up the rest
of the Ciudadanos del Mundo team have spoken about all of the places we've
been, people we've met and project outcomes we have achieved.
There have been four key highlights of
working on this project for me. 1. The yoga session during our workshop on
non-violent communication at Alalay children's centre - it was surprising and
beautiful to see them all react so positively to it. 2. Our workshop on stress
management and mental health with the zebras - mental health is a global issue
which currently does not receive the correct level of societal attention. It is
an issue that we all come into contact with and learning about the context of
mental health in Bolivia was extremely valuable. 3. Working with such a
talented group of people 4. The Apthapi that the zebras shared with us during
our final session with them. This final point deserves additional attention;
Apthapi is a common thing in Bolivia. It is process whereby a group of people
get together and each bring food but this food is to be made of whatever that
person has in their house at the time. It is not about bringing the most
impressive culinary piece of art but it is about showing that each person is
willing to share whatever they have with others. To share food, conversation
and each other's company. If I were to select an appropriate metaphor for our
time living in La Paz and working with International Service ICS, I would say
that the past 10 weeks have been Apthapi. We have shared our everyday with each
other, our histories, and our goals. We shared seeing new things for the first
time...and yes, we shared a million different types of potatoes. I will miss
all the people that I have met through the duration on the ICS programme you
are all wonderful. And Bolivia, I will miss you too much. The people, the
mountains and the ever wandering street dogs.
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