Hola!! Estoy en Copacabana!
...which is about all the spanish (or castellano as they call it here for reasons unbeknownst to me!) I´ve picked up! I arrived safely in La Paz early Thursday morning, slept the majority of the day, and met up with the crew to head up to Copacabana. We got some breakfast friday and then ran a few errands (like picking up a hand tailored full suit for Sergio (a Central Michigan Prof who is friends with my advisor) for $100). We got to Copacabana mid-afternoon after an amazing car ride across the countryside btwn La Paz and Copa which included crossing a part of Lake Titicaca on a boat! Our car went across on a ferry type (much more like oregon trail than expected) and we got in a little motor boat and were ferried across. Of course, I put my hand in, just to say I did.
We had a beautiful reception in Copa since Sergio is the new padrino for the graduating high school class and sponsoring their big party/parade/festival tomorrow. About 20 local community leaders showed up at the house laden with flower wreath necklaces (made with real flowers!!), confetti, firecrackers, and lots and lots of beer and coca. We had a good ole traditional Andean feast complete with lots and lots of toasting, pouring some out for Pachamama, and chewin coca. Oh and Mom- good things are coming your way because we selected out the best and most complete coca leaves to burn for our mothers. :) Very cool! As a group of about 20, we polished off 60 24oz bottles of beer! The traditional women around here are the biggest drinkers, its awesome. We spoke with some local kids and taught them some english while they tried to teach us some spanish. So I now know gracioso means funny and that barracho is drunjk. The important things!
Today, I started working in the bone lab. They have 128 burials which no one has looked at since they were excavated so I´m going to try and fly through those in the next few weeks. Sara B, my travel companion to Peru, will proabbly come here on the 15 for a few days and then we´ll head out. But I´ll be sad to leave Copa! Its right on the beach (reminds me of st jean de luz, Em) and totally gorgeous. Tortorro reed boats for tourist pictures make it quite picturesque. I might not ever leave, muahhaha! :)
Alright welp thats all I got for now!! Love and miss all of you, but... I´m having a great time too!!
Love,
Sarita (what the kids here call me I guess...)
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Make sure you get pictures! It sounds like you're getting off to an awesome start--enjoy the bones and the learning and the beer. As for Sarita, it sounds nice (you're so little!)! And just be thankful that they didn't do the ironic nickname: Liz was called "Gordi" by her family, short for Gordita. I'll let you ask around to see what that means ;).
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