Even more cultural immersion

So if staying with a familiy on Isla del Sol was not enough we made the trek to Cochabamba and the fun just kept going. In Cochabamba we met the amazing staff of the Democracy Center. On our second night there we were treated to something very special, we got to participate in a Coia (I am not sure how to spell it). This is an offering made to the Pachamama (or mother earth) where you burn things and chew coca and we played traditional music. It was a really wonderful way to spend a night and a time to reflect. The next day we decided to go and visit a local town called Tarata because we were waiting on more host stays. This is a small colonial town with not much to do so we spent the majority of the day just wandering around. In this wandering we met a couple of women and they invited us to a party they were having. This was one of the silliest experiences that I have had in South America thus far. We went to the party and we were offered food and drink about every five minutes. I spent the majority of the time talking to these two old men and it was wonderful. I drank my first Chica (the drink this region is famous for) which was colored like a Bolivian Flag, it was pretty wonderful. Another one of those experiences that I will not forget any time soon. From there we were set up with another host stay not far from the city of Cochabamba. We stayed with an artist who is living in a comune and trying to live outside of the imperialist system. I had a really amazing conversation with her about education and literacy and I realized that there are a lot of people in the world who do not agree with the accepted development policy. It was a really hard conversation to have but it was really good at the same time.
From here we went directly to our last host stay which was in the Chapare region of Bolivia which is where the majority of the Coca is grown and which is deep in the jugle. We stayed with this young couple and their amazing children. The couple were 23 and 25 and had children who were 4 and 5 years old, kind of shocking. They own a bunch of land so during our stay we went up to their Coca field and helped them weed it and also down to the river to fish with nets. It was a great day spent learning a lot. The man is also the local "dirigenete" which is like a mayor. He is amazing and holds monthly meetings in order to properly understand the needs of his constituents, what if politicians did that in the US what a different country it might be. Overall it was another great experience. This was the end of my work with the Democracy Center which is too bad because it was really amazing. Now I fing myself in the small mining town of Potosi and I am starting some solo traveling which should be good but is a little scary because everyone knows how much I depend on the people in my life. But again this trip is all about learning and experiencing things. Would love to hear from you!!!!