Feria de Alasitas (Alasita Fair) and Orientation

29 Enero 2012

The major event for the day was the Alasita Fair (Feria de Alasitas) – a big affair in La Paz at the end of January merchants famously sell miniature items.  The tale is that Ekeko, the household god of abundance, requires regular supplies of miniature gifts to remain happy (as well as alcohol and cigarettes).  Bolivia is famous for the production of such miniature items, anywhere from getting your name engraved on individual grains of rice to tiny sachets of rice and beans to ridiculously ornate figurines smaller than your typical sugar cube.  I went with my host mom and her daughter and we squished to the shoulders it was so crowded.  But as you can see from the pictures, it was muy impressivo: there was everything from wide steaming pots of stew to spears of flaming grilled potato and steak shishkabobs to sprawling tents of what looked like four quadrants of 50 foosball tables each, countless stalls of handmade trinkets, reams of wool rugs and ponchos, ceramics, musical instruments, and more.  The cacophony of stalls, crowds, music, and smells added to an impressive setting where contrasting cultures intermingled-- there were the Northern Bolivian woman in traditional colorful wraps carrying babies swathed behind them, there were more urban families pushing babies in strollers; there was traditional salsa music, and there was Michael Jackson’s Billy Jean.  Later in the afternoon, we had a break for traditional Bolivian fare—Asi and empanadas.  Asi is a hot, sweet drink made from corn (more popularly black corn) and spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and orange zest.  Mmmmmm J  Also the empanada was flaky and delicious.  All freshly made – see picture.  The Asi is so popular that they make them in massive cauldrons, next to furiously bubbling cauldrons of empanadas.  It’s important to note though that in spite of these colorful descriptions, there is a lot of struggle and poverty-- pick pocketers common, little kids surviving on the street, poorly maintained facilities marked by graffiti, poor sanitation, not to mention constant political instability.  Bolivia is the poorest country in South America.   

30 Enero 2012

Today I had my official orientation with the local coordinator for Child Family Health International (CFHI), the program through which I’m doing this pediatrics rotation.   He’s wonderful, showed me around the city, pointed out key destinations such as the main hospital I’ll be working at, the language school, the CFHI office, as well as good restaurants, travel recommendations, and other details.

Following that, back at the apartment, my host mom made plantains which we put in the Asada a la olla (like a beef stew) along with fresh cheese and red peppers. 

In the afternoon I took my Spanish diagnostic test which went, in my opinion pretty well considering my 3 months of Spanish.  The program provides, in addition to clinical experience, 2 hours of Spanish class each weekday.  This is exactly the kind of experience that combines medicine, emergency medicine, Spanish cultural and language immersion that I was looking for!  I’m so excited!