Learning!

It’s officially been over one week since landing here in La Paz, and the tl;dr is it’s been great! Here’s a sneak peak into what I’ve been learning (apologies in advance for the length).

About La Paz:

• Accent is very easy to understand
• Third-world city in a valley
• 11,900+ feet above sea level

Terrain

La Paz is a city that resides mostly in a valley enclosed by mountains. It would be very walkable if it weren’t for the fact there are almost no flat streets; everything is either at an intense incline or decline. When you are walking, however, you will pass many stands where indigenous women sell the random things you forgot you needed (I’ve gotten a key ring and a data package for my cellphone thus far). You’ll also pass food stands and carts as well as Venezuelan refugees seeking assistance.

Transportation

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A focal point of the city is the teleférico, a gondola system that functions similarly to a lightrail or subway. There are ten lines that carry you over the mountains and throughout the city. If you are trying to get somewhere off of the teleferico, or are in more of a rush, you can take the minibuses that cycle the city and take over the streets. Minis are 15 passenger vans that pick people up and drop them off on command. You simply hail it like a taxi and then tell the driver when to pull over. They’re very cheap, reliable, and safe (people have left things, including iPhones, on them on accident and had them returned rather than stolen)!

The Office

• 15 people (including three American interns and one Bolivian intern)
• Everything is in Spanish
• Casual Fridays

El Tiempo de quietud y devocional

First thing in the morning we have our half hour of quiet time. From there, we move into our half hour of office-wide devotional time. At headquarters in DC, this is more of a meeting where business updates are shared and then prayed over. I was blindsided my first day in Bolivia when we took turns reading from the Bible (no, I didn’t have a Spanish one on me) and then spent time discussing what the passage meant to us. From there, we each shared two prayer requests and then prayed for each other. This was much more involved than I was expecting, both in participation and in how intentional people were. Communicating in Spanish has been one form of vulnerability, but praying with the entire office in Spanish is a whole other level. That being said, I’ve gotten to know a lot more about my coworkers as we discuss 1 Timothy (the woman’s role in the Church anyone? :p ) and share some of the biggest victories and traumas in our personal lives. You can tell everyone genuinely respects and cares about each other beyond just the work we do in the office.

To clarify, this time is only for staff and our clients and partners would have no way of knowing we are a faith-based organization. We also don’t all practice Christianity the same way, or interpret it all the same, so we have had some very powerful conversations about why we all see things differently yet have the same foundation.

The work

My direct supervisor (who is also a new hire) and I make up the Government Relations Team. She has a background as a lawyer and we are learning together what our roles will look like as we bounce from meeting to meeting collecting information. Currently, our work is focused on a massive series of trainings that will take place in October. Some of the IJM Canada team will be coming down and speaking on what it looks like to respond to cases of sexual violence and sexual violence against children in the legal system. They are a group of lawyers, judges, and police officers who will be working with organizations and officials here in Bolivia. This will be incredibly beneficial as many of the cases are still being suspended in the courts which prolongs the process for the victim. To read more about sexual violence in Bolivia click here (I got to read this in Spanish one of my first days at work).

My role for the next month will be helping with the logistics of this training: securing hotels, visas, transportation, etc. for both the Canadians and the attendees as well as creating all of literature and agendas for the event.

I am at the office from 8:30-5:30 every day with an hour lunch break (typically spent with the interns as they show me around the neighborhood). It’s been reassuring to realize that I can understand almost all of the Spanish being spoken, but I’m still having a hard time adapting to speaking coherently back. Luckily, my coworkers are patient and stubborn. They can tell I have the foundation necessary to communicate and continuously request me to speak more, practice my language skills, and have more confidence. I have my first presentation next Friday, so that will be the real test of my abilities. Until then, I am also becoming more proficient in Excel which is neat as well.

An International Organization

It has also been amusing to hear the director talk about having a multicultural office during the orientation sessions we’ve had. As Americans, we are taught to watch how direct we are, and the Bolivians are instructed not to take our bluntness too personally. I’m having a hard enough time writing emails in my second language, but it has been interesting to see all of the “small talk” the Bolivians typically add to cushion whatever the meat of the message is. Luckily for me, my boss has a very similar style and we bond through our short emails and concise conversation.

In the broader scope of IJM it has been interesting to see the influence (and lack thereof) that headquarters has over what we do. Orientation in the office was over the top because IJM has security standards based on the work they do internationally. The other new hires, who are all from La Paz, were scoffing at how thorough the trainings were because La Paz is so safe in comparison to other IJM offices. When our director explained that our Kenya office had lost three people during a rescue and that the offices in South East Asia are under high security, my coworkers seemed to get it a bit more, but it doesn’t directly apply to the work we are doing. Besides security standards, there hasn’t been much influence from headquarters. Everything is run by the office here and I’ve been told that when headquarters does need updates or content, I will be helping with the translations.

There’s also a political component to the work. As much as we try and stay out of politics as a 501(c)3, our work is directly impacted by political decisions and international affairs. IJM is truly an international organization who’s headquarters happen to be in America (here in Bolivia we make a point of saying Virginia rather than DC so we drive home the point we are NOT politically affiliated). That being said, it has been to IJM Bolivia’s benefit to focus on the relationship between our office and the Canadian advancement office rather than any of the other ones (including headquarters).

About Myself

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• Adapting to altitude
• Great expat community
• Netflix doesn’t have The Office or Parks and Rec here

I don’t have any deep revelations yet from my first week. I haven’t had the time to really dig into my head and see what’s been going on, but I have been observing a lot as I try and create a new routine and life in a completely different setting.

I’ve been taken care of as two of my coworkers picked me up at the airport (with an oxygen tank) and took me to my apartment with a carepackage of food. The next day, one of the interns was given the day to show me around La Paz, help me set up my phone, find an atm, and go to the grocery store. Since then, he has helped get me plugged into the expat community and we’ve shared meals, gone to the movies, and are planning hikes and other adventures together. While I’m excited to get more plugged into a community with more Bolivians (the expats are not all American), most of what I will be seeking out (the ultimate frisbee scene) requires that I be adapted to the altitude and I need to wait just a bit more before I’d be ready to run or workout here.

I’m still trying to take it all in. I’ve adapted to the greetings (at least one kiss on the right cheek for every hello and goodbye) and throwing away all toilet paper, but there’s still a lot more to adapt to and I haven’t had the time yet to sit back and reflect on it. I’m sure you’ll hear more about my personal growth as this experience continues.