settling in

Well, it’s been a week.

You could have convinced me I’ve been here in Bolivia for a month already, but I really have packed a lifetime of memories into seven days.

Before I get into why I love this place, I ought to give an update on how my work here has progressed in week one of 13.

Of course, the reason I’m here is for Fulbright research. As a reminder, my grant is dedicated to exploring how public relations can be impactful for underserved populations in breaking themselves out of poverty cycles.

The original goal was for me to teach public relations to Quechua people, working alongside a non-profit called Fundación Apoyo (Help Foundation). Instead, I’ve switched gears to working alongside Apoyo to help teach public relations principles to pastors and organizational leaders across Bolivia.

Currently, the plan is for me to give at least one public relations workshop as one of Apoyo’s variety of training offerings for these leaders. I’m also working on improving Apoyo’s in-house public relations and their public-facing assets in the meantime.

A view of my city from the office

Training Bolivian pastors in public relations is a fairly ambitious task, because I’ve got to translate (in a literal and figurative sense!) what I know about the field into something that’ll be beneficial and relevant for my target audience.

I’m learning a lot about the landscape of Christian ministries and churches here in Bolivia as well as how PR can transcend cultural, lingual, and personal barriers. I’ve worked up questions to ask local pastors to get a better sense for what they want and need to hear from me, and from there, I’ll begin fleshing out the curriculum for what will probably end up as a two-day weekend course.

In the meantime, my side project is working and doing life with a local church called Ciudad de Refugio.

Let me just tell you, that community is incredible. In a week, I feel like I’ve got 10 really good friends and people that have my back, can put up with my subpar Spanish, and are so much fun to be around.

I showed up there at the request to help teach English, and I’ve been treated as a family member immediately. From board games to surprise dance parties to pickup soccer matches, CdR has to be the highlight of my experience in Bolivia so far and quite possibly the best church I’ve ever been a part of.

The first soccer pitch I played on in Bolivia! Proud to say I scored a couple goals…

… but those goals cost me quite a bit of energy!

English classes start next week, and I’ve been at work rewriting the entry test for new students to ensure they end up in the right class level. Once things get rolling, I’ll be the “profe” for the pre-intermediate and intermediate courses as well as an assistant in the advanced speaking course.

With all that going on, my days are pretty full! I’m honestly not doing what I expected to do when I set up my grant, but I’m very excited to be able to use my public relations expertise all the same.

Now, for Bolivia itself. It’s an absolutely beautiful country, and I love the city I’m in.

There are a few things that stand out to me more than others; one big one is how colorful all my surroundings are. Every building is a different color and has a different shape, and the variety is something my eyes have feasted on walking through town.

That’s another thing that’s quite different from home—everything is so walkable, and a car is totally unnecessary for my daily needs. My office is 5 minutes away, multiple supermarkets are within 15, and CdR is a longer 25-minute walk most days, all walking. The exercise is useful given all the great food I’m eating and I just feel better traveling in the open air and experiencing the city on my commutes.

From left to right, that’s api with a cheese empanada, perfect for a chilly afternoon; sopa de mani, a creamy peanut-based soup that’s absolutely lovely; and perhaps the most Bolivian dish there is, silpancho, which includes a thin layer of beef, a pico de gallo type of mix, and two eggs sheltering potato wedges and rice.

It hasn’t been a perfect start by any stretch. I feel like my Spanish needs a lot of work and safety threats like petty theft and dengue fever carried by mosquitos are genuine concerns. On top of that, there’s a lot of uncertainty around where my next stop will be and how long I’ll be able to stick around in my new home.

All in all, though, I’m overwhelmingly pleased with the way my first week has gone, and I’m already in love with Bolivia. I can’t wait to spend the next few months living in and loving this amazing place.

I’ll check in sometime soon with an update on my grant work and how life is going here, so stay tuned!

Blessings,

Danny