Bolivia — Day 3
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Monday was pretty……well……boring. But Tuesday made up for it.
Woke up around 11am for breakfast with the fam. My family here is of average economic status for Bolivia but in poverty by American standards. It’s strange to me that they have 2 fulltime maids…..I guess it’s a common thing for families to have.
For the most part the day here begins around 2 or 3 pm. Some shops open from 9-12, then close for siesta, then reopen at 2 or 3. A lot of the very hot/humid countries that I’ve been to live mostly at night because it’s too hot to work during the day.
Around 2:30 my cousin Mariella, her 2 daughters, and cousin Romi took me downtown to get a cell phone. I bought a local area card and prepaid minutes and poof! I have a phone. I hope the phone will allow me to be a bit more independent. Right now I’m not permitted to go anywhere alone, to take out my iPhone or anything valuable in public, or wear jewelry. I wear my purse high on my shoulder and my cousins recommend I don’t even bring a purse when I go out. To get into the house I have to go through four locks: the gate outside, two sets of locked front doors, then the locked door to my room. It’s a pain.
After getting my phone we wondered around downtown. I really liked a shop I found with indigenous pieces of Bolivian art.
My cousin Fredward called my cell and came and met us. I came here to Santa Cruz about 5 times before the age of 15 and Fredward was always my BFF when I came. We’d spend the days lighting firecrackers and setting things on fire. Only in Bolivia.
When Fredward arrived at the park we ran up and jumped on each other and hugged tight. We were both teary-eyed. That hug was 15 years in the waiting.
Next my beloved cousin Lilian came to meet us.
I’d found an MMA gym nearby that has classes from 6-9pm. Fredward and Lilian wanted to come with me to watch and make sure I was safe. I felt bad because 3 hours is a long time!
We took a cab to the ‘Poligimnasio’ where the classes were to be held. Poligimnasio is basically a huge warehouse with bleachers. There are sections with drop mat and many different styles of martial arts being taught at once. There’s taekwondo next to wrestling next to MMA next to karate next to kickboxing etc…. There were hundreds and hundreds of people there.
There are 3 MMA classes: 6-7 submissions, 7-8 Muay Thai, 8-9 more submissions plus sparring. There were about 20 people in each class. All male. Big surprise. The classes were super fun and intense. I must say that the jiu-jitsu submissions were not taught as precisely or technically as my instructor back home Itabora teaches us. I’m not a person who normally sweats a lot but with the humidity I was drowning in sweat. Also the mats were not very clean. I decided to take an antibiotic for preventative measure.
I’m thrilled to say that when we rolled (sparring Jiu Jitsu style) no one could submit me! Not once! 
I landed two submissions.
My cousins were pretty surprised with my hobby. Definitely not tae-boe. Everyone in the class was really nice and welcoming. I have a huge bruise on my elbow and another on my knee. They said there is some medical person who comes to the class that can drain my cauliflower ear tomorrow.
After going home and showering I took Lilian and Fredward out to dinner. I have to say I’m not a fan of the food here but I loved spending time with my cousins. I tried quail meat for the first time. Didn’t like it. Over dinner we talked about American and Bolivian politics and economy, as well as everyday small talk and gossip.
By then it was 12:30pm and Fredward wanted to stay out but there wasn’t much to do. We took a cab home and remembered there is a strip club/whore house across the street from our house. Since we were bored, curious, and crazy, we decided to go in. It was kinda fun. Nothing too crazy or different from an American strip club. There was one drunk weirdo that wouldn’t stop talking to me, but we had security handle that. Tons of fun chatting with the cousins. Got home after 2am.
This morning my aunt Mari sat next to me at breakfast and asked me what I did the night before. She straight up asked me if we went across the street. I said yes and she seemed upset. She said to never ever go back there because it is a very bad place. I felt so bad! I don’t want my family here to have a bad impression of me. I asked Fredward and Lilian if it would be ok with the family and they said yes. Oh well. I won’t go back.