A Complicated Place

I´ve been talking a lot with my host mother lately. She is a wonderful, strong, gentle woman who works her butt off day in and day out to do what´s best for her family. She rises before the rest of us have even thought about opening our eyes to go buy bread for the day and prepare the tea. She spends her mornings cooking for neighbors that buy lunch from our house and she taught me to wash my clothes by hand yesterday. She also sells beauty products and knits tablecloths for sale in order to bring in a little extra to send her daughters to college. My host family´s not poor by Bolivian standards, far from it in fact, but that doesn´t mean that they aren´t trying to achieve the same comfort and things that they see are possible through the media. For them, atleast, access to such knowledge and achievement is possible.

It´s hard to see her so tired so many days especially when a lot of her fatigue comes not just from the work, but out of worry. For, she and her husband are trying to raise three young responsible, professional, and independant women in a society with countless pressures and mixed messages. To find the balance between allowing freedom and protecting their daughters from harm is excruciatingly hard. I see it in her eyes and I´ve come to understand this strain through our conversations. I realize that Susana´s story is one of millions of women in the world, one that mirrors in many ways what my mom did and does for my family. I don´t mean to discredit men, I´ve just done a lot of thinking and reflecting lately about the role of women because of what I´ve seen, because of what I´ve heard. I respect and want to recognize the load women are carrying without a great deal of power granted to them in response. I´m certain this reflection will continue as my experience hear in Bolivia takes shape.

These are just some initial responses after a long day of studying. I have four more days of studying, then FSD orientation, before my official work here begins. More soon... Thanks for listening and I look forward to remaining in touch and hearing your response.

Make it a great day.