Sipe Sipe

(Pronounced "Seepay Seepay")

This weekend, Drew and I went to Sipe Sipe with some friends from Drew's class. The original plan was to stay at a family farm and relax by the pool. Somehow, those plans were changed. Instead, we stayed with a friend of some friends in a small, dusty, dirty house. Besides being in Sipe Sipe walking along looking at the farms, the highlight of our time away was the birthday party we went to with our host. The party was held at a farm run by a family that grows all their own food. Their farm was beautiful and the company was pleasant as well.

What struck me most was a conversation I had with a few of the guests. They were asking us how we had been treated in Bolivia. I was sitting between Drew and a Mexican who is also here studying at the university. The Mexican said she had enjoyed being here, but talked a little bit about slight differences in social relations. For example, in Mexico, women are more timid, and the men are more apt to speak up and be more forward. Here the women are more forward, and the men won't as often talk to us women. Drew and I agreed that we had noticed the same thing here. The Bolivians spoke up quickly and said that this is because we are seen as almost untouchable. As put in an analogy, they said that seeing us is almost like seeing a pie that is in a nice bakery. It is beautiful and would taste amazing, yet it is too expensive for the people here. They don't even dare to go near it, it is out of their league, and they know it. So, they are fearful of it.

To me, this just solidified so many things I have seen and experienced here. The people know that they have indigenous blood and dark skin, so they feel like they are less than. A friend I have here would love to travel after she is done with school, but is afraid simply because she is Bolivian. Bolivians are seen as the poor, backwards, indigenous people in South America, and they feel the scorn on a daily basis. They are mistreated and looked down upon simply because of who they are. It makes me more conscious of how I act in my casual interactions, more with people I don't know, like in the markets or when we are out and about. My being here ought to be encouraging and uplifting to the people I come into contact with, making a conscious effort and sometimes going out of my way to treat them as a human being and someone important.