You know what I love about traveling?
Well, lots of things.
But for one, I am constantly reminded of how the majority of the world cherishes and focuses on one another more than anything else in life, including status, accomplishments, or material stuff.
Arriving in the small town of Apolo, Bolivia at 1:30am on March 2nd was a real eye-opener to how access to daily materials is something I take for granted.
I am no rookie to intense bus rides, but the nearly 19 hour bus ride that we took to arrive was definitely one for the books. Every small, barely cushioned seat was occupied, and the aisle was packed with people who had bought standing room tickets for the grueling trip. The roads were so rough that we had to hold ourselves in place for a good deal of the trip, swaying and slamming for much of the second half of the ride. Motion sickness was a constant battle, and we only stopped twice for the bathroom.
Lake Titicaca. Gorgeous!
That being said, it was also the most breathtaking trip I have ever taken. We rode out of La Paz, the highest capital city in the world at over 13,500 feet above sea level, and I gawked at the snow capped mountains outside of the city and the fluffy white clouds below us. A few hours down the road, Lake Titicaca appeared out of nowhere on one side of us, huge and brilliantly blue, while rolling green hills and llamas covered the countryside on the other side.
We rode for hours with this scenery, with barely a soul in sight, save the occasional shepherd. Towards the end of the ride, we road straight through rivers and passed numerous huge waterfalls, some so close that we could feel their spray on our faces.
I can stare dreamily out the window at stunning landscapes for hours.
Beautiful countryside out the bus window.
We have been told that 19 hours really isn’t so bad, as that particular trip can take anywhere from about 14-36 hours, depending on how flooded the roads are or how often the bus breaks down. Ours only broke down once and only got stuck in the mud a few times, so I guess that was a win.
Point is, it isn’t easy to get people or stuff in and out of Apolo. A few tiny tiendas contain daily necessities, but there is no option to while away the day at a Target or fancy grocery store or shopping mall.
Bus broke down.
Alongside the team spending the month here, we have had very full days of teaching English and music, caring for children at daycare, planning and leading services, and going on crazy countryside trips into the surrounding villages to do more teaching and Bible studies.
The tiny town is entirely walkable, and virtually “unplugged” by our standards in the USA, as there are only a handful of internet-capable computers for a town of a few thousand.
How they make home made hammocks for the babies to nap in at the daycare we are working with…I wanna try this one day!
And without the option to distract themselves with constant errands or cyber entertainment, these people seem to find nothing better to do than to invest in…well…each other.
Our hosts, Cuca and Micky, run a small bed and breakfast in which the team here is staying. We wake up every morning to a delicious spread of eggs, buns, homemade jam, and hot coffee. Breakfast is my favorite meal, so I usually start getting excited for it at around 4 o’clock the day before.
Throughout the day, the door swings open and shut as friends, most referred to affectionately as sisters or cousins, come by for a visit. They join us for a meal, or sit down for a cup of tea on a slow afternoon.
Sometimes conversation is more serious, ending in tears and prayer, but most often everyone is laughing and lingering and appreciating each other’s company.
Making empanadas with our amazing host, Cuca, and one of my team leaders, Megan.
And I love it. It makes me think more about how much time I spend with the people I love at home, quality time, not just time existing in the same space. My sister, who is my best friend and my room mate, and I are very intentional to have fun and laugh and really live life together. Cooking dinner, running errands, going for frozen yogurt, watching movies…we can hardly be in the same room for 5 minutes without laughing.
But for other family members and close friends, I don’t like how infrequently I prioritize time together. Between full time jobs, necessary errands, and ever-evolving life stages, it can be so hard to squeeze in that extra time to actually stop and turn all attention to an actual person. Not a rushed phone conversation or brief coffee date, but committing actual, entire chunks of time to really caring about a person more than the next errand.
In some ways it makes me wish I lived in a different culture. One that wasn’t so driven, so task oriented, so full of a media constantly convincing us we need the newest version of everything to be happy.
But I also love being from the USA. I realize that as a nation we could do a whole heck of a lot better on most every front, but I still get chills every time I hear the national anthem sang at a sporting event.
Gotta love that red, white, and blue.
So rather than criticizing the way people live, I want to make sure I am doing what I can to nourish bonds with the people I love.
Friends catching up on the sidewalk near our hotel.
To remind myself that sitting alone at home and scrolling through my facebook news feed will never create a memory the way meeting a friend at the park and walking our dogs together will.
To think twice before whiling away the afternoon wondering through Target all alone when I can at least invite a friend to join me and treat them to coffee afterwards.
To see social events with people my age as a chance to put away all pretense and just get real with how life is more often, actually pursuing and personally investing in people.
And rather than twiddling my thumbs when nothing much is on the calendar for a couple of days, I want to just jump in the car and get outta town to see the other people that I love and miss. To go home and have a cookout with my family, or to go camping with my cousin, or settle in for a 10 hour road trip to visit someone from my original squad.
All of these things seem so obvious written out like this, but in reality, the moment-to-moment of daily life often tries to rob us of the option to put the people in our lives ahead of our task lists.
For now, I will keep investing in my squad mates, seeking out the heart-to-hearts and the funny, outlandish moments to make memories together. I can’t get enough of the hilarious and heartfelt moments that squad leading and the World Race produce.
Today marks the halfway point of squad leading for me, so I guess I will be back with my friends and family before we know it anyway! Carpe Diem!
The kids love seeing their pictures!
