Carnaval Continues in Sucre...

Monday…

Carnaval in Bolivia is a week long before Ash Wednesday so after a Crazy weekend in the biggest Carnaval town of Bolivia, I came back to Sucre thinking that I would get some rest, especially since I had school both days that were national holidays. Oh boy was I wrong. The last two days were actually Water Balloon war zone. You could not walk through the streets of Sucre, especially being a foreigner and asian, without getting pummeled with Espuma and globos con aqua (water balloons). 

I had Spanish class the Monday I got back and during my break I walked outside to check out all of the commotion. There were kids and adults dancing in the street, drinking Leche con Tigre, their specialty drink for Carnaval which is basically eggnog with alcohol, throwing water balloons at one another, and a huge band behind them. There were people selling water balloons at every other door and corner. I was enjoying just standing from afar, right in front of my school door, until they saw me and it was the end of it. I got attacked by at least 10 water balloons and kids would run right up to my face and sprayed me with espuma. I was corner because the door the school was locked and I had no where to escape. I didn’t have anything to protect me or get them back with so I went back to class completely soaked. 

After class, I walked with one of the teachers towards my house and we luckily only got sprayed with water once. I had my jacket zipped and hood on with my head down to avoid any sort of eye contact. Although I was now safely back at my house, I wasn’t completely safe for the rest of the night because it was only going to get even crazier and I wasn’t going to hide out in the house all night. After lunch I made out to a cafe and dinner without much hard, I took the long way to avoid the main streets where all the paraders and bands were. 

However, after dinner Alex and I decided to join the festivities and get revenge. We bought a few bags of water balloons and made our way to the ware zone. Of course we got hit because we were foreigners but we got a few people back pretty good. These two guys were chasing me and I threw one right at one of their crouch and they immediately surrendered. I guess all those years of softball paid off. I just love how this normally childish game was participated by everyone, old and young. We got hit by some grandmas!! With our last ones, we threw it right at other gringos haha We couldn’t be that nice to our own kind. 

I really wish we had something like this back in the states where everyone just comes together to enjoy a huge festivity. I think this really brings the entire country together, something the US really needs at the moment…

Tuesday…

The last day of Carnaval had to be the biggest but I was not ready to continue getting hit my water balloons. Although it was fun, my energy was gone… But the best part of the last day of carnival is the parrillada, or bbq, tradition that every family does. My host family cooked up some delicious meat and chicken on the grill. We had a whole spread of salads, rice with cheese, potatoes, corn, salsa, etc. It was sooo delicious! Probably one of the best meals I’ve had in awhile. I just love homestays because I get home cooking and don’t have to worry about breakfast or lunch. 

I spent the rest of lunch and afternoon talking with the family and the other homesteaders. It was a really good time! But today I learned my lesson and stayed in the house instead of trying to head back out into town.