I have been eating a lot of cheese.

I have been eating a lot of cheese. Cheese for breakfast, for lunch, for snack, for dinner. I am not exaggerating. I don't mean just plain cheese. I mean cheese on bread, fried cheese on choclo (a kind of delicious not sweet corn with big kernels), potatoes, and fava beans (this is called Plato Paceño and is wonderful), cheese in empanadas or pastries, cheese on pizza, cheese in souffles. It's a damn good thing I like cheese.

There are a lot of traditions for New Years in Bolivia. One of these is to wear undergarments that are either yellow or red. Walking down the streets, especially near markets, you see vendors selling lacy underwear and bras as well as tight little boxers that are bright yellow and red. You wear yellow for wealth and money in the coming year and you wear red for love. I, however, do not have any yellow or red undergarments right now. Instead I am wearing underwear with whales on it. I don't know what that means for my future.

I live in a pretty awesome neighborhood. I can walk to almost anything I need. For example, I joined a gym that's around the corner. It's called Hammer Gym. It might be a bodybuilding gym. I do not have any interest in bodybuilding. Instead I go and run and run. Sometimes they look at me like I'm crazy because I'm a little foreign girl and when I run I turn bright red and sweat like a bodybuilder. (See what I did there?)

Cool story: This is something that happens to me fairly often. I am clearly not from Bolivia. Many times when I meet someone or am talking to someone in the elevator they ask me where I'm from. "Los Estados Unidos," I tell them. "But you speak Spanish so well!" they reply. This makes me want to do a happy dance. The truth is I don't speak Spanish all that well but I have a decent accent. It fools people into thinking I'm good at Spanish. It's a good trick.

I also started taking Spanish classes. The school is also walking distance from my apartment. I really like it. They even have tea, coffee, and drinking water. Drinking water is not a small thing in South America. Living in a country where they speak a language you have not yet mastered can get frustrating sometimes. I just want to be able to say what I want to say and not trip over my words. I'm super terrible at speaking Spanish on the phone. Today in my lesson I started learning the subjunctive tense for the fourth time. English doesn't have it. It's basically hypothetical, supposition, probability... a tense for things that aren't necessarily reality. I definitely learned it in high school, college, and last time I was in Bolivia. But it never seems to stick. I hope that I learn the subjunctive tense this time. Espero que aprenda el subjuntivo esta vez.

Tonight is New Years Eve. Feliz año nuevo, jokers. I'm going to a party. This is a party that a friend of Tupac is throwing. These people are a bit older than I am but I suspect their partying style may leave me in the dust. By dust I mean passed out on a sofa. I hope there are sofas at the party. It is scheduled to begin at 10 pm tonight and run until midday tomorrow. Again, I am not exaggerating. Another new years tradition in Bolivia involves eating a lot of pig meats. I do not eat this food. But I do know that there are 2 scheduled meals of pig meats at this party. And lots of alcohol. I can't plan for this. Start the year off with adventures.

Speaking of adventures, here's to 2014. That sure came up fast. I doubt 2014 can be any more insane than 2013 but who knows. I don't make new years resolutions because I think that if you want to change something about your life or do something better or stop doing something you should cut the crap, stop procrastinating, and do it now. Why wait for the new year? So none of that from me. But happy new year! At the beginning of 2013 I never would have guessed I would be starting the next year in Bolivia. But I'm super happy I am.

I guess the things you can take away from this post are: I have been eating a lot of cheese, I'm wearing underwear with whales on it, I joined a bodybuilding gym, I trick people into thinking I'm good at Spanish, and I'm not making any new years resolutions.

Charming.