First Impressions of Bermejo

So everytime I told mentioned to somebody in Tarija that I was headed to Bermejo they would cringed their face and complain ¨Oh it´s so hot!¨ then they would add something about the bugs. Seriously, by about the twentieth time hearing this I was about ready to tell people to just shut up and let me figure it out for myself. Honestly, who wants to hear that. But every now and then somebody would say how pretty it was. And that´s what would keep me feeling positive.

Pretty doesn´t do Bermejo justice. It´s is absoluetly gorgous! Ok maybe not the actual city itself, but the surrounding area is tan bonito! We´re settled in between lush tropical mountains and two big rivers with white sandy beaches. It´s the jungle down here. I really had no idea before. I saw a tucan (a tucan!) on the bus ride back to Tarija.

Apparently I was pretty lucky in terms of the weather... it´s was cool the whole time. Everyone kept mentioning how refreshing the weather was. I´ve never considered overcast and slightly drizzling to be ideal weather conditions, but I have a feeling my sentiments will soon change.

Bermejo is a typical hustling and bustling border town. Tons of Argentinians travel over here (I guess) mainly for the ropa usada (used clothes). When you donate your clothes in the states you think you´re helping the poor or homeless, but the majority of it (the nice stuff anyways) finds it´s self in third world markets. There are lots of little marcados with a wide variety of fresh fruits and veggies available. The area grows mainly sugar cane, citrus, and bananas. And we can get fish from the local rivers, which is kind of a big deal in Bolivia.

Apparently, the population of Bermejo has exploded in the last ten years. Now the population is around 50,000 to 60,000 but varies considerably depending on the time of year. There are a lot of migrant workers that move across the border to harvest the crops in Argentina. I´m guessing that there are more poeple here now, because the city seems to be pretty lively.

My site mate has been showing me around the city (so happy I have a site mate) and introducing me to people I´ll likely be working with. She is really great. Super friendly and easy going. I can tell were going to have some good times together.

I will be living in a sort of complex with 3 other women above my host mother´s house. Apparently two of them are hardly ever there. We each have a bed room, a share a bathroom and ¨kitchen space¨. I will be transforming the patio to a kitchen. I was hoping for a little more space. If it turns out to be a little too cramped I can always look for a new place in a few months. But the upside is that the family is really friendly and apparently the mother throws little music festivals in her back yard, which is huge! So there should be some fun stuff going on around he house.

It´s so nice to be so close to the border. In adition to having all the random crap you could ever want at your fingertips... we´re only four hours from Salta, Argentina. Which is supposed to be an amazing city. It´s as easy to travel to Salta as it is to Tarija. And Buenos Aires is a 24 hour bus ride, the same time it takes to travel to Coch by bus. I´m already excited about future trips to Argentina!

to be continued...