On Friday, we went to the cemetery. It was definitely an experience not to be forgotten. I had to write a homework assignment about our experience. This is what I wrote:
On Friday, May 31, we went to the main cemetery in Cochabamba, Bolivia. We got a little lost on the way but, once we got there, we were excited to see that the experience at a Bolivian Cemetery is very different than in the United States. The main differences that we noticed were: most of the bodies are not buried in the earth rather, they are put in a slot above the ground, many people leave photos and trinkets to better remember that person and who they were, people left cards that played fur elise. The main similarities were: flowers were left at the sites and some people were buried in the ground. Overall, the experience was one for the books. Before even making it to the entrance of the cemetery, I looked at Silke and said, ‘I think that's it!’. She said, ‘no that can't be it because that just looks like a bunch of tiny houses’. We got closer to the entrance and it was the cemetery. We walked in and the first thing we noticed were tiny houses were families of dead people laid. Each little house was different. They varied in color, size, shape, etc. We even saw one that was in the shape of a rocket. Some of the houses were even empty. They were built by living families so that, when they die, their little houses will be ready for their bodies. It seemed as if these houses were built for the wealthier. Those who may have not had as much money in their lifetime were slid into individual slots found in a wall. The cemetery probably had 100’s of these walls. They were about 5 people high and 20 people wide. Each slot was about 3 feet wide and 3 feet tall. The boxes went about 7 or 8 feet deep to be able to slide in a casket. It looked as if, after the casket was slid into the hole, a concrete lid was sealed into place and an inch ledge was left so that families could place photos, flowers, trinkets, etc. Many people left cards that played fur elise in the background and, when they started to run out of battery, the song became slow and creepy sounding. These walls were the main form of burial in the cemetery and it seemed as if about 90% of the bodies were buried above the ground. Aside from the differences found in this cemetery, there were still some similarities. The biggest similarity is that most of the graves had flowers that were brought from family members. This is a common tradition in the United States as well. Flowers are left by the sight as a sign of respect, love and remorse. Many sites even had fresh flowers that hadn’t been sitting there for too long. The other similarity was that there were still some people who were buried in the ground. However, only a few of the sites were in the ground. After having talked to a resident of Cochabamba, it sounded like there was another cemetery in the city where the majority of the sites were in the ground and were covered in grass. She didn't know why they were different. Overall, our experience at the cemetery was a neat one. We learned a lot and saw things that we hadn't seen before. I saw a cemetery on my mission in Peru but, I wasn't able to spend as much time and observe as much as I had observed on this visit. It was kind of fun, kind of creepy. To add to the part about the cards playing fur elise, Silke goes, 'could you imagine walking through this cemetery in the middle of the night and you hear the sound of fur elise dying in the background'. So scary. Silke dared me to climb into one of the slots. So I did. Other than the cemetery, there hasn't been much more to share. We are visiting all of the stakes and helping our with their Comitees. A few of the stakes who had nothing before are now working towards a plan where they can start the courses. We know all of the stakes except 3 now. Cochabamba is really big. Everyone is really nice and making our job super easy. There are a few stakes that feel like doing self-reliance is a lost cause. Nonetheless, we will continue working hard to help everyone in every stake.
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EmilyHi! I am a student at BYU and I am studying Spanish with minors in Global Business and Latin American Studies. I am doing an internship in Cochabamba, Bolivia with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and their Welfare and Self-Reliance initiatives. Archives
August 2019
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