* Bolivia seems less touristy and locals don´t seem to hound others to buy their stuff, come into their restaurants, or use their services. Overall, a much more chilled-out vibe.
* The roads are AWFUL. Bus and taxi rides are long and very uncomfortable!
* Motorbikes are quite popular and not uncommon to see three people on one. In fact, the record I saw was a family of FIVE!
* It felt a little crazy that while staying at Init Wara Yassi we were amongst the largest area in the country for producing coca leaves for the use of cocaine. That being said...
* Bolivia gets a rep for being a more "dangerous" country, but we really never felt unsafe during our month-long stay here.
* Along with the chilled-out feel, there is a also friendly feel...from the cross-walk zebras of La Paz to friendly small town taxi drivers who would slow down to wave and smile at their friends along the journey.
* Fresh juice can be purchased practically anywhere, made with water or milk and come in lots of delicious flavors...papaya, pineapple, strawberry, orange, apple, banana, peach and sometimes passion fruit. There is also a very delicious bottled juice called Jugo Del Valle which I absolutely loved.* Popular packaged snacks are choko soda (soda crackers covered in chocolate) and cremositas (very similar to oreos) as well as oreos and chips ahoy. Soda is everwhere...mostly CocaCola and Fanta.
* Salteñas are a popular street food like an empanada with a mixture of meat, chicken, veggies, rice and/or potatoes. Very yummy, although I did find an entire chicken wing in one, bone and all (which made me laugh), and an intenstine (which didn´t make me laugh).
* And finally, the thing that has been puzzling me the most since we´ve been here (and I´m hoping someone knows the answer to)...can someone tell me why the milk, yogurt, and mayonese never seem to be refrigerated? How do they not go bad? Even in the stores, they are mostly on the shelves, not the cooler? I would like some answers...
So I can't give you an official answer on the non-refrigerated milk and yogurt, but I can tell you it's more common than you'd think. When Sean was in France for a summer the milk at his host family's house was the same way. They put it in the fridge for him b/c he preferred it cold, but it didn't need to be cold.
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