Life is too Short to Acclimate

     The United States does not have an abundance of Bolivian restaurants for a reason: Americans are oftentimes afraid to broaden their culinary horizons. It is true that Bolivia is not known for its dishes, but that is certainly not from a lack of effort. I have seen some creative combinations of food and some even more creative uses of animal products. In the spirit of immersing myself as fully as possible and living the 'paceña' lifestyle, I dove into the culinary culture first and foremost. Every guidebook that you read, every internet blog post that you find, and every travelled person you meet will tell you not to eat street food or try new types of food during your first days or even weeks in a place like La Paz; however, I challenge that. As Drake would say: you only live once. Not to say that eating a salteña from a street vendor when you arrive cannot have consequences, but the benefits far outweigh the repercussions in my opinion. La Paz is full of unique cuisine, and life is too short to wait for your body to acclimate or for your digestive system to adjust. 
     Alexis, my gringa companion in my Bolivian escapades, and I wasted no time trying Bolivian cuisine when we arrived in La Paz. After 27 very long hours of travel, we arrived to our hotel in the Miraflores district of La Paz. When the staff saw the condition that we were in, they immediately sent mate de coca to our room: hot tea from the leaves of coca plants. After a day of rest and recovery, we set out to see the city. 
     We had been explicitly told not to eat salteñas (small, savory, meat-filled empanada type cuisine typical of Bolivia) and not to eat from street vendors during our first week. We bought the first salteñas that we saw from a cart in the San Francisco Plaza and thoroughly enjoyed the rich, juicy, savory treat from the street. For our next escapade, we asked the concierge at the hotel where we could walk for dinner. With some hesitation she said, "Sillpich está cerca, es un restaurante muy típico de Bolivia." So off the Sillpich we went to try some platos bolivianos. I never read that Sillpich was specifically a bad idea, but the restaurant had several of the warning signs. For comparison, it looked like a Huddle House that served meat dishes and probably would not proudly display its Health Department grade. When my sillpancho de res arrived, I was not quite sure what to do with it: strange colored potatoes in a bed of rice covered with a very thin, circular piece of meat topped with red and green peppers and a fried egg. All of the food barely fit on the plate, and I sat there for a moment planning a strategy on how to eat it. After I conquered the sillpancho, I felt unstoppable. This week I tried anticucho for the first time from a street vendor. Anticucho is grilled cow's heart covered in a spicy peanut sauce. I have had several other interesting dishes (like llama) that I will not mention here, but I cannot wait to continue these culinary escapades. 
     Did I get sick several times and question my decisions? Yes. Do I regret eating a gyro from a literal hole-in-the-wall stand? Absolutely not. Your body will not become accustomed to the food until you eat the food. You will probably have some adverse effects whether or not you eat the street food on the first day or the 25th day: so why wait?