yesterday i was still in la paz. i didn’t really do much traveling. in fact, i pretty much just stayed in the hotel, trying to research and read as much as i could about bolivia on the internet. i spent several hours surfing the web, trying to see if i could find an organization i could volunteer with in the departments of el beni, el pando, santa cruz, or cochabamba… the places that have been hit by the flooding. but i couldn’t find anything that said “come join us! we need your help”. i just found websites where you could donate your money to help out. and i also found out about what specific organizations are doing - donating food, etc - but nothing about recruiting volunteers. i was frusterated i couldn’t find anything…. so anyway, later in the evening my dad an i went out to dinner, and in the restaurant we ran into one of my dad’s co-workers in usaid. we chated a bit, and i told her what i was doing with engineers without boarders (ewb). she then mentioned something about how she had talked to someone earlier that week who was looking volunteer work in bolivia. and that she can hook them up with opportunities in the flood emergency areas of bolivia. hummm. i kept thinking about how i couldn’t find anything on the internet, wasting like 7 hours, and now this woman knows everything that i want to know. she even invited my dad and me to dinner to talk about career opportunities for me… ha!
today i traveled to cochabamba (cbb) by bus. orginally, the ewb group was supposed to arrive in la paz bolivia at 6.30am today. so i went (with my dad, who has been very helpful in coordinating some ewb logistics) to the airport to see if i could greet them, and travel by bus with them to cbb. but, we learned that the plane was to arrive at 8.30pm because the plane had engine problems…. after one hour into the flight, the plane had to turn back to miami. throughout this whole week american airlines to la paz bolivia has been arriving late for one reason or another. there was also an engine problem sometime last week as well.
so i took a bus to cbb at 7.30am by myself. the trip took 7 hours, and it was not bad at all. i very much enjoyed looking at the scenery, seeing the people, thinking deep thoughts about poverty, socialism, evo morales, natural gas, water shortages in the country and flooding in other part of the country, the fulbright scholar fiasco and spying on venezuelan and cuban doctors, and che (and about you nicole, after you metioned the motorcyle diaries :-P). i keep seeing the murals painted with socialistic ideals - strength in unity, military service, a muscular arm painted on the wall carrying a torch symbolizing power and progress by working together. like in many countries, it is required that the males go through 1 year of military service.
i think it would be great if both men and women were required to do one year of service, but not necesarily military. it would be a way for people to really feel a part of the greater social network. get rid of individualism and selfishness for a while - realize that you live in a country, and you are part of that greater organism. make real change as an organized force. i’m not sure if i’m expressing myself well, but what i’m trying to get at is how much power there is in an organized group of people working together, with the same heart and mindset. watch the documentary “un poquito de tanta verdad”. watch how people mobilize themselves, watch how they work together for a cause. i think i am socialist at heart… a moderate socialist perhaps?
and now i am in cbb at my great aunt’s (tia vigi) house. i think that is what she is in relation to me…. she is my grandmother’s (from my mom’s side) first cousin. i can never get the geneology straight. i got a call from my dad and he said that the airplane with the ewb group is now due to arrive at 10.30pm. ok. so that means that the group will get here in cbb tomorrow, sunday. we better hurry… we need to buy supplies and food for 2 weeks. tia vigi said that on monday there will be a “paro”or a strike of public transportation (buses, taxis, trufis, minibuses, car rentals), so the roads will be blocked, and we probably won’t be able to get out of ccb. the ewb plan was to rent a car and drive 6 hours, or 100km as the crow flies, to yanayo. so we better rent the car and leave tomorrow, sunday. but the again, susan, the ewb coordinator says that part of the road is impassable to cars (from the rains maybe?). so we will have to get out in a town before yanayo and walk 13km. but that would be a very difficult job when carrying 2 weeks worth of food, so we will probably hire porters to help us carry the food. ha! now talk about a breathful of issues…. this is going to be interesting…
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