Rainy Season

this will be the most exciting email i have written yet. clearly not because of content but instead because i am composing this in the bedroom of a 15 year old bolivian. (i expect some hilarious comments from the peanut gallery). don't worry mom, I am house sitting and she is not here.

the next two weeks will be a life of comfort for me as I am taking care of an expatriot house (US embassy property) in a rich suburb of La Paz. it is a nice change of pace after 4 months of one room apartments and hotel rooms. the 4 bedroom house is complete with king size bed, enormous rooms, fully stocked fridge, freezer and cupboards, maid, cook, international tv, fireplace, bbq, etc. The owners are in the USA for the Olympics. And i have two daughters (15 and 12) and a cat to look after. The neighbor across the street is the former president's daughter who has presidential aspirations of her own.

i havent written in several weeks and in the meantime apart from settling into the work routine i have had some interesting experiences. the first of which was visiting oruru for the start of carnival. the festivities consist mostly of parades and drinking. however, the parade is only a back drop for the real festivities which include throwing water in various forms (balloons, water guns, hoses, buckets, etc.) from cars, roofs, windows, etc. at other people. this goes on regardless of day, time or location all over Bolivia. an enormous water war. i got a bit caught up in throwing water balloons. it is great fun. but gringos are probably the most popular targets (strategic regions of very attractive young women are a very close second). you quickly become acclimated (or paranoid) to keeping an eye out in all directions for the next projectile.

i also got out for a very cool hike to devil's tooth which is just on the edge of la paz. the zenith provided a beautiful view of la paz and the valley on the otherside of the mountains which surround the city.

i have experienced the challenges of being a tourist in a country without a tourist economy. made an attempt to visit the hot springs 75km south of la paz. after getting off the bus at the turn off for Ormiri it quickly became clear that it would be difficult to get the final 25km. there was not a soul to be seen anywhere (was planning on hopping a pickup or hitchhiking). but it was nice to be out in the middle of nowhere and the landscape was amazing.

i also experienced the challenges of political instability in the third world. my second trip to Peter's house at lake titicaca was forceably cancelled. the campesinos here in bolivia are unhappy with their representation in and treatment by the government. the popular form of protest is to put rocks in the road (there are very few main arteries) and stand around the area drinking (bloqueos). This actually successfully brings all transportation to a halt. it is terrible for all aspects of the economy but they have a reason to be upset by broken promises and disparities in social services, etc. the road to the lake has been blocked for a month so far and there is no resolution in site.

but the real news occurred on tuesday afternoon. although the train fire in egypt seems to be getting the headlines, there was also a terrible disaster in la paz. it is the rainy season here and during the afternoons it rains pretty much everyday. however, on tuesday half a meter of rain fell in an hour. due to its topography, the city sits in a valley in a circle of mountains, and lack of infrastructure this amount of water (the most in recorded history to fall in such a short time) created a national disaster. streets turned into torrential rivers and cars, people, homes, etc. were caught in the current. Most recent numbers i have seen are that more than 70 people were killed and hundreds remain missing. electricity, phones and water were all cut. Roads, homes, bridges, sidewalks, water mains all destroyed. The government declared its own capital a national disaster area. And it is unclear how long it will take to clean up and repair the damage. it was an experience.

that is the quick summary of the last few weeks. work is a little stressful now as we have reached the most important 2 weeks in the life of DESATEL as the govt bid is due on march 6th for the subsidy to build telecenters in rural bolivia. wish us luck.

and at long last, for those who care, here is my contact information:

work (most likely to catch me here):
phone: 591 - 2 - 244-4311
address: DESATEL S.A., Calle Jauregui, 2248, La Paz, Bolivia

home:
phone: 591 - 2 - 243-3733 (ask Mary to get me... she speaks not a word of english)

housesitting: (til march 3rd)
phone: 591 - 2 - 278-4470