Hello, Again -

Bolivia has been in a bit of an uproar for the last couple of weeks.  The government apparently has passed a law to take away some already-saved-or-earned retirement money from the working class and give it to the indigenos in the campo (the Indian people who live out in the hills and have no way of saving for retirement, and/or no money to save.)  The working people are up in arms about it, naturally – I would be, too – so there have been strikes and marches and bloqueos (streets are literally and solidly blocked by crowds of people who simply don’t move – sort of like Ghandi’s peaceful protests) in all the major cities.  Attendance at the temple has been way-y-y-y-y down, because people simply can’t get here through all the protesters.  Luckily all the bloqueos are south of the river, all around the City Center, and our grocery store is north of the river, so we have been able to do our grocery shopping but not able to go anywhere else. 

 

We did make what we hope was our LAST trip to Immigration.  We spent more than two hours mostly sitting or standing in waiting rooms while Marcelo - our invaluable facilitator from the temple whose job is to get us "foreign missionaries" through all the red tape and bureaucracy - did his thing.  As far as we know, our "Bolivian ID" should be forthcoming in 2-3 weeks.  Here's a picture of us with Marcelo the morning of our appointment.

 

Here's a picture of the entrance to the Police Clinic where we went first to get our "certificates" - also a copy of Farron's "certificate" itself.  This is the paperwork that certifies we are healthy and it's safe to let us stay in Bolivia for 18 months.  <smile>   (By the way, I was afraid to take pictures inside the clinic; I thought it might offend them and that would not have been a smart move.)

 

 

Here are two pictures we took of some of the protest marchers.  The first group (students, faculty and probably parents, from two universities) caused us to sit and wait an extra 15 minutes before we could start home from the Immigration Office - and when we did get away, we had to drive a few miles out of our way to get around the closed streets.  We got out of our parking space while there was a 1-minute gap between the first and second groups.  The second group was from a different university.  (Notice the umbrellas:  it wasn't raining, but men and women alike use umbrellas for shade.  We are up so high that the sun is really a force to be reckoned with.)

 

 

Lastly a picture taken from inside the trufi on our way to church this morning.

 

Every week, these donkeys (and these people) are on this street corner, but we don't know why!  There is no provision for children to ride them - nor any children doing so, coming or going - nor are they loaded with any kind of burden - they are just there.  If we ever figure out their purpose, I will certainly let you know.  In the meantime, I just find it intriguing (or maybe puzzling?) to see donkeys in the middle of a busy intersection every Sunday morning.

 

That's all for today.  No post next week, by the way.  We will be out of town (in La Paz), so I should have great pictures for you the week after next.  

 

Adios, amigos, y vayan con Dios .....