Oblivion ??? ….. Bolivia !!!!

Hooray !! I’ve got my visa ! I can stay here legally until next March - after two months, one bribe, and 2 photo sittings, 3 sets of fingerprints, thousands of Bolivianos, and countless mananas. (Now that I’m connected at home and don’t frequent the Internet cafes, I don’t have the Spanish keyboard with the Spanish punctuation.) Two days later, after 2 more sets of fingerprints and another 2 different photos I picked up my identity card. Whew ! Nurem, my visa guy, says that getting an additional year is a lot cheaper and easier. I’m not convinced yet about another year here.
Now that it’s spring in Toronto, makes me particularly homesick. My bicycle rides every day through Mt. Pleasant Cemetery - seeing spring unfold day by day, are among my favourite times at home. It’s almost time for the forsythia and magnolia trees to bloom. Next year, maybe.

The weather has cleared here…the rain has stopped…and who needs windshield wipers ?

When I said that strike season has started, I wasn’t kidding. The political situation here is really screwed up. Evo Morales, el Presidente, is trying to accomplish a socialist revolution of sorts. Currently, there is a new constitution being proposed, that would take much from the rich overclass, and supposedly redistribute the wealth and property to the masses. Some of my earlier photos have shown some of the supporters /protesters. I promise to read the constitution draft as soon as I finish the school rules. The various “provinces” with the non-socialist governors have been threatening to declare autonomy from the national government. The Cochabamba district has tables set up in a couple places I know of to get people to sign petitions supporting autonomy from the La Paz government. Maybe I’ll try out my new ID card to see if I can sign up (or get deported).
There was supposed to be a national referendum on the constitution on May 4, but the supreme court quashed that. Still, a couple of the provinces are holding referenda that day to force the autonomy question. Santa Cruz, the richest of the districts, and most vocal in opposition to Evo’s plan has been prohibited from shipping cooking oil to the rest of the country. ????? This is Evo’s punishment for opposing the new constitution. Since Monday, all the highways have been blocked - the blockados - essentially shutting down all travel and transport between cities. It’s a giant staring contest, waiting to see who blinks first.
The post office - there’s one in Cochabamba - has been closed by striking workers for the past 11 days. There is no door to door delivery here and so no one has been receiving or mailing anything. I hope that Canada Revenue Agency will accept my excuse for my late tax return.
This school is similarly crazy. Tomorrow is Sports Day - when all the classes are to parade around the concrete soccer field, representing different Olympic events. My class’ is fencing. Our poster has the slogan - “Think sharp…Get the point !” A construction crew has been working furiously to complete the tin canopy over the “field”. We held the dress rehearsal this afternoon, while the welders were up above trying to get the job completed - or they weren’t going to be paid in full.

I have to be there at 8:30 on a Saturday morning, but the festivities are to end in time so they don’t have to serve us lunch.

Earlier this week, my Camila arrived 5 minutes late, and we waited for her to get settled in for the first period Math lesson. The Academic Director, who must have seen her arrive from the office window, came, interrupted the lesson, and took her to the office, where she had to serve an immediate detention - to teach her a lesson. Her mother drives her to school. The philosophy here is that it’s better to miss an entire lesson than just 5 minutes. ????? Maybe it’s one of the 142 rules, but I wanted to ask the Director why she thought that was a good idea - but she quit (or got fired) today before I got a chance !! Now I’m wondering if, by the end of the year, we’ll have had more grade 3 teachers or more Academic Directors. ????? The tally will be 4 to 3, once the replacement is hired.

So, how’s everything at home ? Enjoying Spring ?

Take care everyone - forget the cards & letters, but do email….MSN…..Skype