Oblivion ??? ….. Bolivia !!!!

Older - definitely & Wiser - hopefully

May is a good time for a birthday, I always thought.

This year it’s been raining May babies….

Mazel Tov to Bobby and Marlene on becoming Grandparents…Casey & Deena Savlov have added Noah Ethan to the family.

I always felt I was a pretty good uncle, but now I’m a Great-Uncle. Mazel Tov to Carrie and Adam on the safe arrival of Hannah Rachel on May 22. As well, Mazel Tov to Gayle & Mark on becoming Grandparents and to my Dad on becoming a Great-Zayde. Isn’t that great ?

And more Mazel Tovs to Andrea & Caley Feldman who welcomed Zoe Olivia Lynn on Wednesday the 28th. What a terrific day for a birthday !!!

Just as many of you are counting down the days until the end of the school year - it’s June !!! - I’m getting psyched for my winter vacation. Three weeks to go !! I’m leaving on June 21 on an ambitious itinerary. My first destination is back to La Paz to ride The Road of Death - a bicycle ride down “The World’s Most Dangerous Road” (Google it). I want to go 60 KPH on a bicycle now that I’m 60. It’s the original route from La Paz down to Coroico… 64 Km ride with a descent of 3660 m… pretty decent - check out this news report http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/Story?id=4120791&page=1 . If I survive that, then it’s back up (by car) and on to Lake Titicaca; followed by a couple of days in Cuzco; and, a visit to Machu Picchu - a legitimate Wonder of the World. Then I’m planning to be like Indiana Jones (and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) and fly over the line drawings of the Nazca Plains; and, a couple of days in Lima. A trans-continental flight to Buenos Aires will allow me to see the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans on the same day. Almost a week in Buenos Aires and a trip to see Iguazu Falls. Hopefully there will be enough water falling to get “the Maid of the Mist-type” boat ride. And then, back to Bolivia and work. Sounds pretty good, eh ? Anyone want to join me ?

But before that, a couple of school stories:

Marks here are out of 70 , not 100%. (???) Somebody thought of this. With 35 as the dividing line between a “pass” or “failure”, it’s apparently Seduca - Department of Education - policy that we can’t give 35s. It’s neither a pass nor a failure. If a kid has earned a 35, we have to make it a 34, so parents can’t whine for the single mark to bring it up to a pass. Imagine, somebody actually thought this up too !!! The reasoning here is sometimes beyond belief…. (but then we leave out 13th floors in high rise buildings). Scream or laugh ???…. I’m trying to keep laughing !!

Then, Parent Interview Night, last Friday, was called for 6:30. We were told be be back at school by 6:20 so we would be on time. Then we were told not to start on time, because no one ever arrives on time. ??????

And then there are sometimes good ideas - next Friday is Teachers’ Day - a school holiday !! The rumour is that the boss throws a party for the staff at a restaurant somewhere. Haven’t heard anything definite yet.

Something very flattering arrived in my email today- a request from a Japanese travel magazine to publish one of my photographs from the Carnival in Oruro, for their feature on Andean festivals. I get a free copy of the magazine !! I think it’s pretty cool !

Bolivian politics in Cochabamba has quietened down somewhat. There was a protest parade that went by during my last Spanish lesson, but no sit-ins, sleep-ins, or crucifiction-ins lately.

Here’s a summary from the latest clippings:

“The referendums scheduled in Beni and Pando provinces tomorrow are the latest in a wave of autonomy votes that present the socialist president with his strongest challenge since taking office in January 2006 . The votes have also sparked fears that this impoverished nation of 9.1 million may be on the verge of division or civil war….Morales has called the referendums illegal and separatist but has so far refrained from sending in troops or police to stop the votes. Some analysts, however, speculate the government may make a stronger show of force this weekend, especially after anti-Morales activists violently prevented the president from addressing a rally in the historic capital of Sucre a week ago…..One story making the rounds is that the U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia is the real power behind the Santa Cruz autonomy movement - Ambassador Phillip Goldberg having been sent here specifically for that task after pulling off the same fete in Kosovo.”

Peace, everyone

I always liked that line…..together with Mr. Spock’s, “Live long and prosper.”

It’s been a few weeks since my last ramble ……

Firstly, I want to wish cousin Paul - “Feliz Cumpleaños” - on hitting the BIG SIX-OH. There was a time that 60 sounded really old…but not anymore !!! I hope you had a great day - I left messages around, but didn’t get to speak to you….many more in good health…. I’m savouring my last weeks of my fifties.

Yesterday marked my hundredth day here. I’ve remarked how the time is passing so quickly, and this benchmark is certainly another indicator. But also, it’s hard to imagine how at home I feel here. Certainly my world is confined to where I go and what I do, but I am very comfortable going there and doing it. The circle of familiar places is widening, and there are more and more friendly faces to greet along the way. I’m even running into people I know on the streets !

I’ve stated Spanish lessons, with Marisol, Lani’s tutor. We supposedly are teaching each other. She is getting ready to take the Teosl exam. I am almost fluent - if you want to know my name and how I’m feeling, as long as I’m feeling fine. “Buenos dias/tardes/noches. Me llamo Joel. Mucho gusto. Yo muy bien.”

School is at the one-third mark…end of the first trimester. We are in a two week period of Evaluation - exams and review, BUT NO NEW TEACHING !!! Lots of marking for the next week…UGH !! Once exams are over, we have a week of Reinforcement, again NO NEW TEACHING !!! After these two weeks of reviewing for exams, I’m to select parts of the curriculum that I’ve already covered ( and reviewed ) and reteach it. ?????? I’m not sure if this is Bolivian policy, or just the way it’s done at Tito’s Place. By the way, the current scorecard here is: four grade 3 teachers to three academic directors to two secretaries !! The trick, I think, is to stay out of the office. Can’t find anyone to bet on the “over” for the new academic director. Over the years, with all the Principals and Vice Principals I’ve worked for, I’ve always noted the difference between working for a leader and working for a boss….definitely have another boss here !! Not too many leaders around.

One bout of Bolivian reality occurred last Friday when Fred, Nick and I met at one of the outdoor restaurants on the Prado for our final time together for a few months. Nick’s program is ending and he’s to return to the States shortly. After a few hours, a few beers, and a few street kids, peddling their wares, making their usual rounds through the tables, Nick looked down for his bag - but it was gone. It had been a souvenir from when he was a delegate to the Democratic Party convention, and, had lots of lecture notes, various scholarly items he was working on, and other class materials. It was a great loss for him and his students…fortunately there was no money, or personal identification documents. It just goes to show how skilled the street thieves are.

Today is a BIG day in this country. This is what I received from the Canadian Foreign Affairs Emergency Operations Centre:
OFFICIAL WARNING: Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada advises against non-essential travel to the Department of Santa Cruz because of political tensions regarding Bolivia’s referendum on regional autonomy which is scheduled for May 4, 2008. This referendum is opposed by the Government and its supporters as unconstitutional. There are risks of public protests during the period prior to and following this date. Similar referendums are expected in June 2008 for the Departments of Tarija, Beni and Pando.
Road blockades are common during times of protest, affecting transportation and limiting access to services and amenities. Canadians should avoid demonstrations at all times and not attempt to pass through roadblocks, and they should also monitor local news reports. The road from Santa Cruz to the border with Argentina and the roads leading to La Paz’s International airport, located in El Alto, are particularly vulnerable to blockades.

When I registered with Foreign Affairs I had hoped that it was some sort of dating service; but seriously, if you are ever going to spend a significant time in a foreign country I strongly advise that you register with the Canadian embassy or consulate. You can do so on-line…. here’s the link: http://www.voyage.gc.ca/main/sos/roca_notice-en.asp

There’s lots of apprehension here….no one is quite sure what to expect. I’m going to give you an idea of what I know with a series of headlines and quotes I’ve seen in different recent news articles:

- The spectre of violence, possibly even a civil war, is hanging heavy over Bolivia ahead of an autonomy vote on Sunday by its richest province that the government has declared illegal.

- Bolivia is bracing for a weekend vote on autonomy by one of its opposition-run provinces that many fear could send the Latin American nation into violent turmoil….Local authorities in Santa Cruz, a territory rich in natural gas that counts as the wealthiest of Bolivia’s nine provinces, are expected to win overwhelming backing in the referendum. If it is passed, they plan to implement statutes giving them greater control over the region’s finances, and the right to create their own security force….Sunday’s referendum is mostly a reaction to Morales’s determined push to revise the constitution to give more power and wealth to the indigenous population.

- The crisis was triggered by Morales’s plans to overhaul Bolivia’s constitution to redistribute much of the wealth of the eastern provinces to the poorer Andean highlands. The conflict has taken on an ethnic context, pitting the poor indigenous majority of the mountainous area against the richer, ethnically mixed descendants in the lower provinces.

- Morales, the country’s first indigenous president, counters that he needs a strong central government to spread Santa Cruz’s wealth to the rest of South America’s poorest country….He has proposed a constitution that would outline a detailed bill of rights and considerable autonomy for the country’s 36 indigenous groups. The constitution has yet to go to voters.

- In all kinds of political and social circles here one hears in ominous whispered tones the words, civil war. No question, the situation is delicate and dangerous….The real danger of violence – and it is real – is from unexpected explosions where rival sides will find themselves in physical proximity to one another.

- In Bolivia there is an all-out power struggle between the poor, indigenous majority and the wealthier people of European origin in the country’s east. That struggle is to come to a head Sunday when the one million residents of the province of Santa Cruz de la Sierra go to the polls in a referendum seeking greater autonomy for the wealthy region. Observers are not prepared to rule out a break-up of the Andean country of nine million people…The issue over control of profits from the area’s rich natural resources has also been key in the ongoing nationalization of the country’s energy resources….The president seems determined to have his way whatever the cost, observers noted.

- The wealthy white governor stood beneath a giant statue of Jesus and promised freedom to the tens of thousands cheering him on — freedom from a llama herder-turned-president who reveres the Indian earth goddess Pachamama….”Autonomy! Autonomy!” the crowd screamed, waving flags bearing the cross of Santa Cruz state….But the reasons why a referendum Sunday asking voters to approve a broad declaration of autonomy is expected to pass in a landslide have more to do with divisions of culture and race that have tormented Bolivia for centuries….Many white and mixed-race middle-class Bolivians here feel that President Evo Morales, the nation’s first Indian president, doesn’t represent them.

- Bolivian military warns against autonomy vote….The declaration heightens the stakes of Sunday’s vote in opposition-controlled Santa Cruz, which many fear could trigger widespread violence, possibly even military intervention.

- Some fear that the years of built-up frustration could spill out into streets Sunday. Both sides have vowed that they won’t start a fight, but it’s not hard to find evidence of a combative edge to the conflict. Buildings all over the city are covered with graffiti that speaks the words few Cruceños — the term for people from this region — are saying aloud: “Resist or Die!”….”To Your Guns, Cruceños!”

I think I’m going to follow my student, Arturo’s advice: Meester Joel..you shouldn’t go out on Sunday !

I wonder if this news will even make it to The Toronto Star ? The Sun ??????

So what’s new at home ? I hope everyone is enjoying spring. Are the forsythia in bloom yet ?

Que le vaya bien.