Strikes!

Last week I experienced several of my first transportation predicaments in Bolivia. On my way out to Oruro, after having left at 5am from Sacaca, our bus, along with several others, was stopped at 6:30 am by several campesinos from Layumpampa (a community that is part of Sacaca’s Municipality). We find out that they are blockading because of the horrendous hours that the three bus companies choose to leave on a weekly basis. These hours typically fall between 4am – 5am, which means several of the campesinos must leave their communities sometimes at the hour of 1am to walk to the main road to be able to get picked up by one of these three buses. Ironically, all of the buses leave at exactly the same time. Who knows why for sure, but that morning I felt both frustration and admiration for these campesinos. It’s true these hours are horrendous, and something should be done to change them. However, being on that bus, first in line, to be stopped by the blockade for god knows how long, was maddening to say the least. I slept for probably an hour more, to wake up to the same mess. So I along with a few other passengers decided to get off the bus and walk the 2+ hour distance to the next town to hopefully catch some mobility to Oruro. It turned out to be a very pleasant morning. Although those two + hours of walking turned into a very sore back and hungry belly later. We arrived in Bolivar sometime around 10am and sat in the plaza to wait and find out news about the next mobilidad. A taxi passes us during our waiting period, and three of us miss out on that ride. No one believes in lines here. Pero se la vi, fortunately we were to find a bus that was leaving at 3pm to Oruro. Score! We buy tickets and are slowly making our way there. Perhaps one of the slowest bus drivers I have come to ride with so far here in Bolivia, ….. what a painful ride. Well….what should have normally taken us 4 hours to get to Oruro, took us 14 that day.

Last week I was invited to help out a Peace Corps friend with her Feria de medio ambiente (Environmental Fair), which surprisingly turned out to be quite the success. The fair took place in the plaza of Huari, also known for its brewery here in Bolivia. Three schools got involved and all of the students that were asked to give presentations did. A sight I wasn’t half expecting, but was pleasantly surprised by. It was an all day event, beginning around 9am and going till about 2pm. It was fun, but even better it gave great ideas for future events I may want to put into action here in Sacaca. Two days were spent in Huari. I returned to Oruro to find out that transportation strikes and bloqueos were expected for nearly the entire week all over the country, primarily in Cochabamba, Oruro, Potosi, La Paz, and Chuquisaca. So there I was stuck in Oruro for a week because the transportation union was on strike for most likely pay reasons. But you know me, I made the best of it…. Preparing for the many classes I had lined up for the following week, and taking advantage of all the food options! Because of Sacaca’s random departure times, I was stuck in Oruro until that following Sunday, a full week in the city! It was actually quite fabulous. The weekend was full of fun, I got to experience my first live Bolivian band (Octavia) at a new club and was able to fully rest up for what I was expecting to be a very intense teaching week.

On my ride home from Oruro, I experienced my first flat tire on a bus. Surprisingly it only put us back an hour. This week started off fairly well, with classes Monday. However, I chose to eat some campo cheese on a fried egg sandwich for lunch that afternoon, and by the end of the night I was hurting with stomach pains and bowel problems: my second sickness since living in Sacaca. Both Tuesday and Wednesday I was out of commission, only able to sleep and get up to take a bit of water and go to the bathroom. 48 hours passed and all I could throw back was my favorite hot beverage, warm instant milk with sugar, and a buttered loaf of bread. It surprisingly however was a fast two days. Today I awoke ready to get back on schedule. I walked up to the San Luis school, a campo school that is technically in the Sacaca town boundaries, to teach a 3^rd grade class on the human body. And to my semi-surprise the school was closed. There has been talk about a nation wide teachers strike due to teachers’ salaries and what not. I’m not entirely certain what the strike is about. A strike that has rumors of lasting indefinitely, meaning until their winter break begins – the month of July, but may only last 72 hours. So what was expected of being an intense teaching week turns out to be a week of sickness and ‘strike’ days (almost like a snow day - Speaking of snow, yesterday we got a little dusting). Perhaps next week I’ll have better luck.

Next week will be my two month mark in Sacaca. The second month has not only gone by much faster but has seemed to be a much more productive one. I now seem to know several of the teachers in the community, who no longer hold back in asking me about coordinating classes. I have begun to build up a personal supply of teaching materials, like posters and games that have so far gone over very well, and have even started to feel semi comfortable teaching. Only a month left until I get to see all my B47 buddies and then fly home for my brothers wedding! Life is looking pretty, pretty good.