Bolivians: MacGyvers of the South

One thing that PCVs and Bolivians have in common is there MacGyver like resourcefulness. What I´ve learned as a PCV(T) is that everything has a purpose, nothing goes to waste and don´t throw anything out ever...you might need that gum wrapper for something and anyway there are no garbage cans and little in the way of organized garbage pick up (a truck does come by on Monday mornings but most everything gets burned or used for something else.) All the scraps/leftovers from cooking or from the process of making something like quesillo are used to feed various animals, the dogs, cats, pigs, cows, sheep what have you. I was doing laundry the other day and Doña Juana was showing me what to do (it´s all by hand) and it turns out that the plastic from an empty detergent package is just the thing you need to put in the drain with the stopper over it so that the sinks hold the water but it´s still easy to unplug them, ingenious! Washing clothes by hand is actually not that bad, it´s a good upper body workout and in a way relaxing. We have this scrubber brush that works like a champ, it got all the mud out from the bottom of my pants and they were pretty filthy. I dried most of my clothes in the sun but if need be the lines from my mosquito netting also make great clotheslines/storage. The bag for my sleeping bag makes a great laundry bag and my sleeping bag makes a great mattress pad. It all works. My metal pill case worked great as a waterproof wallet during carnival. My friends who didn´t have towels at first discovered that their t-shirts worked just as well. It´s all about using what you´ve got and being adaptable to the situation. It´s actually really fun- think of all the things you could do with an empty plastic bottle! We learned to make these things called tippy-tops which is basically a ¨faucet¨made from an upside down soda bottle, they work really well. They also make really cool bags from the plastic of soda bottle wrappers. I´m hoping to learn how to crochet the plastic, one of the host moms said she would teach us.

By far the coolest thing that Bolivia has recycled are the 1950s school buses which are called Micros and vans which are called trufis and are used for public transportation. They only cost 1.50-2bs/ride and they are the best way to travel. They are pimped out so ridiculously, I will have to post a pic eventually to give you the full effect. They are painted red, white and blue on the outside, and inside they are filled with the most absurd pictures, stickers and posters. Each Micro or Trufi has a distinct personality. Some are plastered with teddy bear stickers, pics of Avril or other random celebrities, ones with WWF wrestling posters, spiderman stickers, barbie stickers, disney characters, lots of Jesus pics, goth posters with a skull gear shifter, fuzzy dice, the works. Also, they are bumpy and crowded, as crowded or more so than the NYC subway. You can not imagine how many Bolivians you can fit in a van, at times more than 20. Everytime I take one I feel like I´m in a clown car, just when you think there can´t possibly be space for another human being here comes 5 school kids and they all get in. It´s so much fun and I´m just glad that I´m short because most of my fellow gringos are seriously cramped when riding in the trufis or micros. One of my favorite micro experiences to date is a quote from my friend Lebo right after we board micro E: ¨Watch out, there´s a chicken behind you.¨

CORRECTION: Last post I said the blockade was because of gas but that issue was resolved, the blockade was actually because the drivers want the road to be fixed (it´s really bad, like they are often driving on the wrong side of the road to avoid giant potholes) and they were promised that it would be fixed but they´re still awful. There have been a few more blockades around the city but no more in my hood.

In other news we have tech week coming up. We will be traveling around to some sites of current volunteers, giving charlas (talks, presentations) working a lot with bees and deciding on our sites. We got the descriptions of all 15 and they all sound pretty amazing. It´s definitely going to be a tough decision but ultimately they are going to match the person with a site where they can use their skills most effectively. We are all going to be doing great work and hopefully everyone is happy with their placement. The next time you hear from me I might actually know where I will be spending the next 2 years! So exciting...til then.

paz