this is Evita, this is the end

The first consolidation, aka Consuelo Uno, was basically a really good time. We had all the volunteers together at a swanky resort in the middle of nowhere Santa Cruz. We had meetings and "open spaces" to talk about how to be more effective volunteers and a lot of good advice was shared on projects and coping with volunteer life. In between these meetings we would jump in the pool and swim for 15 or 20 minutes and then run back to have another meeting. There was even a swim up bar at this place, and as some of you may know it has always been a dream of mine to swim to my alcohol. Other highlights included the All Vol Ball, which was a drag themed dance party. I have to say, PC volunteers know how to commit when it comes to theme parties. Overall, the mood of this consolidation was optimistic, as in we're not going anywhere and everything is calm. The vote happened and there was no reaction so we were sent home a few days later. Ironically, while at consolidation we heard about the Georgia volunteers being evacuated to Armenia because of the war with Russia. This was very difficult for our new Country Director who had just been the CD for Georgia. She was dealing with a lot, worrying about the safety of both her old and new volunteers. Bolivia even offered 5 spots to transferring Georgia volunteers and we were all so excited to get new volunteers, but since just a month later we were being consolidated and evacuated as well, those volunteers never came.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. In the month between the vote and all the crazy political stuff that led to our second consolidation and evacuation I actually did manage to get a little work done and even get settled in to my new site...just in time to leave. I started teaching environmental education to the 1st/2nd/3rd grade class, but really that class was whatever I wanted it to be and the kids were very receptive. In the 4th/5th/6th grade class we worked in the garden and I also started teaching English (naturally). My counter-part in the women's group was really enthusiastic about everything and we started having meetings with the women about what they wanted to learn. We started with a knitting class, which was kind of boring so we talked about doing something more physical like exercise/dance class. Oh I had such great plans to teach cholitas the latest moves from the US of A.

The Tarija volunteers had our Project Development Workshop with our counter-parts where we gave our presentations on our sites and learned how to write a project. Right after this is when things started getting bad in Bolivia. Most of the volunteers couldn't get back to their sites because of road blocks so PC told them to stay in the city. There was a major gas shortage happening and I paid double what it would normally cost in a taxi to my site but I had to get home for classes and this water meeting in my site. So while I was in site, the volunteers in the city were keeping me updated on what was happening in the city. Strikes and protests were increasing and so was violence. The hotel we stay at in the city is right across from a government building where students had protested before. We've seen them break windows, set fires in the doorway, burn tires in the street and throw firecrackers in through the broken windows. Apparently the students took over the building and were staying in there and some cell phone companies had their towers destroyed so we were on EAP alert phase. During this phase my friends were telling me that I should pack my stuff and get ready to leave but I didn't listen. Things were so calm out in the campo, work was continuing as normal and no one seemed worried about an impending civil war or anything like that. Next thing I know, Glenda is calling me telling me that we are in consolidation phase. I call PC to confirm this and my boss Pepe tells me that yes, I do need to get to Tarija by tomorrow morning even though there is NO transportation at all from my site into Tarija. So I talk to Estefania (host mom) and see if I can get a ride to Glenda's site in Don Pedro's truck. He agrees to take me and I hurriedly pack up all my belongings. Something told me that this time it could be for real so for the 3rd time in as many months I packed up everything and tried to prepare myself for the reality of leaving again. I got to Glenda's site and her host dad drove us to Tarija because we weren't sure if we would be able to get transportation with all the strikes and lack of gas. We got into the city that night and PC was still unsure about what they were doing with us. All the other volunteers had already been consolidated to Cochabamba but the Tarija airport was closed so we couldn't get there. Instead they had us leave at 5 the next morning to travel to Bermejo. We were going down in taxis of 4-5 volunteers and the people who hadn't been able to pack had a chance to pack some of their stuff. We finally got to Bermejo and were waiting around the hotel for further instructions. We talked with the Country Director over the phone several times and finally she told us that we would be flying from the Bermejo airport to Cochabamba to be consolidated with the other volunteers. I didn't even know Bermejo had an airport but sure enough...

So we get to the airport around 6 am for our flight and we are waiting around for about an hour. The next thing we know we hear the almost deafening propellers of a C-130 military plane landing and we gather up our luggage and board with the propellers going and all...very dramatic. Half-way through our flight we find out from the crew guy that the plane was stopping in Cochabamba to pick up more passengers and then it was flying to Lima, Peru. So that was how we found out we were being evacuated. Since there were no commercial flights and PC had chartered this former anti-narcotics military plane to fly us out of Bolivia we couldn't actually fit all 113 volunteers on the plane. So some remained in Bolivia and were flying out the next day. It's okay, they got taken to a very swank dinner paid for by Kathleen, our CD. Meanwhile, we were taken to this weird vacation resort center that looked like a 70s rehab center and over the next few weeks came to feel more and more like a prison. Until all the volunteers arrived we couldn't let anyone know where we were. When they finally got there we greeted them with a Bolivian style bloqueo, we blocked the entrance to the "vacation resort center," blasted Bolivian music, passed some drinks around, sang, danced and Lebo, John and I sported the Bolivian flag to show love for the country we had left behind. Earlier in the day we had found out that the PC Bolivia program was being suspended and that we would not be allowed to return. This was a completely bizarre/surreal experience as the info was related via Kathleen over the phone to Bill who repeated what she was saying to all of us. Life just drained from people's faces and the shock and disbelief was tangible, even for those who had seen this as the inevitable outcome.

The entire evacuation was like a horrible dream that you couldn't wake up from. It's something that I've dealt with since making the decision to transfer to Ecuador, and not something that can be fully explained here. The staff of PC Peru, PC Bolivia and the team that came from Washington tried their best to make a bad situation as bearable as possible. There were lots of paperwork and medical tests and all the big life decisions to make so not a lot of time to dwell or to get closure. There were so many plans made and left unfinished. There were so many good-byes to say in such a short time, everyone going off on some new adventure. Some volunteers returned to Bolivia, for work, to say good-bye or to get their dogs. As a transferee I couldn't enter a country with a travel advisory but I truly hope that Bolivia can heal itself and that I can go back and travel through the country that I once considered my home.

Right now I'm looking ahead to Ecuador and the year of work I have committed to. Once again I'm starting over and once again the challenge will be great. This whole experience has taught me how adaptable I am as a person and really there's no reason to stop now, because hell, I'm just getting started.

Yes we can.