Message Received!

Today I was in the headquarters for the majority party and noticed a poster from the Ministry of Education promoting education (I can safely assume that this poster has been distributed throughout the city). Unfortunately, students here are in real trouble when the Ministry of Education prints a poster that can't even spell literacy correctly. Notice the written 'l' in the word 'Alfabetización' coming out of Bolivia. Even worse, this mistake was not only overlooked once, but twice in 'Post Alfabetización.' Ouch! I guess this delivers their point that we really should be strongly promoting education.

The Good Samaritan

La Paz is not the easiest place for someone to live, particularly for someone who is not raised here. I, being someone who has lived here before, can empathize with others who are experiencing La Paz for the first time. In fact, they are generally easy to pick out … they are those who are constantly looking up and around with their eyes wide open (and most likely out of breath because of the altitude). The other day, I ran into a particularly troubled man. He appeared as though he had been to hell and back. He had a brace around almost every joint, his arm was in a sling, his thigh was wrapped in bandage, he was wearing a neck brace, and, oddly, he was reduced to just his undies. Yes, I was shocked and immediately felt obliged to help him. At first look, I was fully confident that he spoke English – he fit the tourist’s description, including the stunned facial expression. I approached him and asked if he needed any assistance, in English … no response. I asked again … no response. I started communicating in Spanish and, still, no luck! I was clearly frustrated by this point; people were even walking by and shaking their heads in disappointment (some snickering in response to how rude this man was!). Maybe he was deaf? Thinking on my toes, I acted out my words and clearly articulated my words so he could read my lips – I did this in both Spanish and English! NO RESPONSE! Fine, that’s the last time I try to help anybody out. While walking away I quickly took a picture so I could remember what a real jerk looks like!

Working Hard for the Money

I have two primary objectives while in La Paz: 1) collect documents from the archives and 2) interview legislators and other public officials. I started work soon after the apartment debacle – one day was dedicated to grocery shopping, getting access to Internet at the apartment, and purchasing a local cell phone number---if anyone wants to call, my local is 758-153-99. Having a cell phone is a wise move; everyone has a cell phone (sometimes two) and depends on their cell phone way more so than email. Last summer it was difficult arranging meetings and getting a hold of people using just email or local call centers (i.e. public phones). The price is great, for two dollars I got a cell phone number and about a week’s worth of prepaid phone usage.

To accomplish the first objective, I, using a colleague’s design, constructed a copy stand, which is used to take photos of the documents I need. You may be asking yourself, “Why doesn’t he just use a scanner?” First of all, don’t question me. Second of all, scanners take too long to copy a single page and, during this process, you can hear your life screeching away with the sound of the scanner. Trust me, I’ve spent two summers in Amsterdam and Copenhagen doing this while working on my advisor’s project.

The copy stand essentially holds my camera steady above the document and I use a keyboard pedal, which is directly connected to the camera, to take the picture. Every step on the pedal takes a snapshot. This is way faster than a scanner and can capture two pages at a time. I placed filters around the document to disperse the light so I don’t get any shadows nor glare on the document. The filters are new editions after I discovered the pages have sheen on them. This structure, or laboratory, has drawn a lot of attention to me in the archive … I am officially, ‘that guy.’

To accomplish the second objective, I essentially just create meetings and talk to people. Of course, gaining access to the Legislative Assembly is a giant pain that depends on a congressperson giving you an invitation every time you want to enter, which for me is twice a day. This requires a lot of connections, which I thankfully developed while here in June. I am currently in the process of receiving my own provisional pass for the next month or so. I’ve so far interviewed one representative, who, at the time of my interview, was making huge waves in the media after disbanding his party’s alliance with the majority party. I really lucked out on this interview and the timing of the interview. The remainder of my time has been dedicated to convincing other public officials to give me specific types of information and documents that I need. So far, time here has been very productive. This past week I sat in on a few debates over the budget and a resolution to support the Ecuadorian government after its political predicament.