Dust off the cobwebs

First order of business. Baby Emily is doing much better and the last I saw her she was behaving just like any 6 month old should. Second order: sorry for the delay in a new post. I have been pretty sick for the last week and the week before I was super busy with work. Now with excuses out of the way I'd like to do a post with mainly pictures of my commute into work to maybe illustrate life in Bolivia a bit better. We'll begin with a look at La Cancha which you have seen me reference in previous posts. La Cancha is the large open air market where anything that your heart desires can be found.

Here is an example of a stereo kiosk. All stands are set up this way, packed floor to ceiling with stuff.

Here we have an example of electricity here in Bolivia. All above-ground wires. Electricians here are either very skilled for very...unskilled.

This is a typical site. An actual space to sell goods is expensive so many people will buy wheelbarrows and cart their goods around.

Each and every day the vendors will begin the day by unpacking their goods and finish the day by packing them up again. I am still stunned by this but everyone packed up their wares in a huge bag and leaves it overnight. No one steals anything. Must be some unwritten cultural code.

There is public transportation out to the barrio where I work but just beyond there is not. To get to the neighboring towns there are systems of transportation. Here right outside of La Cancha the cars/vans line up to take people to one such town, Tarata (see very early post). Once a car/van is full it leaves and the next one in line starts to fill up.

The public transportation runs on a very regimented system of time stamping. I'm still not entirely sure how it works but every mile or so the bus pulls over to get their time card stamped.

As I have mentioned a number of times there is not running water this far outside the city. Even closer into the city where there is running water it is spotting and expensive service. As a result people still frequently wash their clothes in the river. Whenever I pass this part of the highway there is always someone washing their clothes or their car. Bolivians pride themselves on cleanliness and even though the river water is pretty brown people walk around with white pressed shirts and shined shoes. I often feel like the bum with my dirty sneakers and jeans.

Here is an example of Bolivian fast food. This is called a pension. They cook and serve one meal that usually consists of a bowl of soup and a plate of rice, potatoes, and meat. This is right outside of the neighborhood where I work and the big barrels in front signify that they also do not have running water. I haven't eaten there.

This last picture is another Bolivianism that I can't explain. A growing trend in the barrio is large and long fences. At first I thought that the elaborate brickwork meant that someone with a lot of money lived inside but after a little snooping and peaking through cracks I realized that no matter how big or elaborate the fence everyone still had their small one room adobe or brick hut. I'm still trying to figure this one out. Why spend the money on a huge fancy wall instead of building another room onto the house?

Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this tour of my commute. It should be noted however that I have found a faster way to work (now just 45-50 min. in the morning) that doesn't go through the market. Yay!!