Bolivia II

A link to an article I found on the front page of the NYTime's "Business Day" section today. Apparently my time was spent in a wealthier corridor of Cochabamba then I realized... or things have gone drastically down hill. The article states that even the most fortunate only receive city water 14 hours a day (the unluckiest, that actually still have pipes, receive only 2 hours worth daily). I distinctly remember not having any real issues with the taps, although I was not up at every hour of the day, nor was I in the house during the majority of the working day (except for siesta time!).

I know I saw the poorer outlying villages, simple marketplaces, and other aspects of Bolivian life, but I stil wonder exactly how realistic my experience was. I have a feeling the experience pending for the Bangladesh team this winter break will be far more eye opening as they spend the majority of their time in the countryside. In the meantime, I take a small delight and faint sense of the ominous from the article's byline in Cochabama, where I spent my time. I hope for the best for the friends I made and the small babies that jostle around in the halls of the orphanage Salomon Klein. This political turmoil in some semblance seems frightening to we Americans viewing from the outside, but yet, in a way, it is a constant reality for Bolivia. They do not elect--they overthrow. Morales may not be the new radical leftist all fear--he may instead just be more of the same old same old. Time will tell. In an exquisite country with every type of landscape and fewer people than NYC, I only wish them the best. The best, I'm learning, is, in my role, to probably stay hands off until such time as I might be able to fully learn from the people and understand their situation from the inside (if that's ever possible at all).

Direct link (and in the title): Bolivan Water