Thursday ... We're already four days since I arrived in Bolivia, but just one day I'm in Sucre. 
The trip went well. With Assia, the volunteer who accompanied me, Arnaud, my neighbor on the plane, and Lita, a German from Russia (who lives in Belgium), we took advantage of a stopover in Miami to go to the beach. The perfect opportunity to tread American soil without having to stay too long. Unfortunately, not yet this time my
aversion for the country (too big to be reduced to clichés, I know, but it's stronger than me) will disappear. Between the airport and the beach, just wide avenues surveyed by large cars and lined with gleaming resorts charmless. The beach, fortunately, with its azure waters and palm trees, worth a few hours to lie down. At the end of the afternoon, we took over, wearing sneakers, the bus to the airport where we waited for Charlotte and Michael, the other two Ayni volunteers arrived in Miami by the next flight.
We arrived in La Paz at 7am the next morning (ie Monday lunch with us). There, Daniel, an employee of Ayni, we waited. He has graciously hosted us for two days! In him we met a French family that travels around America bicycle lying for eight months! Zoe accompanies his parents on their way thanks to a small cariole attached to bicycles, recumbent, and is even followed by France in its class thanks to a blog: http://zoe.aux.zameriques.over-blog .com/3-index.html . To go absolutely ! If the wind carries them, they'll be seeing us in a few days in Sucre. Stay tuned!
During these two days in La Paz, when we were not at the apartment to discuss politics and free software with Daniel (who works in Entel, the telecommunications company a few months ago nationalized by the Morales government) We were visiting the city. From the terrace of Daniel, we had a breathtaking view of the huge metropolis, perched at 4000m high and built in a bowl. Amazing thing: as a result of massive rural exodus in recent years, the poorest are installed on the sides of mountains, stretching higher and higher limits of the city. If the neighborhood of Daniel is rather quiet during the day the center is constantly busy. Microbus, street food vendors, small shops of all kinds, shoe shiners ... to every corner of new discoveries awaiting us.
This city is friendly, certainly, but it must still be careful. From our first meal in a small canteen quite correct, Arnaud was stolen and all his equipment bag photo. This misadventure has reminded us that in some places, better monitoring business closely! Fortunately, in Sucre, a priori we do not really have much to fear.
Tuesday evening, we joined Daniel at the head of Entel for a mini conference on free software ... or the interest to drop Windows monopoly and lucrative business to get the "software" free. In summary (for those like me who had no clear mind on the subject): Free software is free software, which circulate freely and be changed at will. A user that improves the software for its own account any interest then to "rebalance the circuit "So that others turn to improve and allow him to enjoy it. Unfortunately, despite my enthusiasm for free software, I feel that Windows has made people so addicted to its own software that the prospect of having to relearn everything going open source software scares them. T could be imagined only install free software in schools and colleges to familiarize students from an early age to free software. For my part, Daniel gave me a "free operating system" to install ... I do not know if I have the courage to me put. Another case to follow.
The next evening the conference, we returned to the headquarters of Entel to the public presentation of a book on the consequences of the nationalization of the telephone company. Another interesting topic since ETI, the Italian company which owned Entel nationalization before, decided to sue Bolivia to the ICSID (Center for settling international disputes on investment). But the question for Bolivia to attend because of a hand, she had already withdrawn from the ICSID when ETI has brought the case before justice. Moreover, this nationalization seems quite natural, since rather than reinvesting in BolivieETI referred all its profits abroad. In short, between the right of people to access services and law firms to protect their investments ... the debate continues. However, my sympathy goes to the Bolivian people, of course, that depends too much for my taste of foreign companies with little concern for his distant Latin American customers.
The trip went well. With Assia, the volunteer who accompanied me, Arnaud, my neighbor on the plane, and Lita, a German from Russia (who lives in Belgium), we took advantage of a stopover in Miami to go to the beach. The perfect opportunity to tread American soil without having to stay too long. Unfortunately, not yet this time my
aversion for the country (too big to be reduced to clichés, I know, but it's stronger than me) will disappear. Between the airport and the beach, just wide avenues surveyed by large cars and lined with gleaming resorts charmless. The beach, fortunately, with its azure waters and palm trees, worth a few hours to lie down. At the end of the afternoon, we took over, wearing sneakers, the bus to the airport where we waited for Charlotte and Michael, the other two Ayni volunteers arrived in Miami by the next flight. 
We arrived in La Paz at 7am the next morning (ie Monday lunch with us). There, Daniel, an employee of Ayni, we waited. He has graciously hosted us for two days! In him we met a French family that travels around America bicycle lying for eight months! Zoe accompanies his parents on their way thanks to a small cariole attached to bicycles, recumbent, and is even followed by France in its class thanks to a blog: http://zoe.aux.zameriques.over-blog .com/3-index.html . To go absolutely ! If the wind carries them, they'll be seeing us in a few days in Sucre. Stay tuned! During these two days in La Paz, when we were not at the apartment to discuss politics and free software with Daniel (who works in Entel, the telecommunications company a few months ago nationalized by the Morales government) We were visiting the city. From the terrace of Daniel, we had a breathtaking view of the huge metropolis, perched at 4000m high and built in a bowl. Amazing thing: as a result of massive rural exodus in recent years, the poorest are installed on the sides of mountains, stretching higher and higher limits of the city. If the neighborhood of Daniel is rather quiet during the day the center is constantly busy. Microbus, street food vendors, small shops of all kinds, shoe shiners ... to every corner of new discoveries awaiting us.
This city is friendly, certainly, but it must still be careful. From our first meal in a small canteen quite correct, Arnaud was stolen and all his equipment bag photo. This misadventure has reminded us that in some places, better monitoring business closely! Fortunately, in Sucre, a priori we do not really have much to fear. Tuesday evening, we joined Daniel at the head of Entel for a mini conference on free software ... or the interest to drop Windows monopoly and lucrative business to get the "software" free. In summary (for those like me who had no clear mind on the subject): Free software is free software, which circulate freely and be changed at will. A user that improves the software for its own account any interest then to "rebalance the circuit "So that others turn to improve and allow him to enjoy it. Unfortunately, despite my enthusiasm for free software, I feel that Windows has made people so addicted to its own software that the prospect of having to relearn everything going open source software scares them. T could be imagined only install free software in schools and colleges to familiarize students from an early age to free software. For my part, Daniel gave me a "free operating system" to install ... I do not know if I have the courage to me put. Another case to follow.
The next evening the conference, we returned to the headquarters of Entel to the public presentation of a book on the consequences of the nationalization of the telephone company. Another interesting topic since ETI, the Italian company which owned Entel nationalization before, decided to sue Bolivia to the ICSID (Center for settling international disputes on investment). But the question for Bolivia to attend because of a hand, she had already withdrawn from the ICSID when ETI has brought the case before justice. Moreover, this nationalization seems quite natural, since rather than reinvesting in BolivieETI referred all its profits abroad. In short, between the right of people to access services and law firms to protect their investments ... the debate continues. However, my sympathy goes to the Bolivian people, of course, that depends too much for my taste of foreign companies with little concern for his distant Latin American customers.
top view of El Alto Wednesday before taking the bus to Sucre we met you with a friend of Daniel to visit El Alto. In fact El Alto, which is the third city in Bolivia in size, was barely 50 years! It is the result of three waves of migration, the first mid-century, the second in 1980, farmers ruined by drought, and the third in 1985 with the closure of the tin mines and the layoff of thousands of minors. In this boom town in perpetual construction, migrants have all become informal workers, each has found a subsistence activity (most alteños live on less than a dollar a day). But, strangely, when you walk that is not poverty is most striking, but rather the unceasing movement, sidewalks overgrown with merchants, streets flooded microbus, buildings for which we are constantly adding floors, smells, noise ... And then
appearances are misleading: El Alto is much more organized it seems. Abandoned to their fate for decades, the alteños gathered in vecinales juntas, neighborhood committees support vectors among the inhabitants of the same area. To coordinate all: FEJUVE, juntas vecinales federation, made up of representatives of each junta. Social movements in El Alto were made famous in 2003 playing a leading role in the ouster of Sanchez de Lozada from power.
At the time I publish this paper, we are already Saturday morning ... it's been two days since I'm Sugar and I have so much to add to this paper. But it will be for the next post, less messy than this one I promise! In my rereading, I realize that instead of my daily life, I really feel that this blog is about Bolivia, its people, its challenges, its wonders and its problems ... please let me say what you think! I hope
you're all well! Cuidense mucho y hasta pronto.
Puppet
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