Hellllooooo. Cheers. Greetings. Hola. Oi. Ciao. Salut. Allo. Or, as they say it here: Chau (though mostly for good byes).
Well, folks, a beautiful day in Sucre (really). And again the University is on strike -- has been for a couple of days. Double strike. The profs want a raise, so they go on strike. The students think that´s absurd and so they out do them and go on an uber-hunger strike. Classes have been cancelled in all the "facultades" of the august Universidad Mayor Real y Pontificia Etc., and from what I understand this is "justo" during exams. Hey, hey, hey. Luckily, I´ll be interviewing at a posh, private, post-grad U this evening (hopefully, one never knows) and so should be able to avoid the agitation. The student leader´s name, by the way, is Lenin Chavez. And, no, I´m not making this stuff up.
Also managed to get an interview with the Director of the Centro Juana Azurduy tomorrow morning at 9:30, which should prove very interesting. It´s a private org that focuses on questions of gender and discrimination and violence against women and children. Made the long hike out to their offices and think I will be able to get some good data. Though next time it´s a taxi for me.
Have an interview with a lawyer connected to the Santa Cruz group tomorrow night and hopefully that too will amount to something. Called both the constitutional tribunal and the Supreme Court yesterday. Weren´t too welcoming at the CT once they found out I was a "mere" grad student, though I´ll keep trying; and everyone was out to lunch at the SCT, though I did manage to get the name of the secretary of the president of the "sala penal," with whom I´d very much like to meet. So, we´ll see. All in all trying to wrap things up nicely on the Sucre end.
As for health, I´ve learned to just ease from one discomfort into the next. As one thing wanes another is sure to take hold. I´m kind of used to it now. No reason that should interfere too terribly much with my work. If I have to excuse myself from an interview for a second or two, most people are pretty understanding. And wherever I am, I can easily blame it on the country I´m coming from. In Chile: ¨something grabbed me in Bolivia and it won´t let go" -- in Bolivia "something grabbed me in Chile" -- it´s an excellent explanation that satisfies by taking maximum advantage of regional animosities.
What else? Think that´s it. Will save the discussion re the structured vs. the unstructured interview for my poli sci intimates. End of the day, I´m opting for a semi-structured interview in the guise of an unstructured interview, which is so much more pleasant and informative all round.
Anyways, it was nice to hear from those of you I heard from. Nice too to hear from my dear friend MBabble, whom I haven´t heard from in a while, AND from good ole DJ from law school who is now doing whatever it is he does in Munich. Munich? Munich. I may have to arrange a visit.
Miss you all.
B.
No comments:
Post a Comment