Greetings from Santa Cruz (what!?)

Dearest Friends!

Hello. Greetings from the Santa Cruz airport. Bolivian style: what ought to have been a 25 minute direct flight to cbba has turned into a half-day mosey via (where you ask?) Santa Cruz, of course! I guess I´m lucky I don´t have to spend the night, but then again I´m not in cbba yet. Not too terribly upset, am used to it now, should arrive cbba sometime around 9pm. Just glad the airport has internet (at hugely inflated prices) and food (also at hugely inflated prices) and Argentines (just hugely inflated).

All in all, things are fine. Dr. has given me tentative clearance to resume life. Love the guy. Answers his phone, is punctual, nice, attentive, and smart. While checking out the BT gastrointestinals, found out in addition to his "consultorio" in the evenings (6:30 pm until everyone´s been seen), he´s also the Director of the hospital and a senior prof at the med school. Who knew? That´s a pretty full day for anyone. So, if EVER in Sucre and in need of a tremedous doc, Rios is your man. He also gave me the names of the directors of the cbba and la paz hospitals, "just in case" -- which I thought was very kind. Let´s hope I never get to meet them.

The conference was interesting. Good to see prominent scholars in town, but there was a clear and obvious "gap" between what the foreign presenters talked about and what the locals addressed in presentation and in question and answer. Can´t help but think that Bolivians aren´t too concerned at the moment with what Weber or Durkheim has to say.

Nice to be on terra firma. Looking forward to getting to the right terra firma soon.

B.