Hmmmm

June 27, 2011

My blog and my friends have heard little from me this week for two reasons. The first rather insignificant reason is that there were two national holidays this week, meaning that most things shut down including the offices and the internet. The real reason is so small that it would seem insignificant but is actually quite the terror on the system. It seems that I have come down with some parasites so I have hardly been able to function as a normal human being, much less work and update everyone. It has not been a very exciting week at all and things seem to be turning up just a bit but I think it might still be a long road to recovery. I think once I can finally sleep through the night I will feel much better.

However, this week has given me a ton of time to think and although it has been hard to record many of my thoughts, there are some that have stuck with me. Inspired by a recent email from a classmate I decided to take note of some of things that just don't make much sense and i can't quite figure out why in the world these things are the way that they are.

So...why in the world is our shower on the same level as the rest of our bathroom without any kind of ledge or barrier? When we shower the water gets all over the floor and the entire bathroom is soaked. It seems like it might make more sense to put it down in a whole or to build a ledge up around where the water falls. It might also make sense to put a curtain in so that the toilet doesn't get soaked. I guess if you want to be able to use the bathroom and shower at the same time then this arrangement makes perfect sense. I guess we'll just keep squeegying the floor after our showers so nobody slips in the pools of water.

Why in the world are there so many wild dogs? Fortunately, it is fairly well known and they even put green strings on the necks of those that have had rabies vaccines but we have a few that stay here inside our compound and it is not unusual to see these grimy mutts inside a dining room or even under your chair in the computer lab.

Why in the world did people ever think it was a good idea to cross and orange and a lemon to make a lima? It didn't come out well and it is just like a weak version of a lemon and an orange with a funky bitter aftertaste. Not something to get excited about, and no, it is not a lime.

Why in the world would you tell someone you had just been in prison for two years for being falsely accused of drug trafficking if you are trying to get money from Americans? There was a man who followed us and told us in English about the time he had lived in Texas only to ruin any chance he had of maybe getting a Bolivian out of us with the prison talk. Good thing I was quick thinking and used the excuse of having to track all of our expenses.

Why in the world is Nescafe so popular? Bolivia could be and in some places is great for cultivating coffee but this ridiculous Nestle company has the most serious kind of monopoly going on here. At the same time, why in the world does Betsy love it so much?

Why in the world do none of the doors seems to fit right? With a little proper hanging they wouldn't be scraping the ground when you try to close them or if you shaved the bottoms they would stop doing it and making that terrible sound. I also don't understand the cracks in all of the doors, it lets the cold night air right in.