Bolivia or Bust Tour 2009!

The first student presentation for the Bolivia or Bust Tour is next Tuesday, and then I will know how much interest there really is. I have been working on a day schedule ever since I came back from my preparatory trip in August, but it is always hard to know how much to pack in. Things happen on trips, and formulating a firm schedule is a fool’s game. For instance, my first day of my August trip was 51 hours long. It was not intended to be, but things happen. When it comes to scheduling, I am not known for stopping to smell the roses, but I know I will have to do much more rose-sniffing on this trip.

Bolivia is the only country that has been able to stop me in my tracks—to make me sit and breathe and take a break. I think I respect her a little for that. In August, I was in Santa Cruz during a para (general strike). Everything just stopped. No cars on the roads. No businesses open. No one working. I think my Facebook status read something like, “Santa Cruz is eerily quiet and peaceful in a Dawn of the Living Dead kind of way.” I found it an interesting form of protest; everyone just has a nice family day. There were a few days warning, so people stocked up on food, water, picnic supplies and toilet paper.

I have a well-honed sense for identifying trouble, but as we walked the streets of Santa Cruz, we saw soccer in the streets, not cars, and we even spotted an occasional ice cream vender. It has been my experience…you know, from riots I have attended in the past!...that there is rarely ice cream served. And yes, this para was very peaceful. Some since then have been more violent, unfortunately, but still nothing on the scale of the violence that has been seen in many other countries around the world.

What is important for me to remember, and it is important for students to understand as well, is that we will be travelling in a developing nation: things are not like home. They aren’t better or worse, just different. There are certainly risks and dangers (mostly with driving) in Bolivia that we do not have to contend with at home, but there is so much to be experienced! I can’t imagine Calgary without cars for a day, and I can’t remember the last time I took a day off work and spent it with my family.
There is no question that this will be a learning experience for all involved. And, for many, it will truly be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. See you on the “B or B Tour 2009”!