Rising at half past six instead of half past five as on the weekdays. We pray morning prayer at 7 instead of 6:30 a.m. on Saturdays. I do not have class, so I can sleep in and shower after prayers, instead of rushing out the door to go to Maryknoll.
Homework for the weekend: research on the Tiwanakota civilization, which was the cradle of the present-day Aymara and Quechua peoples of the Andes. Centered in the basin of Lake Titicaca and extending into what today is Peru, Bolivia, and Chile, the Tiwanakota empire reached its height of cultural, religious, and political power in the eighth century BCE and disappeared by the eleventh century, probably because of drought. We had read about innovations in agricultural practices, including terrace farming, that fed millions of people. We studied the ruins of the capital city, Tiwanaku, marveled at the engineering feats that enabled them to assemble massive, heavy stones without mortar into pyramids and temples, and pondered the significance of their monoliths and sculpture. Also: research on the customary foods of Bolivia, and writing a paragraph about some of the more common gastronomic delicacies. I’m bad with names of things, so this exercise was useful in helping me know better what I eat (or don’t, being a vegetarian in a carnivorous culture).
In an around homework, I got to have a video call with my parents and brother this afternoon. My Dad’s birthday is Wednesday, but the family is celebrating today. Very good to see and speak to them!
Also in and around homework: a trip to the post office. Herein lies a story. Last year, Bolivia closed the post office, known formerly as ECOBOL (Empresa Correos de Bolivia) and reorganized it into a new postal service, Agencia Nacional de Correos. I suppose the reorganization had to with lack of resources and lack of trained postal workers. There had been a backlog of undelivered mail and parcels at the shutting down of ECOBOL. At the present the new agency is working, but service as regards delivery is slow. While I was applying for my visa with the Bolivian consulate, I was waiting anxiously for one necessary document, a letter of invitation from the friars here at Convento San Francisco. The letter was to demonstrate that I would have domicile in Bolivia and not be a burden on the state. It took a little more than a month for the letter to arrive. For good measure, the good friars sent a second letter in case the first did not make it. Both letters did arrive.
Well, today I went to the post office with postcards in hand. There was no line to speak of; people don’t rely much on the post office to send messages when it takes so long for them to arrive. But I have wanted to send souvenirs of Bolivia abroad, so there I was, using a glue bottle to affix my 4-boliviano and 5-boliviano stamps to the postcards. I asked how long it will take for the postcards to reach their destinations. It will be between 30 and 45 days. Why so long? It must have to do with transportation; the government can’t afford a fleet of airplanes, or pilots, for the postal service. So, friends, with luck and prayer, you may get your postcard during the Easter season, by the end of April or early May, I hope!
If you’re looking to send me a letter or postcard, here is some advice. And here is some more detailed advice. In addition, I recommend not bothering with parcels, though you can go with Federal Express, DHL, or UPS. They all do good business here. And think four-dimensionally. I leave Bolivia in mid-August. If you want to send me anything, send it to me well before the end of June. If you wait until July, I won’t be here to receive what you send.
As a reminder, the address is
Bro. Anthony Zuba, OFM Cap.
Convento San Francisco
Casilla 68
COCHABAMBA
BOLIVIA
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