South America: My New Home

Sucre, the capital of Bolivia, is a beautiful city with some of the nicest parks and my favorite main square in all of South America. The extravagence of the buildings and cleanliness of the streets make you forget you are in the poorest country in South America. I had decided to stay in Sucre for a month and take a short break from the day to day movements and constant bus rides. A few Spanish classes, volunteer work, and a daily routine was just what I needed.

Everything fell into place within a week; I was aligned with the perfect apartment situated just to the side of a courtyard and owned by a lovely Bolivian family (I had my own bathroom and tiny kitchen and paid just $80 for the entire month); I set up 2 hours of Spanish classes per day; I found a job volunteering at a local savings and loan bank learning micro finance and helping to create better efficiencies in their processes; and I quickly made local friends. It was the perfect combination, however the job turned out to be quite the adventure.

My ¨interview¨ did not go well at all and I barely understood a word the banker said. If it werent for the fact I was a foreigner and the position was strictly volunteer I would have been kicked out the door immediately. I had the excuse of not being fluent in Spanish as my reasoning and I was given a 120 page risk management document (the bankers Bible I was told) to read within the next week. Each day following I was stationed at the computer and got to my daily reading. After 3 or 4 days of struggling through the material and using my Spanish to English dictionary, I was exhausted. When I returned the following week with my newfound knowledge I was told they were switching my project and I was given another 30 page document of credit risk to read for the next week!! At this point I had a strong feeling I was not being taken seriously. When I finally ¨started¨ work I only had about 3 days left, but had learned many new financial vocabulary words in Spanish. I ended up reading over some loan applications for micro finance projects and creating a spreadsheet that was supposed to maximize the efficiency of calculating their risk exposure and volatility of deposits and loans. I realized how far behind the banking system in Bolivia is. It was the first they had heard of using complicated formulas in Excel to calculate volatility and create graphs. I think I got a little out of the experience and offered some of my knowledge at the same time. The only regret I have is not having enough time to maximize the experience.

Another great aspect of Sucre was the food and fresh juices. I made a habit out of eating chorizo sandwiches 2 or 3 times per week and going to the local market for a fresh fruit juice or fruit salad almost every day after Spanish class. Sucre was turning into my favorite South American cities and as the month neared its final days I knew it would be a hard place to leave.

On the final Friday I had in Sucre, the unexpected happened. It began with the sound of fireworks and chants that echoes from between the historic buildings as more and more people arrived to the Plaza 25 de Mayo. It had begun earlier in the week with mild protests supporting the latest political grievence and was culminating on this particular Friday. The people were audibly showing their support for the recently ousted mayor of Sucre. He had been democratically elected, but didnt align with Evo Morales´ (the president of Bolivia) party. Issues were raised about past corruption, on behalf of the mayor, and a panel of 3 judges voted for change. The elected mayor was tossed from office and a replacement, who happens to align with Evo´s political party, has been sworn in as Sucres new mayor. In Bolivia the norm for such an event is to take to the streets with banners and chants to show their disagreement. Occassionally, these protests can turn hostile...

As I neared the square, I noticed a large gathering of people chanting and marching as tires burned in the streets. On one side riot police stood in formation. All of a sudden, without warning, screams erupted and the crowd scattered in all directions. Tear gas flooded the demonstration and sent people running down side streets in search of clean air. This was just the beginning. What insued in and around the main plaza of Sucre was not unlike a war of small proportions. Police were constant with their tear gas bombardment, while rioters threw rocks, shot marbles from slingshots, and launched fireworks at the Police. The bang from exploding fireworks and small pieces of dynamite echoed off the buildings, smoldering tires slowly burned in the streets, smoke from the tear gas and burning rubber filled the sky, and Plaza 25 de Mayo momentarily transformed into a war zone (but without real weapons).

I was caught in the mix and tear gased multiple time. Luckily I was offered vinegar (which helps with the stinging sensation in your throat and eyes) by locals. Roads became impassable due to burning tires and more and more smoke filled the sky as the day turned to night. The chaos finally settled down around midnight and the only sign that anything had happened was a deserted and destroyed plaza still filled with remnants of tear gas. For me, this was one of the most adrenaline filled days I have had in a long time, but for the locals of Bolivia it was just another ¨normal¨ day.

***Please take note (Mom): No sons were hurt in the production of this story. I will be home in 3 weeks and you can scold me.