civil unrest

MONDAY JAN. 8 -9AM:
So, I came into the city on Monday for a meeting to discuss gender equality in Bolivia and how volunteers can promote it in our sites. I enjoyed it, we got some suggestions put in and i think administration is going to implement some of them.

still monday -12:30PM:
i got a weird phone call from my counterpart/work partner from my site telling me not to go back to my site that day b/c there was something happening on the highway from the city to my site. She sounded incredbly flustered and kept repeating, "no venga aqui quedate no mas! (don't come here/back stay where you are)" She mentioned bloqueos (road blocks) and that her and my other co-worker were walking, yes walking from a truffi stop about 45 min. away from our town all the way back home. Then told me to call her later. Mind you this was before i had lunch, so i was little spooked.

news i didn't know at the time:
the campesinos (urban dwellers/poorer) of the CBBA dept. are protesting the prefecto (governor of the dept.) Senor Manfred. They don't like his position on some political issue so they all decided to get together and block all major routes/highways to and from the city.

3PM:
I call my co-worker and ask her if it's okay if i go back now. She tells me NO, do not come home, stay in the city tonight, the people guarding the bloqueos are drunk, irrational, and unpredictable. So, i call the office asking what the heck was going on and received an official order to stay in the city and report to the office as soon as possible once i found out where i was staying for the night.

more news i found out:
it's official, no one can leave the city b/c all major highways were indeed, blocked and that it would be unwise and unsafe to attempt to go back to our sites. we must stay in CBBA until further notice.

TODAY, JAN. 10:
I've been in Cbba. for two nights and three days wearing the same clothes that i wore on Monday, no toiletries except the hostal soap and towel they provide for their guests, and an extra pair of underwear that i forgot to unpack from my last trip into the city (thank goodness!). As far as toiletries, i've bought the necessites and rumaged through the office's take-fo-free-box and have found a t-shirt that fits and doesn't smell (which hopefully means it's clean, ha!) i'm currently in the office chilling with my fellow volunteers and getting some work done with a little bit of blogging on the side (grin).

Reality:
we're safe, i don't feel threatened and enjoying getting some well needed research done for my current project with my knitting group.
I'm researching pricing for shipping kilos of merchandise overseas and creating a cost analysis proposal for a potential client on the west coast. (i'm actually using something i learned in college! i knew this day would come someday! HA!)

CHECKING OUT:
i've turned into a pc hog, so i've gotta go y les permite mis companeros a usar la computadora. i miss you guys lots, don't worry about anything. the city's actually really quiet, no protestors, nothing. hope you all had a super fun new years, i wish i could've been with all of you. (2007 is going to be incredible) I've got some pics coming so stay posted!