What a Night
December 3, 2007
Yesterday was the big vote. From the moment we woke up there were cars lined up around the block. As we looked around, we discovered that there were cars parked around every block. Since there are several schools in our area that are voting stations, there were people coming and going all day. Overall it was a very quiet day.
We spent the morning cleaning the house. The soot from last week’s protests is thick on our floors. No matter how much we scrub, our feet still turn black when we walk around the place. When we finished, we hiked to the top of a nearby hill and admired the view, then wandered back home to sit around some more. We have not worked since Wednesday of last week and we will not return until Wednesday of this week. We are all a little stir crazy. Zachary has had some play dates, but we have had nothing to do.
Sunday passed uneventfully. Z went to bed late and Carrie and I followed suit at 11:00. At 1:30 we were awakened by banging pots and explosions. There were people yelling, horns honking, and music playing. I was wide awake until the noise subsided at 5:00. We are still in awe over the fact that Chavez’s reforms did not pass. I am not sure what that will bring in the long term, but for today, business returned to normal. We managed to get out and get some things done including much needed grocery shopping.
It is very difficult to get a handle on the political situation here. The main problem is that neither of us understands enough Spanish to make sense of the news. We are stuck gleaning information from whoever will offer it. This information is always polarized. There is no middle ground here. Folks are either all for the president or completely against him. This provides some challenges in establishing what the truth really is. I do know that there are a lot of poor people. I have also observed that the police cannot be counted on to be of much help. Certainly they cannot be counted on to enforce the laws. While driving in an 80 kph zone, one can pass an officer at 170 kph and never even think twice about it.
There are check points along the roads. I have been stopped once. They asked everyone for ID, dug through our bags, looked through the car, and hassled the two folks who hadn’t brought their passports with them. It’s scary because they hold all the cards. If they choose to impound your vehicle, they will. It’s completely random and more than a little nerve racking. The trick is to be respectful and always carry cash.
MJR
Yesterday was the big vote. From the moment we woke up there were cars lined up around the block. As we looked around, we discovered that there were cars parked around every block. Since there are several schools in our area that are voting stations, there were people coming and going all day. Overall it was a very quiet day.
We spent the morning cleaning the house. The soot from last week’s protests is thick on our floors. No matter how much we scrub, our feet still turn black when we walk around the place. When we finished, we hiked to the top of a nearby hill and admired the view, then wandered back home to sit around some more. We have not worked since Wednesday of last week and we will not return until Wednesday of this week. We are all a little stir crazy. Zachary has had some play dates, but we have had nothing to do.
Sunday passed uneventfully. Z went to bed late and Carrie and I followed suit at 11:00. At 1:30 we were awakened by banging pots and explosions. There were people yelling, horns honking, and music playing. I was wide awake until the noise subsided at 5:00. We are still in awe over the fact that Chavez’s reforms did not pass. I am not sure what that will bring in the long term, but for today, business returned to normal. We managed to get out and get some things done including much needed grocery shopping.
It is very difficult to get a handle on the political situation here. The main problem is that neither of us understands enough Spanish to make sense of the news. We are stuck gleaning information from whoever will offer it. This information is always polarized. There is no middle ground here. Folks are either all for the president or completely against him. This provides some challenges in establishing what the truth really is. I do know that there are a lot of poor people. I have also observed that the police cannot be counted on to be of much help. Certainly they cannot be counted on to enforce the laws. While driving in an 80 kph zone, one can pass an officer at 170 kph and never even think twice about it.
There are check points along the roads. I have been stopped once. They asked everyone for ID, dug through our bags, looked through the car, and hassled the two folks who hadn’t brought their passports with them. It’s scary because they hold all the cards. If they choose to impound your vehicle, they will. It’s completely random and more than a little nerve racking. The trick is to be respectful and always carry cash.
MJR
posted by Bronx to Timbuktu at 12:30 AM
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