Peace Corps Volunteer Life with Evo writes: This is Not a Test. I Repeat, This is NOT a Test.



"It's gotten horribly ugly and at 5:30 yesterday I got the call from Peace Corps that they are again consolidating volunteers. Evacuation is the next step if necessary. However, like my dad says, there really is no reason to worry about me. The US government has to have a plan. What I ask, however, is that you keep the Bolivian people- my friends, my co-workers, my adopted family- in your thoughts and prayers. They are the ones who need it."

Peace Corps Volunteer Life with Evo writes: This is Not a Test. I Repeat, This is NOT a Test.

Friday, September 12, 2008

This is Not a Test. I Repeat, This is NOT a Test.

Caption: A view from the Peace Corps office in Cochabomba.

How I would love to be my happy-go-lucky self right now. How I would love to feel the way I did a 5 in the afternoon yesterday, right after I taught 10 ladies who MAKE tofu, but don´t know how to COOK tofu, how to turn their slab of compressed soy into deliciousness. You will appreciate the irony if you know that for two years after college I ate out every meal because I didn´t know how to cook. And here I am teaching it.

Right now though, the high feeling is gone. Instead my stomach feels like I may throw up any minute. I have a knot in my throat and I wasn´t able to sleep more than 2 hours last night. The situation in this country is deteriorating. Bolivians are killing other Bolivians. The people have revolted against the government, especially in the area where I live. Grandpas who sit in the plaza are now taking up arms and helping to ransack government offices and government controlled businesses. The U.S. ambassador was kicked out of Bolivia this week, and in return the Bolivian ambassador was kicked out of the U.S. as well.

News headlines read ¨The Nightmare has Begun¨ and ¨Bolivia- A Country in Mourning.¨ People are losing body parts to dynamite. Gas pipelines are being blown. Blockades are up in every other community. Even Samaipata a community known for never taking part has joined. Who knows how much worse this will get and where it will end. Chavez, leader of Venezuela and mentor to President Evo, said that he plans to make Bolivia into Vietnam #2 and that he and his people are ready to die for it.

It's gotten horribly ugly and at 5:30 yesterday I got the call from Peace Corps that they are again consolidating volunteers. Evacuation is the next step if necessary. However, like my dad says, there really is no reason to worry about me. The US government has to have a plan. What I ask, however, is that you keep the Bolivian people- my friends, my co-workers, my adopted family- in your thoughts and prayers. They are the ones who need it.

I will post periodically with updates. Let's hope for the best.

Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: September, 2008; Peace Corps Bolivia; Directory of Bolivia RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Bolivia RPCVs; Safety and Security of Volunteers

When this story was posted in September 2008, this was on the front page of PCOL:




Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

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PCVs Evacuated from Georgia The Peace Corps has announced that all Volunteers and trainees serving in the Republic of Georgia are safe and they have been temporarily relocated to neighboring Armenia. Read the analysis by one RPCV on how Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili believed that he could launch a lightning assault on South Ossetia and reclaim the republic without substantial grief from Moscow and that Saakashvili's statements once the war began demonstrated that he expected real Western help in confronting Russia.

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September 1, 2008: This Month's Top Stories Eric Green writes: 2008 Election helps US Image Worldwide 28 Aug Tschetter meets with President Arroyo in Philippines 29 Aug Hill's new approach is an unsung success story 29 Aug Jackie Theriot served as PCV in Togo 25 Aug Therese Abalo became beekeeper to join Peace Corps 24 Aug Obituary for Pauline Birky-Kreutzer 23 Aug Peace Corps to Pare Ranks of Volunteers 22 Aug George Packer writes play about Iraqi occupation 22 Aug Martin Puryear retrospective at the National Gallery of Art 22 Aug Elaine Chao heads final 2008 Olympic delegation 21 Aug J R Bullington writes: Reinvigorate the Peace Corps 19 Aug Faith Van Gilder returns to Botswana 18 Aug Bill Owens still turning suburbs into art 18 Aug Amy Smith hosts International Development Design Summit 17 Aug McCain calls for greater volunteerism 17 Aug Sarah Chayes writes: Afghans don't support insurgency 16 Aug Maurice Albertson remembers origins of Peace Corps 15 Aug John Perkins "hit man" is now documentary movie 15 Aug Brian Connors helps local farmers in Malawi 13 Aug Dr. Peter Davenport no stranger to rural health issues 13 Aug Jeremiah Johnson tells story of HIV termination 8 Aug New: More Stories from July and August 2008

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Dodd vows to filibuster Surveillance Act Senator Chris Dodd vowed to filibuster the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that would grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that helped this administration violate the civil liberties of Americans. "It is time to say: No more. No more trampling on our Constitution. No more excusing those who violate the rule of law. These are fundamental, basic, eternal principles. They have been around, some of them, for as long as the Magna Carta. They are enduring. What they are not is temporary. And what we do not do in a time where our country is at risk is abandon them."

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August 6, 2008: This Month's Top Stories PC in Budget Crunch may cut PCVs by 5% 5 Aug Garamendi first to announce run for governor in 2010 2 Aug Bob and Pat Parish receive president’s award 31 Jul Sam Brownback removes block on Kathleen Stephens 31 Jul Peace Corps Removes Ban on HIV-Positive Volunteers 31 Jul RPCVs organize online for Obama 31 Jul Peace group awards perfect rating to Sam Farr 29 Jul How Hill used back channels to negotiate Korean agreement 27 Jul Voter surge may hurt Shays 26 Jul Matthew A. Hamilton writes: A Shadow on Ararat 25 Jul Gates says Tools of inspiration are indispensable 15 Jul An interview with Composer Gabriela Lena Frank 13 Jul Ginny Farmer to swim in Olympics for American Samoa 11 Jul Dodd is possible vice presidential candidate 11 Jul Carl Pope supports the Pickens Plan 8 Jul George Packer writes: Obama’s Iraq Problem 7 Jul An Interview with PCOL 4 Jul Ifugao hopes for tourism boost after Campbell Trial 3 Jul Peace Corps To Quit Kiribati 3 Jul Tony Hall asks: Where is moral outrage over food crisis? 3 Jul Wofford raises awareness about global poverty 2 Jul New: More Stories from June and July 2008

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July 1, 2008: This Month's Top Stories Sarah Chayes continues work in Kandahar 29 Jun PCV Catherine Saltwick killed in Automobile Accident 2 Jun Richard Stoll returns to Tonga for capitol’s rebuild 2 Jun Peace Corps Reopens Program in Liberia 4 Jun Tu Dang is a Foreign Affairs Officer 4 Jun Bethany Hedt takes aim at AIDS with statistics 5 Jun Expanding opportunities for deaf PCVs 5 Jun Peace Corps/Kenya Program Reopening 6 Jun José Klein is plate artist 9 Jun Kenyan Prime Minister Visits PC Headquarters 19 Jun Michael Meyer's writes "The Last Days of Old Beijing" 20 Jun Chuck Ludlam writes: Congress Enacts PCV Tax Law 24 Jun Dodd Speaks in Opposition to FISA Bill 24 Jun Christopher Hill critical to success in Korea Talks 25 Jun Mark Gearan writes: Hillary Clinton's Contribution 25 Jun James Rupert writes: Pakistan Fights Taliban 27 Jun Elaine Chao hails U.S.-China dialogue 28 Jun Obituary for Bud Keith - Champion for Disabled 29 Jun Life in prison for killer of PCV Julia Campbell 30 Jun John Coyne writes: PC Archives at JFK Library 30 Jun Mark Shriver to Chair National Commission on Children 30 Jun New: More Stories from May and June 2008

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