Quick Update:
As the pace of my travels has slowed down, so has the frequency of blog posts. To keep you all here reading, here's another one of those quick update posts:
- Earlier this week I attended a wedding of two Missionary friends. This was as close to a Vegas style, Elvis eloping as is possible here in Bolivia. The arrangements for the wedding were made the day before and a friend, who I had no idea was ordained as a priest, gave a quick, impromptu ceremony. As my friend the missionary priest-for-a-day explained, "In Christian circles like ours, couples don't have sex before marriage." The couple, who was already engaged and is planning an Australian wedding next year, jumped the gun and wed under God.
- Last night I went to a Pre-Carnaval parade. Carnaval is such a big deal around these parts that even the practice parades draw crowds of thousands. Groups dance in the streets, dress in ornately decorated and traditional clothes, and convey the pure festivities of Carnaval.
- In between digs, I've had some free time this week to set up my hammock and read. I've been trucking through Jeffrey Sachs's The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time. Although we disagree on some fundamental market liberalization theories, the accounts of his life's work as advisor to the UN and to the Bolivian, Polish, and Russian governments as an architect of massive large scale economic reforms in these countries has been extremely inspiring. He drafted plans for post-Soviet nations' shift to democracy and market economies and tackled hyperinflation problems in 1980s Bolivia (the President who commissioned him is still hailed as a savior of the country). While reading Sachs's book (I'm still only half way through), I've had the urge to learn more monetary economic theory -- delving into everything behind ideas of inflation to more in depth into currency exchanges. Seeing as I envy this man's job as an economic consultant, a thorough grasp of monetary policy, beyond mid-level college courses, seems extremely valuable if not 100% necessary.
- Earlier this week I attended a wedding of two Missionary friends. This was as close to a Vegas style, Elvis eloping as is possible here in Bolivia. The arrangements for the wedding were made the day before and a friend, who I had no idea was ordained as a priest, gave a quick, impromptu ceremony. As my friend the missionary priest-for-a-day explained, "In Christian circles like ours, couples don't have sex before marriage." The couple, who was already engaged and is planning an Australian wedding next year, jumped the gun and wed under God.
- Last night I went to a Pre-Carnaval parade. Carnaval is such a big deal around these parts that even the practice parades draw crowds of thousands. Groups dance in the streets, dress in ornately decorated and traditional clothes, and convey the pure festivities of Carnaval.
- In between digs, I've had some free time this week to set up my hammock and read. I've been trucking through Jeffrey Sachs's The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time. Although we disagree on some fundamental market liberalization theories, the accounts of his life's work as advisor to the UN and to the Bolivian, Polish, and Russian governments as an architect of massive large scale economic reforms in these countries has been extremely inspiring. He drafted plans for post-Soviet nations' shift to democracy and market economies and tackled hyperinflation problems in 1980s Bolivia (the President who commissioned him is still hailed as a savior of the country). While reading Sachs's book (I'm still only half way through), I've had the urge to learn more monetary economic theory -- delving into everything behind ideas of inflation to more in depth into currency exchanges. Seeing as I envy this man's job as an economic consultant, a thorough grasp of monetary policy, beyond mid-level college courses, seems extremely valuable if not 100% necessary.
2 comments:
How about a new map that shows all the places you've put wells in Bolivia?
How about a new map that shows all the places in Bolivia where you've drilled wells?
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