I have a dog. His name is Timmy.

Life is hard to understand. As I venture out of the cozy hole I’ve been hiding in all my life, it becomes even more difficult to make sense of things that go on. Do you ever wonder why you believe the things you do? Why we follow certain traditions and rituals without ever questioning the reasoning behind them?

Ever wonder why we celebrate Thanksgiving?

Last week the Peace Corps volunteers from the Santa Cruz department got together to celebrate Thanksgiving. I was to be gone for a few days and told my counterparts that I would be out for the holiday. And they asked me to explain what exactly we were celebrating. Now in the context of being a Peace Corps volunteer in Bolivia, where the first indigenous president ever is currently in office, where all our projects center around empowering the indigenous community, in preserving their lands, honoring their traditions, learning their languages, and developing a feeling of solidarity- imagine the contradiction it was to tell them that Thanksgiving celebrates the first toast between the Pilgrims and Indians, the first gesture of friendship right before the white man proceeded to take away all their land and put them all on reservations. The celebration of the beginning of the end for the indigenous in North America. With that in mind, did I really even want to celebrate this notion of Thanksgiving? Is there even a politically correct way of explaining this to my indigenous friends here?

Add it to the list of contradictions that I now call life. I did in the end celebrate Thanksgiving, but it is interesting even with all the tumultuous feelings that result, that I have the awareness now to even think the thoughts that I do. It is refreshing to know that I have at least taken one step out of my idyllic existence to attempt to understand the realities of our world.

A peek at my Thanksgiving… It was a pool party in 100 degree weather with a buffet that did include turkey for dinner. It does not feel like the holidays, but if I can’t be with family and friends, I guess this will do.

On a completely different note, I just read an amazing book called “Whispering in the Giant’s Ear” by William Powers. On a scale of 1-5, it is a 6 as far as how highly I recommend it. Published in 2006, it is an easy read written in a style much like my blog. It explains the challenges and struggles facing the currently country- political problems, indigenous rights, fights against globalization, East vs. West, rich vs. poor, etc etc. It’s a great summary of everything going on. The author actually lived here in Samaipata for awhile and it does talk a little of my site, (though not too positively, so please don’t get scared), as well as the nature conservation projects very similar to what I am working on. If you’d at all like to understand my life here, please read this book!

In related news, the constitution of Bolivia is being rewritten. The former deadline has already passed and the new deadline is by the end of the year. One of the major issues to be decided upon is whether the capital will remain in La Paz or if it will move to Sucre. As such, there have been protests (relatively non-violent) in Sucre and Peace Corps was put on alert. Yesterday there was a country wide strike where everyone shut down. You will have to look for the nitty gritty details online but out in Sucre tear gas was invoked after tires were burned and dogs were beheaded. But let me reiterate (Dad)… I AM COMPLETELY SAFE!!!