Bambi

I saw a baby struggling to breathe today. She was 9 months old, and the doctor wanted to hospitalize her. The parents refused. They said the last time she was sick, they let the doctor send them to the hospital, and they ended up getting pushed around to three different hospitals. Once they got to Hospital del Niño, the doctor told them nothing was wrong with the baby. So, four months later, they sign a paper saying they refuse hospitalization and the doctor, quietly resigned to the situation, gives them some antibiotics. I hope the baby is okay.

After finishing at the clinic, I got on a minibus back to La Paz. I took the last of my photos of El Alto, mostly of the graffiti there. I've put together a small album of street art around La Paz and El Alto... there's too much to put on the blog, so I'm just putting the link to it here. If I had more time, I would explore the politics of Bolivia. In the meantime, I find the slogans and writings around town fascinating.

I got off the minibus almost as soon as we got into La Paz so I could walk through the markets and get some fresh air on my way back home for lunch. I don't think I have talked about food much on the blog, so I'll comment briefly now: I am SO ready to eat some food at home-home. Although there seems to be plenty of everything and anything here (see photo below, right), this does not seem to translate into every day life - even for the people who can afford it. Meat is expensive, but it is the principle food at every meal, and cheap vegetables and fruits are not the go-to food. Go figure.

Plus, I know I'm not a big meat-eater in general, but I don't know how you could be after seeing the markets... i.e., photo, below left. Chicken, steaks, and whole fish get set out to be sold all over, in exactly this manner.















Ah well. At least someone has a sense of humor about all the dying animals.