Eerily quiet night followed by a peaceful morning. Bolivian Census Day.
“For a 24 hour period, starting at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, November 21, all non-emergency offices and businesses have been ordered to remain closed, and individuals instructed to remain at home and await the census taker. No pedestrians, private vehicles, or public transportation will be allowed on the roads without prior authorization (i.e., a special permit) from the National Institute of Statistics and violators will be fined.”
Today we were counted in the Bolivian census, taken every 10 years. The questions were pretty routine, where were you born, what do you do, your education level, how many children do you have. The only unsettling question was how many children have you given birth to that have died. The guy expected a number and asked twice to confirm it was zero.
It was interesting to see the whole country on lock-down. We don’t have a TV but I imagine there wasn’t even news today because the news broadcasters had to be in their homes to be counted also. It’s like we were all just on pause for 24 hours. I don’t know about the rest of Bolivia, but I used the time to do a really good cleaning of the house.
When I get an unexpeced free days, I often let it sliip through my fingers. I’m not sure, but I think cleaning the house might not be at the top of my list. On the other hand, it would make me feel I had really accomplished something.
The question about children that had died would have been disconceting.
How unusual that absolutely everything except emergencies were shut down in the country.
What did Tom do with his free day, help with the house cleaning?
Love you both, Grandma and Grandpa R.
I was grading all day…today is the expo for my class and the end of the semester so I have to have everything turned in.