Brendan's blog

Zen in Bolivia

Brendan — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 09:41:44 -0600

August 12, 2008

It seems I’ve been a bad blogger for the past little while… so I’ll try to review everything that’s happened since my last entry and update this thing more regularly in the coming weeks and months! Where to even begin?

End of semester in Bolivia

Brendan — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:57:54 -0600

June 12, 2008

Though it’s hard to believe, our first semester is quickly coming to a close. In fact, I’ve finished lecturing my first course in Bolivia: physical hydrogeology! As I write this, our 12 students are busy taking their second module on GIS (Geographical Information Systems) applied to water resources. They’ve also been studying introductory geology, applied hydrology, and research methods. Next semester, we’ll take them out of the classroom and do our first field school at the site I visited in Oruro a few months ago.

Painting the town white

Brendan — Wed, 28 May 2008 09:37:36 -0600

May 28, 2008

Last week my sister, Kate, said farewell to Sucre after a long and great visit! She was in the city for about a month learning Spanish before setting off on a grand backpacking adventure (to Potosí, the Salar de Uyuni, La Paz, Rurrenabaque, Copacabana, Puno, Cusco, Machu Picchu, and Lima – to name a few places!) with her boyfriend, Kevin. Kate’s currently in Cochabamba volunteering with an NGO called “Water for the People” (see www.waterforpeople.org/canada) for a few weeks before she returns to Canada.

Naomi Klein reads in Bolivia

Brendan — Wed, 07 May 2008 14:59:39 -0600

May 7, 2008

Two weeks ago we were honoured by a visit from Dr. Jaime Gárfias, a professor from the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México in Toluca, Mexico. Dr. Gárfias was born in Oruro, Bolivia and completed his master´s and doctoral degrees at Université Laval in Canada before heading to Mexico, where he has worked for many years… so he’s very well travelled and has a unique perspective on our project!

Into the altiplano

Brendan — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 12:40:41 -0600

April 18, 2008

Last weekend I headed for the city of Oruro with our Bolivian project director to meet with a research team from the University of San Andrés in La Paz and representatives of Oruro’s “prefectura” (departmental government). We wanted to get acquainted with a field site used for years by the research team.They have been investigating water quality impacts from small-scale mining operations in two sub-watersheds that drain into Lago Poopó, a large, shallow saline lake.

After the flood

Brendan — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 16:28:52 -0600

April 4, 2008

Last week I had the honour of being invited to participate in a meeting of Bolivian water experts, organized by the Executive Committee of Bolivian Universities. The meeting was held in Trinidad, the capital city of Bolivia’s north-eastern department of Beni and the centre of a national disaster as aUnder water: A glimpse of the flooding that has affected thousands of Bolivians, principally in the department of Beni. result of this year’s flooding.

World Water Day

Brendan — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:07:13 -0600

March 25, 2008

Last Sunday, March 16th, I headed to Tarabuco, a small town about 60km east of Sucre, to celebrate the traditional “Pujllay” festival. Pujllay is a Quechua word meaning “play”. (Quechua is an indigenous language, adopted by the Incas and still widely spoken in Bolivia and other South American countries.)

Classes begin

Brendan — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:25:43 -0600

March 13, 2008

Our project is in full swing as classes began last week! The students seem to be a great group: kind, bright and motivated. They’ll certainly be busy this semester as they learn some fundamentals of water science and management. I’m keeping busy myself, teaching an introductory course in physical hydrogeology (the flow of groundwater). Luckily for me, I have lots of support from the University of Calgary, particularly Dr. Masaki Hayashi. Luckily for the students, I’m not their only instructor! Aside from the local professors from Sucre, the students will have the opportunity this semester to hear from professors from the Bolivian cities of Potosí and Santa Cruz. We also have plans to bring in an expert from Brazil and a Bolivian (from La Paz) working in Mexico City, not to mention, of course, the Canadian professors soon to visit…

Building a team

Brendan — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 15:17:00 -0700

February 19, 2008

On Saturday afternoon I went to el Estadio la Patria (a marvel of poured concrete) here in Sucre to catch a semi-final fútbol match between Universitario (from Sucre) and La Paz Fútbol Club. The game was more siesta than fiesta (the teams tied 0-0; good enough to send Universitario to a home-and-home final with Real Potosí) but the experience was a wonderful way to check out Bolivian fútbol culture and learn a few new invectives en Español. Turns out that whistling is derogatory in Bolivia, as booing is in Canada, but it can be a positive thing too; it all depends on just how you whistle, you see. Oddly enough, I never heard the positive whistling directed at the refs…

Getting settled in Sucre

Brendan — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:20:15 -0700

After all the preparation and anticipation, I’m finally here: Sucre,Bolivia. Since my arrival, the city has been totally consumed by ‘carnaval’ – the revelry that precedes the forty days of lent (the Christian season of fasting and prayer before Easter). For many, the word ‘carnaval’ conjures up images of scantily clad dancers lining the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In Sucre, things are celebrated a little differently. There are parades, but they’re small-scale, seemingly spontaneous affairs, typically the culmination of (liquor-laden) family reunions. The focus here is instead on soaking everyone in sight, gringos (white foreigners) especially, with water and foam. It’s difficult for me to find the words to adequately describe the frequency and magnitude of the water fights I’ve witnessed here… at one point, a fellow Canadian and I cowered behind a taxi as literally hundreds of young Bolivians lobbed water balloons at us, the splashing noises so frequent as to be heard as one continuous sound. This morning I walked the city, treading on a carpet of multicoloured plastic – tiny fragments of thousands of exploded balloons.