Dragon Slayers

Great Googley Moogley We Did It!
After literally a month of fighting a vicious, uphill battle against the chaotic disorder that is Bolivian bureaucracy, Caitlin and I officially obtained our visas and national identity cards. Some 200 photocopies, 4 lawyers, 2 bloodtests, 63 stamps (each), 6 sets of fingerprints and 4 rounds of mugshots later and we are done with the process. Though we still have to wait until Thursday to pick up our identity cards. Honest to God this was the most difficult task of my life, or at least cost the most trees. Unbelievable. I rather take a ten hour economics exam than deal with that ever ever again. But hey, we got really good at standing in line.

One quick anecdote from the process, as Caitlin and I were getting fingerprinted for the final time yesterday the stoic and rather unfeeling officeworker in her starchy green outfit ordered Caitlin to take out her nosering for the official photo. Somewhat understandable. Then, in a joking manner, I asked her if she thought the nosering was pretty. Flatly, she said no. Then told Caitlin that she would get cancer from the piercing and that she was tired of Americans and their negative influence corrupting and ruining Bolivian purity. Ladies and Gentlemen, Bolivian bureaucracy: wildly inefficient, costly and rude! Makes New Orleans seem like Finland.

Thursday night we head back to the sanctity of Copacabana, and I could not be happier. Maybe then there will be some more good pictures to put up.
with great strength
Jaron