Snow day.

Well, not really, but that's what Scotty calls days when there's a strike and public transport and a lot of other things around the city shut down. Most of the time, private vehicles are allowed to circulate, and today was no exception. I wanted to mention a couple interesting things I saw today. The first is something I've seen many times before when the public transport has decided to strike (today they are demanding higher wages/passage fares): men with sticks and rocks standing at the entrance to our neighborhood. What are they doing with those sticks and rocks, you ask? Well, they plan on throwing the rocks at any public transportation vehicle that is running and then taking the driver out and beating him with sticks. Sometimes it's just a threat, sometimes they mean it. I don't want to be around when they mean it. I might have mentioned before that we have a car that is the same make and model as many taxis around here and we are often momentarily mistaken as taxis, i.e., public transportation. I always go very slowly through this intersection when those rock-bearing men are around so they get a good look at my obvious gringa-ness and realize I am no threat to their strike. So- we found all things calm when we arrived downtown and less traffic to deal with. Our purpose was to pick up visas that Scotty was told would be ready today. This is the first time we haven't worked with someone to do our visa paperwork, which usually is better off done through someone else who has connections in immigration and knows how the system works. However, our president is continually changing the system and the people who are working in it, so no one really knows what is going on. Therefore, it's easier to do it yourself, even if it can be a bit of a wild goose chase. Miraculously, he was able to go downtown only 2 or 3 times, collect up all the stuff they asked for, turn it in and they gave him the date it would be done! We went in expecting to pick them up and they said our paperwork had been "under observation" because we were missing 2 very important things. The guy pointed to a sign taped to the glass window that mentioned following up on your paperwork for this very reason. However, it's not a notice you're likely to notice because it's tucked on a window that is usually behind a long line of people doing their own paperwork and you would never have been able to see it, nor do they refer you to it when you turn in your stuff. Also, once Scotty had gathered everything together they asked for, turned it in and gotten a specific date when the visa would be ready, he didn't think it would be necessary to come back and ask, just in case. Right? Not right. So, not such a big surprise and he'll be back on Monday to turn in what should be the last of the requirements. When we got back to the neighborhood, all the men were still around and now burning a tire.

The other interesting thing I saw on the way home was an orphanage. My good friend Andrea had lovingly searched for a place that could take all the milk I had painstakingly pumped and stored while Zion was alive. She had heard of this particular orphanage near where we had lunch and told me that it was surprisingly nice and that all the babies seemed to be clean and happy. A lot of places that take babies don't take awesome care of them and tell their workers not to touch them because once they've experienced touch, they will want more and there isn't enough help to go around- so they don't want all the babies to freak out about it. Sad. Anyway, the most amazing thing about this place is the little turn-box in one of the front windows right along the sidewalk. The home is located on a main drag in town and anyone who wants/needs can tuck their baby in this box and rotate it in toward the inside of the building and walk away. I wish it were so easy to get babies out this same way. Scotty and I have always considered adoption and since we lost Zion, I have wondered if God isn't pushing us again to think about it and act on the desire He has given us. However, we've heard it's next to impossible to adopt from Bolivia as an American. I still think we'll go back to this home and check it out and see if they can hook us up with a lawyer. And maybe, just maybe, they'll have a baby that we can pick up and take home without any hassle...