Me, all about me... oh, and McDonald´s... where... are they...?

Well, tomorrow is month one out of the country. *fanfare and all sorts of celebratory this´s and thats* This is interesting - sort of. It doesn´t seem like a whole month, and at the same time feels like an eternity, depending on what I´m thinking of at the time; the excitements along the way, or the missing of you all.

It has been suggested that I go out and celebrate somehow, perhaps have a beer. Well, not a bad option. The beer in Bolivia is pretty good... well, (rephrases) there is beer in Bolivia that is pretty good. And this is surprising given the Lonely Planet´s suggestion (which may be correct) that when Bolivians drink in celebration they don´t concern themselves with the taste and just get on with the job of total enebriation. It´s not exactly the image I´ve gotten so far, except with the fellow yesterday outside of ... hmm... (I forget the name... was I drunk??) a drinking establishment on The Prado here in Cbba, who had to be carried to a cab after falling off his chair. Perhaps I´ll have an ice cream instead...

Either way, Huari is the beer of choice here, even though Tequeña beer supports every event and has it´s sign in front of every store in the city (that grates). The Huari seems the underdog and that´s my choice for a sunny Saturday afternoon cerveza.

One thing I can´t do to celebrate in Cochabamba (or anywhere in Bolivia) is frequent McDonald´s family wrest-or-wants. On November the 30th 2002, the stupid clown with his blood stained red nose (I believe it was originally brown) fled the country that day, amidst howls of misled, hoohas wanting to guzzle their last watered down Coke, or strengthen the loving stranglehold the cholesterol has on their heart (those that could afford it of course. I´m surprised to see that CNN actually quoted an indigenous woman after first hooting about the sadness of Ronald´s passing. Get a load of this:

But not all were sad to see McDonald's go.
Bolivia is a country with nearly 60 percent indigenous population. McDonald's catered mostly to the other 40 percent who had the economic means to enter the restaurant.
Although McDonald's prides itself as an economical and friendly place, most of Bolivia's indigenous population had never tried a hamburger for lack of money or lack of welcome.
"I've wanted to try the food but I never have," said Esther Choque, an indigenous woman dressed in colorful robes waiting for a bus outside a McDonald's restaurant.
"The closest I ever came was one day when a rain shower fell and I climbed the steps to keep dry by the door. Then they came out and shooed my away. Said I was dirtying the place.
"Why would I care if McDonald's leaves if they do such bad things?" - copyright 2002 The Associated Press.

Again, I´m surprised. Could I be too cynical to suggest that McDonald´s saw their own image in the teargas that filled the streets in 2000 and continues to threaten as people become more and more aware of what their rights are? The writing´s on the wall, literally. I, for one, am happy to be here.

Meet me at the heladeria,

Ciao.