PLUTO comes to Candelaria

as does OLYMPICS MEN'S FINAL BBALL CHAMPIONSHIP AGAINST SPAIN

Reading a play by Aeschylus, so I naturally thought of Bolivia (ha, ha).

pluto: i help him find the country code for Bolivia to call from the phone there so that someone can call him back immediately. And a girl was with him. I'd see them every other week on the camion going to Tarabuco.

he stays there one month, though I see him only rarely.

several other european people live there for some time, including three French guys doing trecking. I was anxious to stay away from them, even though I was the expert and able to help them get around the area, because I heard them talking about pot. A boy saw me hand over a box of matches to the guy. So I didn't want any blowback on me (PC's strict policies either taught me well, or succeeded in scaring the shit out of me!)

But Pluto, I didnt realize he lived there for more than one month. He didn't come by. 

But some time later, I got a call from his sister looking for him, and the lady running the phone couldn't communicate with this person in Spanish, so they assumed it was for me. She asked when was the last time I had seen him (a week before), where he was maybe going (likely Sucre, but after that ???), and if he had a girl with him there (yes). This person idenfitifed herself as his sister, and I asked where she was calling from : Athens or Thessaloniki? She said Athens. And she was probably the first and last person to call Candelaria from there. But the experience stayed with me, and I felt enamored at this person just with a few words, and her demonstration of concern for her brother. My only advice was to send him an email, though I promised to tell him that she had called in case he came back. I thought it fascinating that it was noon where I was, but it was already night time where she came from.

It was a strange, nice call. During that time, my heart always began to race when I got phone calls that I didn't expect. Though, I soon after this endeavoured to send my family the number for Candelaria, since... if she could call there... why couldn't Serena, or Mama?

I didn't want the conversation to end. But it would have been unusual for me to tell her: would you mind calling me in another week or two? It gets very lonely out here, especially with someone that can speak English.

Pluto was such an outgoing, boisterous person. I think he made some more valiant connections with the people there than I had. It was especially neat to be around that kind of person, and let him know I represented the US Peace Corps. It's a great feeling that all volunteers have. Another example of that? Speaking to my friend Konte in Angola, from Benin, and he respects Peace Corps a lot. But I will have to ask him if it is because he knew them from the area, or what.