A couple of people have recently emailed me and said, "So you got a job?" Perhaps I haven't been keeping you as up-to-date as I thought I was. So to prove that I am actually kind of busy and to share a little bit with you about Bolivia, I thought I would post my "Ask Armando" column that I write for the weekly Embassy newsletter (that I also edit). Here's my first column:
Editor’s Note: One of the best things about living overseas, in my
opinion, is discovering the unique characteristics of the host
country—the ones that Lonely Planet doesn’t prepare you for.
Whether it’s the constant need for “change management” (everyone
knows that a taxi driver won’t change 20Bs for a 12B ride), or the
confusion that arises when your household staff unpacks your HHE
and discovers your collection of spoon rests, life here is a constant
memoir in the making. While we try to figure out how to adapt to the
collision of cultures, a few questions are bound to arise. As a new
feature in the Kipus, I’d like to explore these questions. You can send
your inquiries to me at ***** and they will be
reviewed, researched, and answered by our resident cultural expert
Armando. Here’s our first entry:
Dear Armando:
I have heard several explanations as to the origin of the name Kipus
including that it is a flower native to Bolivia. What’s the real story?
- Always Wanted to Know
Dear Wanted to Know:
Not only is that a great question, but I’ve always wondered about that,
too! According to my “research” (a few minutes on Wikipedia) the
term kipus is derived from the Inca method of record keeping. A
quipu, or kipu as it is called in Quechua, was made out of colored
thread and knotted in a particular way to represent values of ten. In
this way the Inca Empire could keep account of everything from
population to taxes. I am simplifying this, obviously, but for more
information you can visit Wikipedia or even my sixth grade social
studies book. But to appear sophisticated and well-read, check out the
John Noble Wilford article published in the New York Times on
August 12, 2003, titled String, and Knot, Theory of Inca Writing.
