On June 11th, the day after my high school graduation, I learned that I was one of seven students selected for Princeton’s Bridge Year Program in Bolivia. This meant that I would be deferring my college admission for a year to spend nine months in South America on a “service learning” program. (For more detailed information about my trip, see the About section of this blog.)
Before the news about Bridge Year, I had planned to spend time over the summer improving my fluency in Java, not Spanish; I had the mindset of a soon-to-be math or computer science major, not the mindset of a soon-to-be traveler. But very quickly, a much different (and extensive!) summer to-do list had been created for me. I filled out a long and detailed application for a Bolivian visa; I got vaccinated against typhoid fever, rabies, and yellow fever; I registered my trip with the State Department and Princeton’s traveler tracking system; I bought an 85-liter pack, a sleeping bag, a nice raincoat, and some light clothing from REI; I got all the medications I’ll need to treat traveler’s diarrhea and prevent malaria; I dealt with some frustrating logistics to ensure that a few scholarships I won could be deferred or used for travel expenses; I began the 500-page PDF document on Bolivian history, politics, and culture sent to me by the organization directing my program (a few hundred pages to go); I started watching the Spanish news on BBC Mundo; and most importantly, I gave my brother my fantasy football login information so he could manage my team if needed. All the while, I was working full time as a day camp counselor, and I couldn’t have done everything I had to do without the help of my amazing mother at every step along the way.
As crucial as all of this logistical preparation was to ensure my happiness, health, and safety on this trip, it is just as important for me to prepare emotionally for what I am about to experience. This type of preparation is much less tangible and has been tougher to pursue deliberately. For most of my summer, I just lived in the moment at camp and didn’t even let it “hit me” that I was about to say goodbye to everyone I know and spend nine months in South America. When people asked me how I felt about the trip, I would say I felt excited and not at all nervous. In fact, now it’s less than a week before I leave and I still feel this way. It sort of feels like an artificial excitement, like I should be feeling nervous, or at least apprehensive- not because of poor preparation, but because it’s how a normal person should feel. But by now I’ve realized that I don’t have full control over how I feel before this journey, and eventually everything will hit me, even if it’s not until I step off the plane in La Paz. I’ll be ready.
Jacob in Bolivia 