About My Trip

From the beginning of September through the end of May, I will be living in the beautiful South American country of Bolivia as a participant on Princeton University’s “Bridge Year” program.  Through this program, Princeton sends a total of 35 students to five different locations around the world to engage in volunteer work and cultural immersion.  (In case you are curious, the other locations are Brazil, India, China, and Senegal.)  Princeton partners with an organization called Where There Be Dragons, which specializes in student travel trips and gap years.  I will not receive college credit for Bridge Year, but Princeton does pay for nearly all costs associated with the program.

Bolivia is a gorgeous, diverse country landlocked between Peru, Chile, Brazil, and Argentina in the middle of South America.  Bolivia boasts a wide range of ecosystems- high Andean peaks (in the West), Amazonian lowlands (in the East), and everything in between.  Along with the diversity of climate comes a rich diversity of people.  An ancient Incan land conquered by the Spanish in the 1500’s, Bolivia is now home to originarios (“originals” or natives), mestizos (Native American/European mix), Europeans, Africans, and Asians.  Spanish is the most commonly spoken language in Bolivia, but several indigenous languages prevail in more rural regions.  Bolivia is run by a democratically-elected government, and current president Evo Morales is the first originario to be elected president.

Map of South America with Bolivia shaded

My journey will begin on September 2nd, when, after a 4-day orientation at Princeton, I will fly with my six fellow travelers out of JFK to El Alto airport, just outside the capital of La Paz.  As the airport’s name may suggest, El Alto is the highest international airport in the world, tucked away in the Andes at over 13,000 feet.  For the first week, the group (joined by professional staff from Where There Be Dragons) will settle into an eco-lodge in El Alto for orientation, altitude acclimation, and a few day trips.  Then, for the next 2-3 weeks, we will move into homestays with Bolivian families and engage in small service projects with local organizations while we continue to acclimate and build our Spanish literacy.

In late September, we will leave the La Paz area and travel about 200 miles southeast to Cochabamba, where we will live for the next seven months.  Cochabamba is the fourth-largest city in Bolivia at about 2 million people.  Near the equator but elevated at 8,500 feet, the weather is pretty consistent around 70 to 80 degrees.  In fact, Cochabamba is known as the “City of Eternal Spring”!  We will settle in with new homestay families in a suburb of Cochabamba called Tiquipaya, which is “middle class by Bolivian standards.”  At this point, we will also select our long-term service placements in Cochabamba.  I hope to be placed somewhere where I will work with children.  For the seven months that follow, I will be working 5-7 hours a day in my service placement, spending up to 3 hours a day in Spanish classes, and living with my homestay family.  There will be a Bridge Year program house in Tiquipaya where the seven of us will regularly see each other, and we may even all live within walking distance of each other.  Plus, the group will take several day trips and unite to hear some guest speakers during these months.

Cochabamba

In mid-April, we will leave Cochabamba (in what is likely to be a deeply sad moment) and head back to La Paz in order to plan our month-long trip around the country.  Dragons staff will assist in the planning and accompany us on the trip, but we will have a lot of say in how the itinerary looks.  We will travel throughout the month of May, undoubtedly hitting all the historic landmarks and beautiful natural sites in Bolivia.  I’m sure that some fantastic pictures will come out of this part of the journey.  We will end our travels at the exquisite Lake Titicaca in the West, where we will discuss our feelings and how we will transfer our discoveries and new perspectives to Princeton in order to enrich our college experience.  Finally, on May 31st, we fly home and take on culture shock yet again.

I will update this blog as much as I can during my travels to document my feelings and experiences.  With limited Internet access, I’m hoping I can do one update per week.  I hope you enjoy reading about my adventure and maybe even feel like you are living it along with me.

For more detailed information about my program, you can visit this link.