Dear Friends and Family of Bridge Year Bolivia, This morning at 1 AM, there was a 6.5 magnitude earthquake that struck approximately 55 kilometers (34 mi) south of the city of Cochabamba. No damages or casualties have been reported and all students,......Read More
The group has been planning our Cordillera de los Frailes Trek and leaves Sucre tomorrow morning. Here is our tentative itinerary: Day 1: Mon, Jan 14 Leave Sucre at 6:30am and head to Chataquila Begin trek at Chataquila and walk to cave......Read More
Hello friends and families, We have reached an exciting point in our nine-month journey here in Bolivia. In just a few days we will be setting off on our “winter” excursion. After a busy two week vacation of hiking to waterfalls, 5ks, secret......Read More
Last New Year’s Eve, I was watching Knightfall with Kiana Newman at my house in Stafford, Virginia. It was a very low-key and anti-climatic New Year’s celebration, and I had no idea what 2018 would bring. At this time last year, I knew I was......Read More
From citywide protests to road blockades in a small town, it is not uncommon to expect travel delays or even a temporary shutdown in the city; Bolivia is a country not unfamiliar to citizens voicing their opinions loudly. However, it is another......Read More
A few photos of our time in Tiquipaya. Enjoy!...Read More
A few more photos of our time so far in Tiquipaya! Expect some reflections from students soon....Read More
In Bolivia, one of the most common forms of transportation is the trufi, or taxi. Bolivian trufis resemble vans, in which you normally wouldn’t accept rides from strangers in the United States. Trufis push the limits of their capacity with three......Read More
After a month of q’oas, charlas, and scavenger hunts, the vast world of Bolivian culture is opening up and we are starting to make sense of its distinct communities. In doing so, I have found it helpful to think of things in terms of Ayni, a......Read More
In the 1950s, the Canadian government forced the Inuits into settlements. An old man refused to leave, even after his family left him with no weapons or tools to fend for himself. While a blizzard smothered the Arctic lands one evening, the old man......Read More
The town of San Salvador sits atop one of many Andean mountains that surround Cochabamba. As our trufi ascended up the windy, bumpy dirt roads, the dust gave way to the hazy glimmer of city lights. My eyes stayed glued to the lightshow, until we......Read More
A Headless Mountain, A Phantom Army, and Wet Handshakes: Trip To Tocaña, an Afro-Bolivian Community You’re all privileged. You know that? It’s a real privilege that you can be here in Tocaña. And if you don’t take advantage of it then......Read More
Oscar Olivera is the director of “la Fundación Abril,” an organization in Cochabamba, Bolivia which seeks to address water issues in the city. Prior to meeting this icon of the Cochabamba Guerra de Agua (Water Wars), we read a chapter......Read More
Sometimes, as I might have expected, the mountains don’t have much to say. Their presence is enough in these moments, just as I hope is mine. But I’ve also learned that other times I just need a heap of patience and a desire to wake up at 4am to......Read More
When we first arrived to Tocaña the only vestiges of human life were the paintings and pictures on the walls. I was admiring a picture of Bob Marley, Mick Jagger, and Peter Tosh, when Pulga, the first Tocañeno I met, came out. With his short......Read More
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