During the last week, our group spent our time trekking in the Cordillera Real. Our journey was breathtaking – both by the views and the challenging terrain. On the second to last day of the trek, we left camp for a 9 hour long day hike to a......Read More
Dear families and friends, Yesterday the group completed the first day of their trek around the sacred peak of Illampu. Miraculously, the instructors had phone service at their campsite and were able to send a few photos! The trek is off to a......Read More
Dear families and friends, As we write, we are heading out to our trek in one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in South America. We will have a six-day trek at the base of the mountain Illampu. We will have incredible views of glaziers, valleys......Read More
It is rather hard to fathom that our time in Tiquipaya concluded on Wednesday night following three weeks gone by too soon. Initially, my experience with my host family was very awkward and rather unsettling. Seeing as I am used to almost constant......Read More
I’m standing on the edge of the world watching the clouds roll by, tinged orange and pink with the morning light. My knuckles are white, both with cold and with the effort of gripping the banister that separates this viewpoint from the sheer......Read More
It feels like just a few days ago that we arrived here in Tiquipaya and met our host families, both excited and nervous for this next phase of our adventure. At least it feels like that until I think about how comfortable I’ve become here, how......Read More
All families have their own rhythm of life. And when we first arrived at Tiqipaya, tired from Toro Toro and still somewhat foreign to Bolivia, trying to join another family´s rhythm seemed overwhelming. With limited Spanish and only three weeks of......Read More
Hi everyone! Sam and I are periodistas this week. As promised, here are some prompts to get you thinking about possible yaks to write! Many of us are in awe of the program house´s book collection. Which books did you read? Which was your favourite?......Read More
Sunday is a very special day for me every week. Not just because it is family day, but because on that particular day, I get to go to market with my family and spend the whole day in town selling chicharon de pollo. Chicharon de pollo, in my......Read More
It’s the journey not the destination. I find adventures approached with this mindset to be the most rewarding, and our dayhike on Saturday was the perfect example of this classic adage. The hike was the first of our “mini x-phases”, practice......Read More
Para diecinueveaños, I have never understood the wealth of knowledge that exists in other languages. We have had charlas with Rafael Puentes, Oscar Olivera and Wascar Rodriguez in Spanish and translated for us to understand. We have communicated......Read More
The words emboldened are paraphrased quotes from our ´charla´with Oscar Oliviera. His words (though about politics and governance) have given me added insight on my experience trekking. It was forty-five minutes into our uphill trek on the second......Read More
South America: Andes & Amazon - Group A, South America: Andes & Amazon - Group B, South America: Andes & Amazon - Group C
Dear families and friends of Andes & Amazon students, As you may have heard, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck north of Puno in Cusco early this morning at 3:50 am local time. We wanted to inform you right away that all three of the Andes......Read More
Recently we had a charla with Julianna, our program director here in Bolivia. We learned all about development, connecting to our theme of the semester “Developing Development”. Hearing about the history of development and the political agendas......Read More
This morning we started our day by walking through a field of margaritas (a type of white flower) as the sun poured over our shoulders and shone through the trees. The sixteen of us and our four Spanish teachers walked along a thin dirt path around......Read More
