Before I came to Bolivia, I was determined to put my experience in a historical and political context that I could cleanly understand. One of my teachers from school had seen me at his open summer classes and, upon learning I was going to Bolivia,......Read More
Hola desde la llaqta! (Hello from the pueblo!) After our beautiful and rewarding trek in Los Frailes outside of Sucre, team Bolivia has settled into a peaceful routine in Tiquipaya! We arrived on Saturday and students were eager to meet their......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
In 1544 the Spanish invaders discovered the mighty Cerro Rico mountain of Potosi. Arguably the largest silver mine in history it’s said that the silver extracted from Cerro Rico could build a road of pure silver from Potosi all the way to......Read More
We sat in the back of Tar Village’s small gompa, watching our amalay, Tashi, bend to the floor in prayer. She came and sat down, laughing and taking selfies with the two of us and Tsewang, who was the amalay of Isabel and Caroline. Tashi and......Read More
Today after we walked through the scorching hot streets of Goulmima, we waited at a taxi stand and were pleasantly surprised when we reached our destination. We arrived at a small building that was a women’s center located in the heart of......Read More
Dear Bomb Guard, You have opened my eyes to the landfills that are slowly becoming the world we inhabit. You show us that, although waste may be invisible to some, it is always there, infecting our water and plaguing our land. Seeing you has made me......Read More
Dear Flushable Toilets, Why? You suck for people and the environment. You are so pointless. Reasons Why Flushable Toilets Suck: 1. You sit, not squat. Sitting on the toilet is not preferable for the easy flow of “solid waste.” Also, this......Read More
One of the core reasons I decided to apply to this program is Cambodia’s rich history. I was extremely interested in learning about the genocide and the nation’s recovery from it because much of this isn’t mentioned in US textbooks and......Read More
Okay people, let’s talk about confusion. That kind of all-consuming, mind-numbing, makes-you-want-to-scream confusion that comes from having a WHOLE LOT of emotions that you can’t quite identify and can’t quite process because you can’t......Read More
What defines you as a person? Is one’s hair, eye, nose, face, voice, style, mannerisms, networking, habits, words, consistency and countless things that define us. We are continuously developing ourselves. Time changes......Read More
It was brought to my attention recently that I say the word “wild” a whole lot. “How is your homestay, Lyza?” “It’s truly wild.” “How is your ISP going, Lyza? “Oh let me tell you, it is......Read More
*This yak is a compilation of writings and research done by the entire student group* Before we all left for this program, Myanmar was at the forefront of global news due to the conflict occurring in the Rakhine State. Prior to departure a lot us......Read More
A little less than a month ago in Vientiane, our group of travelers visited a local NGO called COPE. COPE educates both locals and foreigners about the “Secret War,” a Vietnam War campaign by the US military to incapacitate Viet Minh and......Read More
