Bolivia Here I Come!
When I was first accepted to the Global Fellows program I was unsure about the experience that lay ahead of me. These past 10 weeks of classes learning about privilege, safety and service have made me more educated and informed about potential challenges laying ahead but have not decreased my worry for the trip.
To embark onto any trip no matter how often you travel is a scary experience. Living abroad my whole life I thought I would be much more prepared for this trip to Bolivia but within my mind there is a flurry of unknowns. I can see why past Global Fellows stress the importance of the ‘travel mindset’ to stay calm when faced with a huge variety of potential obstacles, food poisoning and missed flights or delays to name the highest ranked on my list.
Yet there is also a sense of deep excitement to throw myself into my project working for AHA Bolivia setting up a recycling program for their textiles and the logisitcal issues involved in that process. I am excited for the indepdence a project like this offers to be able to craft something out of nothing.
In addition a past Global Fellow, Kirstin, developed a list of travel opportunities to embark on during our weekends off which range from a day hike up to the Christ the Redeemer statue which stands over Cochabamba to a trip to the salt flats in what used to be a salty sea where you can visit abandoned railroad cars.
While there will be nerves, I believe I am slowly settling into a travel mindset which I think will help me along my trip. Plus I am super excited about this whole experience which I think counteracts any serious nervousness I have.
Goodbye Santa Clara! Estoy viajandar a Bolivia!
