Kirsten goes to Bolivia!

Come see what Kirsten is up to now!

2012-02-22T21:12:00.003-08:00

Education blog and Pacific Learning Academy website (www.PacificLearningAcademy.com)

Kirsten's tutoring service has expanded and PLA is now an accredited high school. Specializing in 1-on-1 education (and small groups) at locations convenient to Eastside families (in-home tutoring as well as meeting at a local library). High School credit courses are also available to students wishing to take a class outside of their regular school, as well as to those wishing to take a full course load and graduate through PLA.

PLA offers Spanish, French, Japanese, Math (Algebra to Calculus), Science, English, writing, study skills and SAT/ACT prep and diagnostic tests, too!

See you there!

Photos of our trip to Bolivia

2010-08-01T15:19:00.000-07:00

To see photos of our entire trip to Bolivia - head HERE to my me.com gallery!

We're Home!

2010-05-16T18:01:00.000-07:00

It's been 7 days since we landed in Seattle. Mark met me at the airport, dressed in a suit and a placard that read "Rock Star Shuttle for O'Malley." He said it's because I was "big in Bolivia" (literally, of course). I'm not sure if it was jet lag or reverse culture shock, but I felt as I were moving in slow motion my first 3 days back. First of all, I have to cook my own meals and clean my own house, do my own laundry, and drive myself to my appointments. Then there's the "work for a living" surprise. How soon we forget, my little chickens, how much reality changes with a plane flight.

After a week to think and review photos, and also the great opportunity to attend Rotary 5030's district conference in Portland, I am ready to share my thoughts on the Bolivia trip. My main interest originally lay with Bolivia's systems of education, but thanks to the varied professions of my teammates I also learned a lot about health care and health education, environmental and community concerns re water/sewer/trash, the plight of orphanages (and the children in them), and the wonderful work of the many non-profit and Non-governmental organizations we visited. Rotary clubs and their members are working in all corners of Bolivia, making a huge difference in the lives of needy individuals as well as whole communities. I wasn't there long enough to know every detail, but I was certainly there long enough to feel inspired and motivated to learn (and do) more.

I'll be posting more photos now that I have a FAST internet connection and invite anyone interested in either Bolivia or Rotary's GSE program to contact me.

Santa Cruz catch up

2010-05-06T04:50:00.000-07:00

We've been in Santa Cruz since Sunday (today is Thursday) and today we are visiting one of Bolivia's cash crops - Sugar cane.

Sugar cane needs manual labor, and so immigrants come here (from the Altiplano) for the harvest, then stay. Interesting web page about some of the repercussions: http://base.d-p-h.info/en/fiches/dph/fiche-dph-7798.html

Besides the humidity, the weather hasn't been too bad. We leave Saturday for the US, where I'll be updating my blog with the millions of photos I took!

Santa Cruz family

2010-05-02T05:50:00.000-07:00

Here's my host family! Chi Chi Mendez is the host dad, his wife Marta (Kiki) and their daughter Andrea (standing). Noelia is a adopted member, more or less, and my constant companion when we're both in the house at the same time! She's 6 years old and is learning how to read. Great kid!

Potosí - How I´ve missed you!

2010-04-30T11:24:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting in an internet cafe in Potosí. This is a great city full of old history, but thank god I've just spent my last few weeks on the Altiplano or I'm not sure I could have handled the altitute (4070 meters - you figure it out!). This is the place where, 15 years ago, I would go two feet and stop to catch my breath. This morning I walked 7 blocks carrying my laundry, and only dealt with minor heavy breathing, so I´ve improved!

We got in at 2:30 this morning after a very typical bus ride (leave at 7 pm, get crammed in so hard that your knees and/or shoulder blades are rubbing against the metal of the older-than-the-hills bus), up and snuggly with other passengers, and then hold on for dear life between cat naps. The bus stopped, but no bathrooms in the dusty and dark little town (that didn´t stop us, but it could have been a lot easier). We arrived at 2:30 a.m.

Anel, Ashley and I are in the same room at our home-stay house and the boys are at a hotel. If they´d had wifi I'd be jealous, but as it is I´m always up for meeting new people and learning how not to electrocute myself in their shower (always electric, with extraneous wires twisted around the shower head - yikes!).

After a visit at a local university and seeing their tiny, cramped, inadequate, techology-barren library, I began to appreciate the 6-floor University of Alaska library, or even my local library in Sammamish with their soaring spaces and free internet. You can even study there! After the University visit, I tried Mocochinchi for the first time. They dry a peach, then pour hot water over it in a glass. VERY good! Also tried Tucumanas (another variety of empanada), which then made lunch hard to finish (although the wine might have had something to do with it as well - the wine here is seriously INCREDIBLE!). You have to try everything, of course, and so far I haven´t found much I don´t like except the huge quanitites of carbs (rice, potato, pasta, french fries, and yukka.

Today we visit a hospital and orphanage - then give our presentation. Tomorrow we will visit El Cerro Rico, where miners work for themselves in deplorable conditions and have turned the hill into such a maze of mining tunnels that it´s amazing it still stands.

The Wilds of SW Bolivia (Salares)

2010-04-29T07:28:00.000-07:00

After a long ride on a psychedelic bus to Uyuni, we traded in for a tour in a Toyota Land Cruiser and headed off into the Salt flats. Within a few hours we had a flat tire, which Juan - our game tour guide - fixed within minutes. We spent the night at a salt block hotel (see photo of Ashley and Anel trying it out).

Pink flamingos were everywhere, flying low across the salt flats on their way to their favorite lagunas.

We stopped at an island of cacti and had a fabulous lunch prepared by our accompanying cook, Magali.

Lagunas were beautiful.... as were the Rock formations

Vicuñas roam wild and were everywhere!

We almost froze the 2nd night....

But soon warmed up at the thermal springs.

Everyone was very tired our 3rd day as we raced back to Uyuni. Lots of llama everywhere!

On our way to the Salar (Uyuni)

2010-04-26T23:37:00.000-07:00

We took a 2-hour bus ride from Sucre (white-washed colonial town) to Potosí
and then dropped the majority of our baggage with Rotary. Then we
hopped on a 6-hour bus to Uyuni. Not much to see on the trip except
painted mountains, lots of herds of llama, and some flamingos.

Tonight - wonderful meal with my team as we are getting to know each
other and are developing our stories and inside jokes. We´re at a nice
hotel (I mean, relatively. It doesn´t provide toilet paper if that
gives you a glimpse into how many stars we´re getting!) and the same
owner is not only friends with a Rotary friend in Oruro, but he´s also connected to a tour company. We´re going out to the Salar for THREE days starting tomorrow
morning. It´s really going to be amazing. I hope my extra battery and
space on the camera holds.

The Food in Sucre

2010-04-26T00:59:00.000-07:00

Sopa de Mani' (peanut soup) & Llajua (salsa)

Churasco (steak) and Mark Howard with Huari beer

Picante Mixto (chicken, tongue, pasta, rice, peanut sauce)

Arroz con Queso (cheesy rice) & Helado de Leche con Vanilla

Images de Sucre

2010-04-25T19:51:00.000-07:00

Sucre - chocolate and sombreros

2010-04-24T23:15:00.000-07:00

[Club Rotario Sucre La Plata]

] Today we visited a chocolatiere called Para Ti'. In a modern building, with workers all in white and layers of security, Para Ti' is a surprising gem. The chocolate tasted great (free samples!) and the facilities were beautiful. They are in the process of getting certifications necessary to step up their exports. The cacao bean is from Ecuador and the rest of the ingredients are local to Bolivia. Although Bolivia grows cacao, apparently it's all exported, with none left over!

Although the morning visit to the chocolate factory was quite tame, the trip to the hat-making factory was a step into last century's industrial revolution. The Sombrero factory was hot, with no protective gear in sight, obviously dangerous jobs, and a general ambivalence toward safety.

The factory owner gave George a bottle of wine, which the 5 of us polished off pretty quickly late this afternoon, and I bought a hat for Maya, my niece. I've been trying NOT to buy things because every pound I pick up at the market is one I have to carry around.

Sucre never sleeps

2010-04-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

Our meeting last night started at 9pm and I had to practically beg to be taken home at 12:30 this morning. George and I were driven back to the hotel, but no idea when the three young-uns came back. I crashed pretty quickly but my alarm went off at 7:15 am so it's not like I'm getting enough sleep even when I'm being a party pooper. :-)
Today we are visiting (drum roll please): A CHOCOLATE FACTORY, then a sombrero factory (did I mention the chocolate factory), then lunch, then we're going to a park that has dinosaur tracks. :-) Something else at the end of the day, but can't remember. Once again, a dinner at 9pm and they are hell bent on taking us out to karaoke. The club we're hanging out with today (there are three in the city and they are taking turns being in charge of us) is "mixto" -- meaning they actually let women be a part of it.

Rotary was all-male until a club in Seattle (I.D) decided to let women in. Rotary Int'l told them they couldn't be rotarians with ladies in the group, so the I.D. group SUED Rotary Intl'l Finally, Rotary had to relent. Most clubs in Bolivia, IF they allow women, have only done so for the past 3 years. There is still quite a few of men-only clubs, and as you can imagine, they serve water, soda pop, and whiskey before every meeting. I've been going for the water.

Before our meeting last night, Ashley, Mark and I took a little walking adventure down to the plaza. It's 3 blocks away, but it took us 8 to get there because we didn't know where we were going! We had a bottle of wine and 7 empanadas, and the total bill was 9 dollars. I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that Bolivia is a pretty economical place to visit.

Sucre - great hosts and tough visits

2010-04-23T15:20:00.000-07:00

[Ashley with Julio Revollo's granddaughter]

Our hosts in Cochabamba were kind enough to buy us a plane ticket to Sucre – which made our trip 30 minutes instead of 6 or 7. Bottled water and as much hand lotion as you could want were totally ok going through security, and no one had to take off their shoes.

Instituto Psicopedagógico San Juan de Dios

We made two visits today in Sucre, and both were very sobering. The first was an institute for kids with severe disabilities. Some of them are orphans, but most come from families that can't take care of them, or were abandoned (4 children were left there last year - their parents gave fake addresses). We were greeted enthusiastically by the kids and the flashing toothbrushes went over well. Unfortunately, the institute gets by on less than a shoestring. The government gives them $1 a day to take care up to 135 kids, but that amount is barely enough for breakfast AND the institute regularly has up to 250 kids on site.

Three travellers who stayed to volunteer were helping at the institute, and Rosario Osina (who showed us around) let us know that they absolutely cannot run the place without the help of volunteers and the donations that trickle in from various sources, including the local Rotary Clubs. Rosario asked us specifically to help with disposable diapers. While the institute does not have any babies at this time, many (most?) of the young people staying there need diapers. They especially need larger sizes (adult sizes). I was shocked to hear it costs $10 for 16 diapers. When you consider the government gives them $1 day per person, you can see it doesn't even cover the cost of the day's worth of diapers. When disposable diapers run out, they use diapers made from cloth, but then that leads to bed sores since the kids aren't changed that much (lack of staff). Let's just say my heart broke a little during this visit.

Hogar Jesús de Nazaret

Our next stop was at a boy's orphanage. Some of the boys have extended family of some sort, but from what I understood, they are mostly street kids that are being given a home, food, chores, schooling, and love.

The boys lined up to get a fresh T-shirt/underwear set. Their sweaters were so dirty, with holes in them, but they were very friendly and every one of them wanted me to take their pictures.

What I noticed about both of these visits was the very serious need for help (money, volunteering, clothing) but also the fact that they do not have websites or ways to communicate their need. There's an organization in Cochabamba that connects people to volunteer opportunities called Sustainable Bolivia. Sucre, and especially the kinds of places we visited, could definitely benefit from something similar.

Machacamarca - Tin and Train Ghost Town

2010-04-17T20:35:00.000-07:00

Oruro Rotarians took us to a mining ghost town today called Machacamarca. The train station was full of school kids on a field trip to the same town and so it seemed liked we would have a crowded train. As it turned out, we had the dining car completely to ourselves.

Machacamarca was in its prime during the 1950’s, but started to empty out as the world tin market begain to decline. Tin was replaced by plastic and this little town began to look like a reject movie set from a Hollywood Western. We visited the very well maintained train museum and were impressed with how they had restored and kept their trains in pristine condition (unlike Snoqualmie’s Train Museum, where many of the trains are turning into big rust wagons).

Later we visited a women’s cooperative in Korikollo. The women in the village started a small child care business for the local families who work in Oruro. From that grew the idea of picking Quinoa, drying it, dying it, and exporting it to countries who use the stalks in flower arrangements. They are sending the Quinoa to Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada and Brazil. See them on the web at www.QuinoaFlor.com. Our guide was Limber Sanchez, a Rotarian who has worked for non-profits for many years and whose club has been working directly with Quinoa Flor. Limber’s non-profit has help campesinos of Bolivia raise llamas, better their cultivation techniques, and mechanize agricultural production.

Our presentation to the Oruro Rotary Club was open to other clubs, but not many managed to make the lunch. This was only our second presentation since arriving in Bolivia, but it felt as if it flowed much better.

To relax, they took us out to Karaoke from 10 pm to 2 am. I only fell asleep 3 times, but I couldn’t miss the chance to sing Love Me Tender and Leaving on a Jet Plane!

Intiraymi Korikollo project and Universidad Técnica de Oruro

2010-04-16T23:59:00.000-07:00

There’s more than one way to eat a llama….

Last night we arrived at the Oruro bus terminal and were greeted by a contingent of Rotarians who had expected us four hours earlier. No worries – we’re doing things “Bolivian style”! Being atrasado (late) might be a problem for some, but “oh well,” as my La Paz host dad told me.

Anel and I are sharing a room in Denise’s house. She has four kids and a husband who works a lot at a cement factory. As the manager of the factory, he’s often away at training courses and poor Denise is left with the kids, the dogs, a house to manage (with daily maid, however). Carlos, her husband, also takes university courses at night, so everyone is busy.

The first stop today was an open pit gold mine outside of Oruro called the Intiraymi Kori Kollo project. Formerly owned by a private company until most of the gold was extracted, the mine is currently run by the government. We stood at the edge of the open cast and looked into the inverted-cone shaped pit as their top environmental engineer explained the process to us. Dynamite is no longer used now that they’ve found a way to use ammonium nitrate. The charges go off one by one but it’s so quiet that you can barely hear it. Rather than spraying rocks and dust all over the place (and trust me, dust is the last thing you need more of in this place!), you have a small charge that does the job and keeps the local community happy. When the mine opened, they asked the town (population: 25) what they would like to have. They chose a small park and a community center, which they got. Because of the jobs that have sprung up supporting the miners, the population has swelled to almost 200. Unfortunately, the mine is extracting (only) about 35 thousand troy ounces per year, a level low enough that even the government is getting ready to shut down the operation and will likely do so next year. The BBC interviewed Augustín, the guy in charge of explaining the mine to us, and there’s now a DVD out called “Oruro’s Carnival” that apparently you can see clips of on YouTube.

Although visiting a real working gold mine was interesting, I enjoyed lunch even more. We took a minibus over to Iroko, the community next to the mine, and ate with the company employees. I met Vania Terrazas, who is a chemical engineer with only 2 weeks under her belt at the project. I asked her to pose for a picture by the bathrooms, which she thought was odd. But just ½ hour earlier I had almost knocked myself unconscious entering and wanted a memento!

After lunch we spent some time wandering around the empty community center – a beautiful building built for the town by the mining company. While there we were treated to a scene of passing llamas.

In the afternoon we spent time at the FNI (Engineering faculty), a school with 104 years of history and a major role in educating the engineers needed at the many local mines. The University now has 13 majors and 21,000 students, but “only” 6,000 at the FNI.

Finishing up the day was dinner with José Luis Velarde and Victor Hugo, two Rotarians here in Oruro. We were treated to a real specialty here in Oruro, Charquekan (Llama jerky-ish meal with potatoes, rice, and big kernals of corn. George, Mark and I suffered a bit the next 24 hours but it was certainly an amazing meal (eaten with your fingers, no less!).

2nd Day in La Paz

2010-04-12T20:30:00.000-07:00

After working on a summary of my day for over an hour, a mistaken key stroke erased all that I had written. Despite that dubious end, today has been as interesting as our first in La Paz and tomorrow promises even more!

May I just say that mate' de coca (coca leaf tea) is a very effective way of calming the heart and head pounding introduction all newcomers get upon arrival to this city of 10 to 13 thousand feet? I heard you can also chew it, but it turns your mouth green! For many, chewing coca leaves helps to alleviate hunger pains, and on the flip side, those that chew the leaves may not eat when they should and can grow malnourished. I, for one, am a big fan and although grateful to the altitude pills, coca leaves are simply the best way to function here.

Today we visited many organizations financed in part by Rotary. I am unable to re-create the long descriptions I wrote earlier because it's already 12:40 am, but here are some photos to keep you wondering! I'll add details later.

As an aside, the women with the big skirts, shawls and bowler hats are called "Cholas" or "Cholitas" here. Anel informed us that "Chola" means something entirely different among the latino population of California. A Chola in California is a female gang member. Oh dear!

1st Day in La Paz

2010-04-11T20:58:00.000-07:00

We've made it to La Paz - just in time for the sunrise over the city, which turned the brown hills of the canyons a curious red for awhile. My first impressions THIS time have far exceeded anything I could have imagined and I am grateful that my host family didn't assume for a moment that I might need some rest. I can't imagine missing even one minute of the day!

First we were collected from the airport and I went with Jose' Luis. We wound our way down from the airport in El Alto, and then across the quiet city (6 a.m.!) to his neighborhood. After stopping to pick up some breakfast for the family (including Api, a drink made from sweet purple corn, lemon, cinnamon, and an amazing amount of sugar!).

Today's activities:

1) amazing breakfast of Api, Bunuelos, and sugared cheesy empanadas

2) nap

3) Sebastian's birthday part (Jose' Luis's son who turned 2 today), delicious saltenas

4) driving up a battered old road to see El valley de los Animos

5) taking way more photos of la montana Illimani (6439 m) than I thought possible

6) got stuck in church traffic but also got to watch lots of mini-parade celebrations

7) a drive to the opposite side of La Paz to Jose's club, where we had great views of the city

8) an evening trip to el Megacenter - a big shopping mall where we got dinner

Flying to Bolivia - We're on our way!

2010-04-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

The 5 members of the Rotary GSE Team to Bolivia are on their way! We met at the Seattle airport at 5:30 a.m. and it will "only" take 24 hours to get to La Paz.

This will be my third trip to this fantastic city. My first view of La Paz was at least 15 years ago, but I will never forget arriving by bus, dirty and tired after crossing Lake Titicaca from Peru, but suitably impressed with glimpses of the valley. Unlike most cities, which seem to grow in height the closer you get, La Paz grows downward, stretching down at steep angles, nestling itself into the hills. Makeshift housing clung to every square inch.

La Paz is not the highest city in Bolivia (a mere 3660 meters compared to Potosi"s 4070) but we have all started the regimen of Acetazolamide in the hopes of warding off the worst of altitude sickness. Can hardly wait!

Bolivia-bound!

2010-04-06T13:32:00.000-07:00

Yes, we can!

The official word is that the trip will happen, and so the last few days of anxiety can be put to rest. Unfortunately, we won't be going to Tarija as originally planned, but another city was added. We will visit:

La Paz (4.5 days)
Oruro (4 days)
Cochabamba (4 days)
Sucre (3.5 days)
Potosi (4 days)
Santa Cruz (3 days)
Montero (2 days)

All travel within Bolivia will be by bus, except for a plane ride to Santa Cruz. Since this is my THIRD trip to Bolivia, I am bringing plenty of Dramamine and will pray to all the appropriate road gods! If you like being scared, read this article about bus fatalities in Bolivia in January of this year alone.

To be or Not to be in Bolivia....

2010-03-30T09:53:00.000-07:00

George, our team leader, had some scary news for us yesterday. Although communication from Bolivia's Rotary has been sparse, we trusted that plans were moving forward and our itinerary would soon be shared with us. Unfortunately, changes in "who's in charge" on the Bolivia side mean that the trip is in jeopardy of being cancelled entirely. For now, we'll hope that things work out, but the real possibility of NOT going to Bolivia feels emotionally crushing after all of our preparation.

I woke up this morning from a nightmare that our cruise ship to Bolivia (hey, it was a dream!) was leaving without me because I had forgotten to pack and couldn't find the no-doze dramamine pills. Apparently the anxiety is setting in!

In the meantime, our bios are on the Bolivian Rotary's District 4690 website.

Shopping for Uniforms

2010-02-22T09:26:00.000-08:00

Preparing for the trip to Bolivia has had some expected components (learning about geography, political history, economic climate, education, etc...), but choosing a team uniform turned out to be one of the hardest parts of our team journey.

Anel, myself, and Ashley look over the possibilities

Sending the three female team members out to make the "big decision" turned out to be the right move. We settled on shirts from Banana Republic, black pants, and black blazers. I was all for buying 3 of the exact same shirt but Anel and Ashley pointed out that we might like some variety upon our return. In the end, we have chosen blue, grey, and purple shirts (same style) and they look fabulous.

George and Mark will do their best to match us - and I hope they look as good in purple as we do.

Who knew?

Starting to learn what I can about Bolivia

2009-11-23T07:27:00.000-08:00

Time has flown by since our November 8th meeting, but I'm trying to gather as much information as I can about Bolivia. Here's a CNN video about climate change and how it is affecting small farming communities who depend on (quickly disappearing) area glaciers for their water source. Bolivia seems forgotten in the tangle of South American countries - at least when it comes to mainstream news sources.

The New York Times has a nice topic page on Bolivia. The BBC has a country profile but not many links to current events.

This site (a "social news aggregator") looks interesting.

If you read anything of interest, please send it my way!

NEXT TASK: Write my biography and then translate it into Spanish. Hmmmm........

1st Meeting with the Team

2009-11-08T20:37:00.000-08:00

Today was our first team meeting! Mark, one of our teammates, opened his office to us and we spent our time getting an overview of our trip from George (team leader) and sharing a bit about our backgrounds. Vitoria, Mark and I missed our fourth member, Anel (who is at a conference this week), but really enjoyed meeting Ashley, one of the alternates.

There is much to do before we leave, including a yellow fever immunization, a new visa requirement ($135 to Bolivia - ouch!), traveler's insurance and a medical "ok" from our doctor. We also found out that our time in country will start April 11th but it may take us up to 2 days to get there. Back in the early 90's, when I lived in Argentina, I remember it was a hop-skip to Miami and then a direct flight to Buenos Aires. Apparently getting there in two flights, much less one airline, is almost impossible in our price range. We're keeping our fingers crossed for the shortest travel time possible. Either way, I'm able to fall asleep even before the plane starts take-off, so I know I won't mind!

We'll be visiting 6 cities:
~13,000 feet -- Potosí (highest city in the world!)
~11,000 feet -- La Paz
~ 9,000 feet -- Sucre
~ 8,000 feet -- Cochabamba
~ 6,000 feet -- Tarija
~ 1,300 feet -- Santa Cruz

With any luck, our team will be able to meet twice more before January, and then once a week after that. We have two presentations to prepare (that we'll give in Spanish), a team "look" (avoiding the word "uniform," for now), language skills to brush up on, lots to learn about Bolivia's culture, geography, economy, politics, etc.... and plenty to look forward to!

The team has been chosen!

2009-11-08T10:31:00.000-08:00

In another two hours I will meet the four other people I'm going to Bolivia with in April. I'm excited to meet them, eager to hear what's in store for us in the next few months leading up to the trip, and also a little anxious about what I bring to the table in such a high-caliber group.

About a month ago I was at the Hopelink luncheon, standing in the table-captain line to meet Lisa Ling, when I ran into a classmate and friend from Leadership Eastside, Jeni Craswell. I wish I could remember the exact conversation, but Jeni thought I should know about a Rotary program that was planning to send a group to Bolivia. My eyes widened, I begged for details, and Jeni put me in touch with Paul Prochaska, President of the Rotary Club of Redmond Rousers. Within 48 hours I had submitted my application with that club's sponsorship and soon after that I was invited to interview the next Saturday with 24 other prospective applicants.

The group interviews were humbling. As you can imagine, the sort of people who initiate an application for a program like this were all interesting as well as interested in the world. Everyone in my small group had taken big chances in life, were adventurous, and eager to make a difference. I left the interviews thinking, "Well, that was fun but of course I would never be selected among such a group." When I got the call the next day that I was chosen for the next round of interviews, I had to blink a few times. What a wonderful feeling!

Before going into the second round of interviews, a random hotel guest stopped me in the hallway of the Best Western (5 minutes before my interview!). At first I thought she was a Rotarian as she seemed to know exactly why I was there and all about the program. Eventually I realized she had just walked past the interview room many times that evening, reading the signs and perusing the list of applicant names on the sign up sheet. She told me how she would never go back to Bolivia, how she'd been robbed there, and how terrifying that had been for her. This story was not helpful to me as I was literally 4 minutes away from my interview! I had to laugh, however, as she thoughtfully encouraged me to pray to St. Jude. "You know, the patron saint of lost causes." Those were her last words to me as the elevator doors closed and she finally allowed me a moment to collect my thoughts. Somehow, thinking of my interview as a "lost cause" just put me in stitches and by the time the doors opened I was quite ready to share my thoughts with the large panel of Rotarians waiting to ask me questions.

I've been to Bolivia twice before, back in 1994 and 1995. I was living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, teaching English during the winter months, and traveling during the summer (December, January and February). Buenos Aires was so expensive back then that it was cheaper to leave the city, and so leave we did. My friends and I traveled north by bus one year, crossed the dusty expanse of northern Argentina and wound our way up through Tarija, Potosi, Sucre, Cochabamba, and finally La Paz. Another summer, we started in Peru - taking a memorable train ride through the Andes Mountains with the locals to Puno, at the edge of Lake Titicaca. The train stopped at some point (debris on the tracks) and we were all ordered off the train to wait for another train coming from the opposite direction. The sky grew darker, and soon we were sitting in complete pitch black in the middle of the Andes mountains, but still communing and chatting with our fellow train riders. Eventually another train came for us, but it was MUCH smaller. The rest of the trip was quite cozy, to say the least. I have good memories about both trips to Bolivia, and was never robbed (as the hotel guest was), although I was pickpocketed in both Peru and Argentina!

The second round of interviews felt comfortable, despite the 15+ people watching me answer their set questions. Although I still highly doubted I'd be among the final four chosen to go, I enjoyed the experience - both in sharing my thoughts and thinking through the questions the panel had for me. I recognized many of the judges from the first round of interviews and felt at home. I knew that this was a good experience for me whether or not I got the call to go.

However, I did get the call to go, and I can't deny that I am ecstatic for the opportunity to be a part of this team and a part of Rotary's exchange program. It strikes me as so generous for this organization to invest in individuals, although it is through individuals that friendships are formed, that connections are made, that knowledge can be shared across borders. We go as a team, representing our industry and our region, but it's up to each of us to make those connections that will benefit not just us and our profession, but our sponsoring Rotary clubs, our other teammates, our counterparts in Bolivia, and on and on.... I know from my experience with Leadership Eastside that the true value of the connections you make typically do not materialize immediately. It takes time to build trust and goodwill, and the benefits of a program like this may take affect months and years down the line.

I should know. It was a Leadership Eastside colleague who told me about this program. What better example of how these relationships build on each other as time goes by? Thank you, Hopelink, for having such a fabulous fundraiser and for attracting donors who truly care about community service. Thank you, Leadership Eastside, for connecting me to people like Jeni Craswell that inspire me and that lead by example. Thank you, Jeni, for telling me about the program that day at Hopelink! Thank you, Paul Prochaska, for telling your neighbors (including Jeni) about this program! And finally, thank you Rotary for choosing me to represent you on this fabulous adventure!!