Last Saturday in my humble studio apartment in Santiago, I couldn’t think about much except Haiti. After spending the day in thought, I concluded Haiti has traumatized me personally as it probably has many of you. We cannot begin to comprehend the images of bodies being buried and never iden[...]
Author Archive
December 2nd, 2009 - 2:26 pm § in Around Town, In the Field, Looking for Opportunity, Tips & Resources, Volunteer
33 Tips from Kiva Fellows in Latin America
All bound by a shared love of Kiva.org and its “Loans that Change Lives,” Kiva Fellows – many of whom have never met each other in person unless part of the same training group in San Francisco – keep in touch via mass emails for a multitude of reasons ranging from simple camaraderie[...]
October 30th, 2009 - 12:56 pm § in Bolivia, Good Ideas, In the Field, Peru, Tips & Resources, Volunteer
The Biggest Mistake Volunteers Make
I have been thinking about the time I’ve spent down here in Latin America volunteering over the past five months, and I understand it isn´t a sacrifice everyone can make. Those who have children or grandparents they need to care for, a job whose security cannot be jeopardized, or too much d[...]
October 15th, 2009 - 6:55 pm § in Around Town, Bolivia
Amazon Burning: Blog Action Day 2009
The fire raged ahead. It was so high I could make out the flames reaching above the treetops on the eastern bank of the river on one of the Amazon’s many tributaries, Rio Mamore. It was an image of destruction, not unlike watching a tragedy unfold on the news with eyes glued to the image, [...][...]
October 2nd, 2009 - 2:15 pm § in Bolivia, Looking for Opportunity, Peru, Tips & Resources, Volunteer
So You Spin the Globe…
…and let your index finger use it as an Ouija board, telling you where to volunteer. But then your first spin takes you to the middle of the Atlantic. So I guess that means you have to spin again, right? This is actually what I did a few times in college, when I knew I wanted [...][...]
Ignorance is Bliss
One of the toughest things about volunteering is that, while the most joyful and rewarding experiences of your life will happen, the direction of your life’s path might also change. Once you have seen poverty, and more specifically – extreme poverty, you simply cannot continue to do nothing ab[...]
August 28th, 2009 - 10:22 am § in Around Town, Peru
The Harder Days
I am talking with a friend about the prevalence of domestic violence in Ayacucho, and frankly, how it seems certain communities are socially accepting of men who beat their wives. Domestic violence is seen as a solution to keep a woman in line, force them into change or acceptance of change, and m[...]
August 14th, 2009 - 2:29 am § in Peru
For the Best Fruit, You Gotta Go Out on a Limb
One of the strangest (and sometimes dangerous) things that happens to me when I travel is that, as soon as I overcome the fear of releasing the comforts of home and board the plane, I magically lose all inhibitions. On my first volunteer trip, to East Africa in 2007, I was newly engaged to be [[...]
