If I am completely honest, I never would have thought to go to Bolivia on my own. As it was, I almost didn’t apply for the program that let me explore this amazing place, but I am so incredibly glad I did.
I’ve always loved traveling, immersing myself in unfamiliar cultures. When I saw the application for the brief Arts and Sciences study abroad programs, I knew it was something I had to do. Italy was tempting, Ghana looked fascinating, and Ecuador seemed incredible, but oh, how the program in Bolivia called to me. The curriculum focus was gender equality and the intersection of indigenous identity with womanhood, which was supremely interesting, and it also delved into the local culture and history. When I got in, let’s just say that my enthusiasm was hard to contain.
I have been outside of the United States before, but this was my first time having to apply for a visa, and at the first pre-departure meeting, I realized that I had my work cut out for me. I didn’t realize it was such an involved process, and that in of itself was such a learning experience. We had to provide paper copies of our whole flight itineraries, hotel reservations, bank statements, passports, $160 in crisp twenties (they would refuse our money if it wasn’t “crisp” enough!), and proof that we had gotten our yellow fever vaccine. A visit to the student health center, the bank, and many trips to the Sutherland color printer later, I was ready to go.
Our travel day started at 6 in the morning the day after move out. We arrived at the Pittsburgh international airport with our carry-ons, ready to go. Once we found our gate, we spent our time getting to know each other and gushing about how excited we were for various experiences on our itinerary. A few hours later, we were off to Miami!
Our layover in Florida was going to be a great time to get food and relax, but it quickly became clear that our dreams of an early check-in were not going to come true, as the airline didn’t even begin checking people in until two hours ahead of time. So we split up, grabbed some grub from the restaurants we had access to, and I tried to get ahead on some of our reading and journaling assignments. When we reconvened, the line for check in was really long, but it gave us another great opportunity to continue building our new relationships with each other.
Most of us ended up having to check our bags because they were too heavy, but honestly it was nice to not have to haul them around anymore. Once through security, I got guava juice and it started to really feel real that in a mere few hours we were going to be on Bolivian soil. How wild was that?!
The flight was long, but not too bad. The chicken and rice dish they served was really delicious and I got more sleep than I was expecting. When we landed in Santa Cruz, it was nearing the 24 hour mark of our travel day, and we were looking forward to our last, quick flight before arriving at our destination.
We got in line to apply for our visas, everyone’s folders of the numerous aforementioned documents ready to go. Unfortunately, it quickly became clear that the people in front of us were not nearly as prepared as we were. When 30 minutes in we had not moved at all, we began to realize the pickle we were in. Our flight was going to leave at 7am and we were not going to make it. I’m sure it was very stressful to be awake in that line, but I am unable to comment because I fell asleep for like two hours. When I was woken up, we had missed our plane, but it was almost time to get our visas. Luckily, the line started moving once it was our turns, and we were all able to get through with no problem but the time delay.
We spent 12 hours in the Santa Cruz airport, eating food and getting to know each other while we waited for our 5pm flight to Cochabamba. When we finally arrived at our final destination, we were entirely exhausted, but so incredibly ready for the adventure before us.
