Published on Roads & Kingdoms The first time I went to Typica, I almost walked right past it. From the outside, it looks like an eccentric, tiny house from the 1960s. But the smell of fresh coffee and the sound of classic rock made me give it a second glance. Typica is a coffee shop … Continue reading Becoming a Local Usually Involves Finding Good Coffee

It’s just true that Fanta always tastes better en vidrio – in glass. I don’t drink soda in the States anymore. Bolivia ruined Fanta for me. It was the perfect thing to go with a salteña on a warm day, 12,000 feet closer to the sun than at my sea-level home in Virginia. The best … Continue reading Fanta en Vidrio

I am being woven. It's been nine months since being back in the US, and I haven't revisited my blog since. It's been hard to gather my thoughts in my mind, let alone on paper. The monotony of life now seems to pale in comparison to the constant challenge of life in Bolivia. But I'm learning … Continue reading Woven

As we are starting to move into winter here in Bolivia, I’m realizing how much harder the mornings are going to be. It was easy to get up at six am when the sun came streaming through my window. But it seems like every day the past month, I’ve been waking up in a cloud. … Continue reading Ever present

As I went to write this, my Internet went out. As if Bolivia knew I was going to compliment it and decided to test my genuineness of the gesture. Well guess what, I’m going to write it anyways. I find myself complaining a lot here. Something made me sick or the food had zero flavor … Continue reading What I like about you

You’d think after spending so much time in the Southern Hemisphere, that I would be used to the casual, relaxed way of life. But I’ve realized you can take the girl out of the type A society, but you can’t take the type A out of the girl. Friday morning I walk in to work … Continue reading Type B is for Bolivia

It could have been me. That was the only thought running through my head as I filled out our database. I had been at work for about three weeks, and it still hadn’t really sunk in. I mean, I had read case after case of child sexual abuse, had taken pictures of clients, had written … Continue reading Meet Yolanda*

Maybe I’m a little behind for my generation, but I started reading Harry Potter this summer. What a way to kick off adulthood, right? For those of you who have read the books, you’ll know what I’m talking about, and for the rest of you, I’ll explain. Professor Dumbledore has this thing called a Pensieve … Continue reading Lessons from Harry Potter for my first days in La Paz

It seemed like a long time then. The applications and the interviews and the eventual acceptance of an internship 3,667 miles away seemed hypothetical for a while. I mean that was back in February, and the internship didn’t start until September? I had endless amounts of time. And now, just a few weeks away from … Continue reading Look up

In my last blog post (shameless plug here) I announced my internship with International Justice Mission that will be starting this fall in La Paz, Bolivia. Toward the end of the post, I quoted Philippians 4:19, which reads, “And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” The … Continue reading a new perspective on fundraising