One of Bolivia's biggest tourist attractions, and possibly one of the world's most impressive natural phenomena are the Salt Flats. This enormous stretch of land consists of salt, 30 feet deep, left over from what was once an ocean. Having heard about it from travelers I was excited to see this magical place for myself. The 14 of us booked a tour and left on Thursday night for a 12-hour over-night bus. After a long and bumpy ride we finally made it to Uyuni, a...

Yes, there is actually a place called Titicaca. I'm not sure where the inspiration for the name came from, but needless to say it has been a source of endless amusement for our group. When I was in Peru two years ago I regretted not having made the trip down to Titicaca, which sits on the border of Peru and Bolivia. Aside from its immense size and gorgeous views, the most impressive aspects of the lake have to do with its past and current cultural context. This...

Wow. What an incredible first week in Bolivia! Almost every aspect of the past few days surpassed my expectations. I have settled in and have fallen completely in love with La Paz. The people are genuine, warm, and welcoming. The city is gorgeous. My first experience in the clinic was profound. My rotation this week was in a clinic for adolescents, where I shadowed Dra. Santivanez, who specializes in girls 15-25 years old. Here, that means almost all girls who a...

After almost 24 hours of travel, I finally made it to my home in La Paz for the next 5 weeks! The journey from Portland to Los Angeles to Miami to La Paz went relatively smoothly, and we were landing in the tiny airport before I knew it. While waiting in the gate in Miami for my last flight, I looked around to see if I could tell which of the other travelers were part of my program. Sometime between waiting in line to board and going through baggage claim we fo...