Mission: Accomplished

Well, I made it back to Chicago in one piece. My parents picked me up at O'Hare and yes, we stopped at Taco Bell on the way home. Oh the delicious taste of victory.....

I think that I can honestly say that I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Bolivia and that I developed somewhat of a proficiency in Spanish while I was there too. I guess that I would rate the constant stomach problems and occasional homesickness as my only negatives for the trip.

Bolivia really is an amazing country. It has a tremendously rich cultural tradition of music and dance which I greatly enjoyed while I was there. Also, Bolivia is very geographically diverse having everything from beautiful lakes and snow capped mountains to salt flats and jungle. During my time there, I merely saw a small sample of the country, and I hope to be able to go back someday to experience the rest.

One topic I grossly neglected posting about during my trip is the level of poverty in Bolivia. When I arrived there in June, I learned that Boliva is the second poorest country in the Western Hemishpere, beat out only by Haiti in this unfortunate category. It is nothing short of heartbreaking to see whole families with little children begging on the street. The part that is even worse is that is doesn't have to be that way.

Bolivia is one of the most biologically diverse country in the world and is tremendously rich in minerals, petroleum, and natural gas. However, the problem has been her patrimony of bad leaders and less that pure intentions from more developed countries and other organizations. I don't think that I spent enough time there to fully understand the reality that is Bolivia, but I do think I had an opportunity to hear about the way that life could be made better there. This is an especially interesting issue for me because a) I like economics, b) I like helping people, and c) Everybody should hate poverty.

No matter what happens, I think that I will continue to follow what's going on in Bolivia at least to be able to make people aware of the lives of people living not that far away. As far as this little blog is concerned, I don't think that I will be posting to it anymore. However, I may start another one when I return to the seminary in a few weeks. (Encouragement or discouragement in this area would be welcome......)

Until we meet again, thank you for reading and may God bless you.
or... Hasta nos reunamos, gracias por la apoya y que Dios se bendigan.