La Vuelta

(I wrote this yesterday in the Miami airport. But unlike the airports in Bolivia, they charge you for internet. So I'm posting it now from the infamous Cafe Alexander in La Paz, Bolivia.)

I’m on my way back to La Paz, Bolivia. But it doesn’t feel so strange anymore. It feels like I’m going home after my vacation. Being back here in the Miami airport, eating at the same pizza place where I ate last December (still not up to par), I find myself looking back at all that has happened since then; all that I’ve done, all that I’ve seen, all that I've learned. It’s been less than a year but so many things have happened. Good things, bad things, terrifying things, things I would not have believed possible a year ago. (…things that I cannot post on the internet...)

Some quick background on how I got here:

You probably already know that I went to La Paz, Bolivia in December to work on a film called The Little Prince of the Andes. I was supposed to return home at the end of March but I extended my stay until June to finish production. Well, we finished production. It is now called The Little Princess of the Andes and the main subject has shifted from children living on the street to young women living on the street, more specifically underage sex workers. (Try that one out for first date conversation.) I saw things I never could have imagined, learned about the stories of these incredible young women, and worked hard. The film is now starting post production. I have no doubt that it is going to be fantastic. 

Then I went home to take a break. Although I did not rest for longer than a few hours, I did recover in a few other key ways. I shot a film on the beach in New Jersey (sorry, Bolivia), traveled to Washington, D.C. with my mom and the little brother, and managed to see a bunch of friends. 

Now I am returning to Bolivia under different circumstances. I decided that I wasn’t done with my time in La Paz. I have a life there and I want more time to live it, to explore, to spend time with the amazing people I met there. I will be teaching English (for MONEY!) and doing some freelance film work. I want to get back in touch with my love of photography and of writing. I want to improve my Spanish, travel, bike down the death road, drink wine with my friends, wander the chaotic markets, and continue to explore. 

I also want to share my stories. That’s what this blog is for. 

So after a day of traveling, hanging out in airports, watching the (#)USMNT lose to Germany but still advance to the next round, and hoping I didn’t forget any of my Spanish (I can review just by hanging out in the Miami airport for a while), I’m getting ready to board my flight from Miami to La Paz, Bolivia. 

Here’s to all of the adventures I’ve had and those to come, to the places I’ve been and have yet to go, and most of all to the people I’ve met and others I will come to know.