What are we actually supposed to do?

“Do you think I've gone round the bend?"

"I'm afraid so. You're mad, bonkers, completely off your head. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are.” 

Here's some background info.

I started studying a Bsc in Environmental Science at Malmö University in 2009. After a year and a half, however, I could no longer resist the urge I felt to travel so I took a gap year to be on the road. My inner compass naturally guided me to South America, where I fell in love with life for real. I adored Bolivia, which is why I decided to apply for a scholarship so I could do research for my Bachelor's thesis there. 

When I was back at uni again, I took up where I left and hence ended up in a new class, where I met Tess. She is the most adorable and intelligent woman I've met so far, and its seems like she can put up with my company. We were awarded a scholarship to go to Japan together in August, where we attended a summer school at Hiroshima University on the theme of Global Environmental Sustainability. How awesome? 

Then we applied for the MFS grant, offered by Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency). The idea is to help students go abroad and conduct a minor field study on a topic that benefits the development of that country. So since I wanted to go back to Bolivia and Tess was eager to join me, that was our pick. We are both very interested in water related issues, and one very interesting case is the water wars of Cochabamba, where the water was privatised but the people were dissatisfied and rioted until they got their ownership back. This happened 13 years ago, but the access to potable water is still very poor. So what we want to investigate is how the local authority and other stakeholders (such as the small cooperatives that have formed to provide water for unconnected neighbourhoods) collaborate, and how this could be interpreted from a sustainable development perspective.

We will be staying with a local organisation in Cochabamba, called Red Tinku. They are young social activists engaged in the water distribution, and they have a sociocultural centre where they house volunteers and where we will be staying. Seems like a good way to get to know people and not just sit in an apartment and write all day!

We were supposed to be in Cochabamba by now, but due to the missed connection flight we are still in Miami. The plan however is to spend two months in Bolivia, mainly in Cochabamba, and get back home by the end of May.