Journey to La Paz

I am leaving for Bolivia tomorrow with a Bolivian classmate to embark on a new journey. We are going to immerse ourselves into the world of women street vendors, gremiales, in La Paz in order to collaborate with them to propose and implement effective ways to improve their lives. I am really excited to return to South America, even in spite of the fact that I will be spending two months in winter. I am eager to learn both from my Bolivian partner as well as from the street vendors. I understand the limitations of a 6 week research project but I hope it serves as a beginning to a sustainable and collaborative effort to improve their business practices and standard of living. In the four days I spent in La Paz eight years ago, I remember being awed by women street vendors in their traditional clothes, who seemed to combine being businesswomen and mothers with great ease.