TMGS #003: Katie Chandler, Going to Bolivia is like going home

Katie Chandler talks about raising her daughter in Bolivia, choosing travel and international development work even when it’s hard, working to help people with kidney disease, trying to find a tamale in Guatemala, and wishing she could speak Creole. 

Katie Chandler works at Bridge of Life in Denver, Colorado. She takes teams of doctors and volunteers around the world to hold medical camps in underserved communities. We talk about her work and about the challenges of raising a child to be bilingual, the challenge of doing international work with a young child, the joys of travel and learning about other cultures.

Here are some highlights:

-Katie and I reminisce about meeting for the first time in our shared apartment in graduate school at the SIT Graduate Institute
-She talks about growing up in suburban Chicago and not being aware of the world until her first trip to Mexico in college. After her first trip to Mexico she said:

 What an eye opening experience to recognize that the world danced to a different beat. I don’t think I ever felt more passionate and curious and alive than I did for those eight weeks.

-Katie shares about what she calls “the most fun time of her life,” when she lived in Ecaudor as teacher with World Teach
-She explains her “ah ha” moment in cultural immersion that happened while she was folding pizza boxes in a small town restaurant in Ecaudor

-Katie talks about her work in Bolivia with Etta Projects, the simplicity of raising a child there, feeling pressure about what stroller to get in the U.S. and the anxiety and judgement of raising kids in the U.S.

-She also shares about why she loves Haiti and what she did on her recent trip to Guatemala.

Katie’s definitions of a global mom: “A global mom shows that there are ripples of action that we can take within our own community and beyond that make change possible.”

“A global mom promotes curiosity of people and places and a recognition and, more importantly, a value to what’s important beyond our little world.”

Thanks for listening!

What is your definition of a global mom? What choices have you made to stay connected to travel or international work? What have you done to keep your kids connected to a global view of life?

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