'Coolest thing I've ever done': Lighthouse sophomore Spiegel to spend fall in Bolivia
Andrew Spiegel’s last day in Indiana before his life-changing experience was pretty normal.
He went to the gym, he said goodbye to his friends, finished packing, and went out for dinner with his family. They went to Golden Corral, as he wanted as many American staples as possible.
To some extent, Andrew Spiegel knew what he was getting himself into. But on a larger scale, he has no idea what he’s about to experience.
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The Lighthouse Christian Academy sophomore is spending the fall semester in La Paz, Bolivia. He left Indiana on Friday, and after some connecting flights, he will be in South America this week. He’ll be there until December.
Spiegel has never left the United States of America until this trip. He had mixed emotions before leaving.
“There's definitely a lot of nerves. I've never been out of the country. I've never like experienced a whole different culture. But also, I'm just super excited to be immersed in this totally new culture and make a bunch of connections.”
A family affair
As their children grew up, Jim and Amy Spiegel decided they wanted their kids to be globally minded. They thought it was important for them to spend a significant period of time in another culture and experience life in another part of the world.
So when their oldest kid — Bailey — hit his early teenage years, Jim and Amy began exploring different options for studying abroad.
“A lot of people talk a good game about (globalization),” Jim said. “But how many are really committed, for example, to get their kids bilingual, and to really have a deep cross-cultural experience in another country that’s very unlike our own?”
They weren’t locked on somewhere in South America or any other part of the world. But Jim, now head of the school at Lighthouse Christian, realized he had a connection in Bolivia. He recalled a former student from when he taught at Taylor University who went on to teach at Highlands International Academy in La Paz, and he reached out. And it sounded like exactly what they were looking for. So the parents arranged for Bailey to spend his sophomore year spring semester at that Bolivian school.
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It wasn’t through an official program — the Spiegels just enrolled Bailey in the school for a semester, arranged for a host family, and coordinated everything themselves.
And it went well. So they sent their second child, Sam, to the same program during his sophomore year. And he also enjoyed it.
Both times, the Spiegels followed up by hosting Bolivian students whom their sons befriended during their semesters in South America.
A big opportunity
It wasn’t a requirement for Andrew to study in Bolivia even though both of his brothers did.
His older sister, Maggie, didn’t want to go abroad, so Jim and Amy found a domestic experience that would serve the same purpose.
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Andrew was in elementary school when Bailey went south, and he was going into seventh grade when Sam went. He remembers them both doing the trips, but didn’t fully process the scope of what they’d done.
But when Andrew’s time came, he knew he wanted the Bolivian adventure. So he and his parents arranged it. His parents are covering the tuition, while he worked over the summer to earn money to cover his flights along with some spending cash.
His coursework will match up well with what he would’ve been doing at Lighthouse Christian. He’ll take the chemistry, history, and math classes he needed in America. The one class he won’t take in Bolivia that he would’ve in Indiana is Spanish — Jim is confident the experience will make up for that.
Andrew had taken a few Spanish classes in the past, and he started learning more of the language in preparation for Bolivia. But that language barrier will prove an early challenge. It’s part of what excites him — having no choice but to immerse himself into the Bolivian way of life.
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When Bailey and Sam went to Bolivia, they each recruited a friend from home to take the journey with them. When Andrew told his friends about this trip, they couldn’t believe he was doing it. They thought he was joking.
He asked a couple people about joining him, and they both declined.
“(I thought), ‘Man, am I crazy doing this?’” Andrew said. “It seemed like every time someone asked me about it, they’re like, ‘Why are you doing this?’”
But Andrew won’t be alone in Bolivia. Bailey was recently hired to teach art at Highlands, so he’ll be down in Bolivia with his younger brother.
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Though Jim thought it would’ve been nice for Andrew to have a friend, he knows it’ll make a big difference to have his brother nearby.
“We found the first two or three weeks the bumps with Bailey and Sam,” Jim said. “It was tough adjusting for the first few weeks. But then after that, they really loved it. I imagine it will be the same way with Andrew. But for those first few weeks or any other time he feels like he needs to be with a fellow American, he’s got his brother.”
Andrew and Bailey will travel around South America together. They’re planning trips to Chile, Lake Titicaca, and the Amazon River.
A big loss and a big benefit
Lighthouse Christian went 2-6-1 in 2021. The Lions had a lot of work to do to improve in the coming year.
Because of Spiegel going abroad, the Lions are down one of their best players.
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LCA head coach Derek Britt knows that Spiegel has an incredible opportunity with this experience. It does impact his team this season, but he’s viewing that separately from how much this will benefit Spiegel.
“He’s very good at soccer,” Britt said. “It definitely hurts in the short term for us. But I think in the big picture, as far as why I’m coaching and why we do what we do with athletics at LCA, it’s about them and where they’re going to be when they’re done.”
Britt added that Spiegel could play almost anywhere on the field, and for almost any high school in Indiana. The midfielder was crucial to LCA as a freshman. Taking him away from this year’s team is a big blow.
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But on top of how this experience could change Spiegel as a person, it could have a profound impact on the field. Spiegel will play club soccer in Bolivia, with mostly native Bolivians. The culture around the sport in a locale like that is entirely different than that of America. People eat, sleep, and breathe soccer in that part of the world.
He knows it’ll be completely different than the soccer he’s used to playing in Indiana. But he sees it like playing up an age group in a recreational league.
“I definitely expect to be challenged. The level is much higher because it’s a lot more popular down there,” Spiegel said. “Playing with guys that are so much better just makes you a lot better at the game. I’m just super excited for how much it’s going to push me, and hopefully, I’ll come back much better.”
Both Sam and Bailey played soccer, as well, and both found the experience around the game in Bolivia to be enlightening. Sam was more serious about the game, and he connected with and regularly trained with a professional in Bolivia. And he went on to play goalkeeper for Taylor University and later land some professional tryouts.
Once in a lifetime
Spiegel has five months to live out this other-worldly experience.
He knows how it changed his brothers, but he has no idea what impact it will have on him. He’s excited to find that out.
He’s entering this trip with minimal expectations, but he already knows this is one of the best things he’ll do in his life.
“I don’t think I’ll really understand what a big experience this is until after it’s over. I think I can appreciate this opportunity now, but I don’t think I can fully appreciate it until I’m really there and just living it. I’m so grateful that I get to do this. It’s 100 percent the coolest thing I’ve ever done.”
Follow Herald-Times sports reporter Seth Tow on Twitter @SethTow, or email him at stow@heraldt.com.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Lighthouse Christian sophomore Andrew Spiegel to spend fall in Bolivia
