Getting to know Bolivia

Today marked the end of our third week of Spanish lessons in Sucre. It's been intense scribbling down hundreds of new words each week, learning different language tenses while trying to read, write and speak it all correctly, every instruction and conversation in Spanish. I wont say there haven't been times when I've questioned the sanity behind my decision to voluntarily return to study.

But things are finally coming together on the language front, conversations are more complex and topics more interesting. The beauty of learning a new language in a classroom setting is that you can diverge from any lesson plan to chat about topics of interest. There's no risk of being told off because it's great speaking practice (as long as you speak every word in Spanish, which is sometimes quite difficult, and I've been known to have received a telling off for 'practicing' my English).

This week I've particularly enjoyed classes because the conversation has been more lively and interactive. We've spoken a lot about Bolivia - its regions, its politics, its President - things I think anyone living in a foreign country should know. Our conversations have been both interesting and eye-opening and make for a great game of 'Did you know?'.

Did you know?: Bolivia has nine 'departamentos' (like States) and an estimated 70% of the population is indigenous. Bolivia's landscape is diverse, contrary to popular belief that is a country of high altitudes. It's landscape ranges from high plateaus (the 'altiplano'), valleys ('valles') and tropical lowlands ('Oriente'). Guide books and internet sites will tell you that Bolivia has two capital cities: La Paz (the legislative and administrative capital and home to the Presidential residence), and Sucre (the judicial capital). However, according to my tutor, Sucre is Bolivia's historical and thus, official, capital city. The Country's President, Evo Morales, is of indigenous background and was born of a poverty-striken family in Oruro. Along the road to politics he farmed, among other things, coca leaves (great for sore stomachs, headaches, altitude sickness and also the main ingredient in cocaine), and he never attended University. Now that's a fairly different scenario to that of the multi-degree-holding pollies back home, hey?

So it's true, you learn something new every day, even in Spanish!