Spanish Courses and Schools in South America - Learn Spanish in Bolivia

Learn Spanish in Bolivia, a country of relatively undiscovered immense natural beauty. Culturally rich in traditions and values, Bolivia lies at the heart of South America, surrounded by Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile and Peru. Stretching from the majestic icebound peaks and high-altitude deserts of the Andes to the exuberant rainforests and vast savannas of the Amazon basin, it embraces an astonishing range of landscapes and climates. Learn Spanish in Bolivia and you'll encounter a culture evolved from the time of the Inca kingdom. Owing to its remoteness, Bolivia remains one of South America's least-visited countries despite its myriad of attractions. This marvelous land of natural beauty has a large palette of colorful sites and is a prime location for Spanish courses in South America.

Bolivia's undeniable appeal comes partly from the fact that the Spanish influence is there, but it is essentially no more than a thin veneer overlying indigenous cultural traditions that stretch back for centuries. The handful of cities founded by the Spanish are delightfully graced by some of the finest colonial architecture on the continent. Though Spanish is the primary language of business and government, over thirty indigenous languages are spoken throughout a country which covers an area the size of France and Spain combined.

Learn Spanish in Bolivia, a country which encompasses everything outsiders find most exotic and mysterious about an overwhelmingly intriguing continent.

History of Bolivia

The ancient history of Bolivia is first and foremost woven into the great Andean empires of the Aymara civilization. This innovative and powerful culture was eventually conquered by the Incas at the end of the 15th century.

In their obsessive search for gold and silver, the Spanish arrived here in the 16th century, quickly defeated the Incas, and changed the economic and social fabric of Bolivia forever.

In 1538, Bolivia became a part of the Vice-royalty of Peru. Spain maintained control of the region for three hundred years.

In 1824, Simon de Bolivar and Antonio Jose de Sucre won Bolivia's freedom. Much of its subsequent history has consisted of a series of nearly 200 coups and countercoups. Democratic civilian rule was established in 1982, but leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty, social unrest, and illegal drug production. In December 2005, Bolivians elected Movement Toward Socialism leader Evo Morales president - by the widest margin of any leader since the restoration of civilian rule in 1982 - after he ran on a promise to change the country's traditional political class and empower the nation's poor majority.

Spanish Schools Bolivia - Geography

At 424,135 mi² (1,098,580 km²), Bolivia is the world's 28th-largest country. It has been a landlocked nation since 1879 when it lost its coastal department of Litoral to Chile in the War of the Pacific. A large mix of ecological zones are represented within Bolivia. The western highlands of the country are situated in the Andes Mountains and include the Bolivian Altiplano. The eastern lowlands include large sections of Amazonian rainforests and Chaco. The highest peak is Nevado Sajama at 6,542 meters (21,463 ft) located in the department of Oruro. Lake Titicaca is located on the border between Bolivia and Peru. The Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flat, lies in the southwest corner of the country, in the department of Potosí.

Spanish Courses Bolivia - Economy

Bolivia, long one of the poorest and least developed South American countries, reformed its economy after suffering a disastrous economic crisis in the early 1980s. The reforms spurred real GDP growth, which averaged 4% in the 1990s, and poverty rates fell. Economic growth, however, lagged again beginning in 1999 because of a global slowdown and homegrown factors such as political turmoil, civil unrest, and soaring fiscal deficits, all of which hurt investor confidence. In 2003, violent protests against the pro-foreign investment economic policies of President Sanchez de Lozada led to his resignation and the cancellation of plans to export Bolivia's newly discovered natural gas reserves to large northern hemisphere markets. In 2005, the government passed a controversial natural gas law that imposes on the oil and gas firms significantly higher taxes as well as new contracts that give the state control of their operations.

Bolivian officials are in the process of putting the law into practice; meanwhile, foreign investors have stopped investing and have taken the first legal steps to secure their investments. Real GDP growth in 2003-05 - helped by increased demand for natural gas in neighboring Brazil - was positive, but still below the levels seen during the 1990s. Bolivia's fiscal position has improved in recent years, but the country remains dependent on foreign aid from multilateral lenders and foreign governments to meet budget shortfalls. In 2005, the G8 announced a $2 billion debt-forgiveness plan over the next few decades that should help reduce some fiscal pressures on the government in the near term.

Bolivian Food

In Bolivia, the main meal is lunch: most workers try to go home to eat during the week. A regular Bolivian lunch consists of a soup, a main course, and probably even a dessert. The foremost element in Bolivian food is the potato: it is rare to have an authentic Bolivian meal that does not contain potatoes in some form. Pasta and rice are also quite popular. Bolivians eat much more pork than people in other American countries. Chicken and beef are still prevalent, and you may see the occasional restaurant offering goat, llama or cuy (guinea pig!).

When traveling to Bolivia, do not go with expectations of chalupas and fajitas. Bolivian food is nothing like Mexican food and is actually rather bland, although it is not uncommon to find a mild hot sauce, llajwa, at your table to spice things up a little.

Bolivia offers many special regional foods for you to sample and enjoy. Here is a short list of some you may encounter:

Chicharrón: Chicharrón is small bits of fried, fatty pork served with boiled corn. A popular snack, it's not considered a main dish anywhere.

Humitas: Humitas are small balls of corn dough, filled with cheese and wrapped in a corn or banana leaf before being steamed.

Salteña: A nice way to start your day, salteñas are little pastries stuffed with meat and vegetables, such as potatoes, peas and carrots. Sometimes they are sweetened.

Empanadas: Bolivian style empanadas are small bread rolls oozing with cheese or cheese and onions and other ingredients. They make a great snack!

Fritanga: a delicious artery-clogging dish of greasy fried pork.

Charque le llama: Experience something you may have never had before - Charque de llama is dried llama meat, fried and served with corn and cheese.

Changa (or chanka) de pollo: chicken soup, served with potatoes, onions and peppers. It can also be prepared with guinea pig and rabbit.

Chicha: a sour drink made from fermented corn, it is usually made at home and not readily available. This drink has been popular in the region since the Incas.

Tojorí: a thick, hot drink made from corn.

Singani: an alcoholic drink served on ice, mixed with Sprite or some sort of sweet juice, such as orange juice.

One note about buying food from vendors: Street food is popular in all parts of Bolivia: you'll often see stalls selling salteñas, empanadas, and other local delicacies, often at very low prices. The food is usually quite tasty. But be warned that eating street food, while convenient, inexpensive and yummy, can also be dangerous, as you'll be at a higher risk for developing diarrhea and other food-borne illnesses. The choice is entirely yours.

Spanish Schools Bolivia - Climate

As is the case with the rest of the countries in South America, the climate in Bolivia is quite varied as you go from region to region. The lowlands in the east (Chaco) are part of the Amazon jungle system, and have a typical rain forest climate: it's hot, muggy, humid and wet.

Most of the rest of Bolivia is quite high up: La Paz, built over a series of hills, valleys, ravines and plateaus, ranges between 3,000- 4,000 meters (about 12,000 feet) above sea level and the famous Lake Titicaca is at a lung-punishing 3,821 meters. At these higher altitudes, the air is thin and the weather can get pretty chilly: you'll need a warm jacket and maybe even a hat and gloves, especially if you plan on spending a lot of time outdoors. The Andes Mountains that surround La Paz are even colder. The high peaks are often topped with snow and ice.

Between the jungle lowlands and the very cold Lake Titicaca and La Paz is a wide variety of climates and ecosystems. Because there are such a range of habitats, Bolivia is considered very biologically diverse.

The rainy season in Bolivia falls between December to March, and it is recommended to visit during the rest of the year.

To pack for your trip, you should allow your itinerary to be your guide. If you will be staying away from the jungle and climbing in the Andes, you'll want warm clothing which you can put on in layers. If you are going into the jungle, you should pack lightweight, long-sleeved shirts and pants, preferably made of a material that dries quickly and is easy to clean. If you're hiking in the high Andes, be sure to bring some high-quality cold-weather gear: the mountains are rugged, cold and unforgiving. 

Bolivia - Interesting facts

Nevado Sajama is the highest point in the Republic of Bolivia (6,542 m).

The Pantanal, the world's largest freshwater wetland, extends through Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil.

Lake Titicaca, which spans into Peru, is the highest navigable lake in the world and the largest lake in South America.

Land was given to the indigenous people through The Agrarian Reform Law of 1953

Bolivian culture has been heavily influenced by the Quechua, the Aymara, as well as by the popular cultures of South America as a whole.

The best known of the various festivals found in the country is the "carnaval de Oruro ", which was among the first 19 "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity," as proclaimed by the UNESCO in May of 2001.

Football, the national sport of Bolivia, as well as foosball, which is played on street corners by both children and adults, are popular forms of entertainment.

Zoos are a popular attraction with a diverse population of interesting creatures but with lack of proper funding.

Learn Spanish in Bolivia, South America - Advice

At our Spanish schools and courses in Bolivia and throughout South America our advice can really be summed up with one simple word - practice! What kind of study materials you use is not quite as important as how or how often you use them. Your hard work and determination will be one of the biggest factors in successful language learning.

The Spanish school and course you choose in South America is going to be the core of your Spanish study, so make sure you choose a Spanish language course that gives you structured lessons and lots of opportunity to practice your new language skills. Our Spanish courses at our Spanish schools in Bolivia and throughout South America, will give you the perfect opportunity to study, learn, and practice Spanish in a supportive, well planned and friendly environments.

You must work at your new Spanish language skills every day. Ideally, you should study Spanish an extra hour or more every day. If you can get at least an extra half-hour of study time, that's pretty good too. Try to at least get a little review and study, learn and practice Spanish every single day.

If you attend one of our Spanish courses in Bolivia and you learn Spanish everyday, you will have a good basic knowledge of the Spanish language in a reasonable amount of time. Your knowledge and ability will increase and improve depending upon what other tools you use and what kind of experiences you have using the Spanish language.

Grammar book. A good old-fashioned grammar book may be boring but they are a great way to really get to grips with the details of the language.

Phrase Book

These are extremely helpful books that you can carry with you. They can be useful for practicing pronunciation, or for quickly finding a lot of more commonly used phrases, words and idioms. Phrase books are always a nice supplement to learn Spanish and they are convenient and cheap.

Dictionary. Absolutely necessary in the long run. You must have a dictionary if you wish to expand your vocabulary, and you will need one in order to take full advantage of many of the Spanish language learning tips set out here. Make sure you get one that translates both ways e.g. English to Spanish AND Spanish to English. It is also helpful to find a dictionary that contains idioms- the phrases particular to the language which you are studying- as well as phrases that are commonly used in the Spanish language, but may be difficult to translate. As an example in English - 'to give the cold shoulder' or 'it's a piece of cake!'

Flashcards

A simple Spanish language learning tip, but a very effective way to review, refresh your memory and expand your vocabulary. There are pre-made flashcards that can be purchased, or for extra help, you can create your own. Keep them with you at all times, in your pocket or in your car, and look at them for a quick review or language lesson at every opportunity. They are very convenient.

Talk to yourself

It may be obvious, but the best way to learn Spanish in South America is to speak Spanish in South America ! This convenient method can be use at all times, as you can even talk to yourself. Even if you are in public and don't feel comfortable talking to yourself out loud, you can make it your habit to practice Spanish by thinking Spanish. Throughout the day, think of the Spanish words for everything you pass- objects in your house, things you pass when you are traveling, things you use at work or school, etc. Learn basic Spanish phrases like- ‘it is cold today' or ‘it is sunny today' and use whichever is appropriate when you first look out the window. By putting this tip into use on a regular basis, the vocabulary and phrases will become more routine and automatic.

Practice with friends

Taking it even further than talking to yourself, you can practice with your friends. Even if they don't speak Spanish, talk to the people you know by using your new language. Warn them in advance that you are practicing your new knowledge and they'll know what's coming. Even a simple 'good morning' or'see you later' in Spanish will make those phrases more natural to you. Your friends may even begin to learn a few words and join in the fun too!

Listen to music

Listen to Spanish music. You'll hear the Spanish language used in a real context and this will help you pick out the rhythm and pronunciation even better. This method will also give you a further understanding of, and appreciation for, the culture and customs of the people. Music in Spanish might be easier to find than others, but Amazon or eBay and many other global websites will enable you to find music in Spanish and many different languages.