The Study Abroad Office is taking applications for a new summer program in Bolivia. Students will spend five weeks in Sucre, Bolivia. During four of these weeks, they will live with a middle-class Bolivian family.
Sucre is located in the Andean highlands, in a valley surrounded by low mountains, an area once inhabited by the Incans
More than half of Sucre’s population is Native American and the majority do not speak English. The city has a population of about 150,000, according to the Bolivia study abroad Web site.According to Elliot Gaffer, the faculty director of the Bolivia trip, Sucre is the perfect city to for students to increase their Spanish speaking skills.
“It is not a tourist destination,” he said.
Gaffer is in charge of the program, and he said he will be in Sucre with the students in order to insure the program’s success.
Gaffer said the program is aimed at students who want to immerse themselves in the language and the country’s unique culture.
Grace Riddle, a junior in parks, recreation and tourism management and Spanish, said the only foreign country she has ever traveled to is England. She said she is interested in learning about the people and experiencing a new culture.
“I expect something completely different from what I am used to,” Riddle said. “I think it will be a unique experience.”
Sucre is the second capitol of Bolivia, and is known for the white walls and red tile roofs of its buildings. Students will attend classes at the Academia Latinoamericana de Español, which is one block away from the center of the city.
“I am very much impressed by the teaching at the Academia,” Gaffer said.
In addition to taking classes, Students will take trips to nearby Incan ruins and other cultural areas.
The program is worth three to six credit hours, Gaffer added. He said that in addition to improving their Spanish, students will be exposed to a diverse culture, and will be able to see how people live in a third world country.
Charlotte Mayer, the office manager for study abroad, said she assists students in the application process. She said she encourages students to talk to their parents over the break and make the decision then.
According to Kim Priebe, a study abroad advisor, Gaffer had to undergo an approval process before the plans for the summer program were finalized.
Priebe said that the Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences is in support of the plan. The study abroad office said they looked at several aspects of the program including the safety of the site as well as the likelihood of the program’s success.The application deadline for the program is Feb. 9.