Bolivia: Latin American Revolutionary Movements and Conflict Resolution

Homestays

Share daily life with Bolivian families.

Students on this program have two homestay experiences: a seven-week homestay in La Paz and a four-day rural homestay with an Aymara farming family near La Paz.

In addition to improving their Spanish language skills, students gain insight into the rich cultural dynamics of each homestay family and experience the contrasts between urban and rural lifestyles.

La Paz
During their time in La Paz, students stay with host families and experience urban life in a large Bolivian city. Host families offer valuable insight into the impact of cyclical conflicts on professional urban lives and cultural identity. Most of the homestay families are located in the residential neighborhoods of Sopocachi or Miraflores, or the Zona Sur of La Paz.

Rural homestay in Achocalla
Each student will share in the daily life of an Aymara farming family through the rural homestay in Achocalla. Achocalla is one of the main agricultural areas surrounding La Paz and is home to several rural Aymara communities dispersed in the higher parts of the valley.

Living with Aymara rural families of a different socioeconomic sphere, customs, and traditions than the host families in La Paz provides students a very palpable contrast to the urban experience of La Paz. The Aymara community has long faced discrimination in Bolivian society, and many middle- and upper-class Bolivian families continue to employ Aymara women in their home. Through the rural homestay, students have a unique opportunity to explore the historical roots and current realities of ethnic discrimination and class inequality, particularly as factors that have generated resistance and conflict in Bolivia.

Credits: 16

Duration:15 weeks

Program Base: La Paz

Language Study: Spanish

Prerequisites: Coursework in political science, Latin American studies, or development studies; 3 semesters Spanish Read more...