In school today, I learned a little more about my teacher Delia. She grew up in the countryside near Sucre, speaking only Quechua until she learned Spanish in primary school.
When she transferred to a better school in Sucre, her situation was similar to that of many other kids from the countryside, or from poor families: nobody wants to play with the kid from the countryside, or with the kid that has to work to help support the family. As Bolivia is a poor country, there are many working kids, for example selling stuff on the street, cleaning shoes, or working in the mines of Potosí. Many try to hide what they do to avoid being regarded as outsiders in school. If you'd like to know more about this, there is an excellent documentary, The Devil's Miner, (IMDB, wikipedia), that gives a good insight into the situation of kids working in the mines of Potosí.
After watching the documentary in class, Delia told me some more of the problems existing in Bolivia. One of these is corruption. Of course, with the low wages earned by the police, corruption is the logical consequence. Apparently, you can get police to look the other way for about 100-150 bolivianos.
Another problem is cocaine production. Although coca leaves are legal here, cocaine is not. But as in other parts of the world, production and sale are a lucrative business. When the police catches drivers or dealers, they lose everything. The state even confiscates their house and sells it. But, of course, the people in charge are seldom caught - and if one is caught, he is quickly replaced.
In the evening, the school offered a cooking class where we made Ensalada de Lentejas, a salad consisting of lentils, potatoes, sausages, tomatoes, and onions.
Despite the fact that 90% of the participants spoke English instead of Spanish, we had lots of fun cooking and eating together :-)
When she transferred to a better school in Sucre, her situation was similar to that of many other kids from the countryside, or from poor families: nobody wants to play with the kid from the countryside, or with the kid that has to work to help support the family. As Bolivia is a poor country, there are many working kids, for example selling stuff on the street, cleaning shoes, or working in the mines of Potosí. Many try to hide what they do to avoid being regarded as outsiders in school. If you'd like to know more about this, there is an excellent documentary, The Devil's Miner, (IMDB, wikipedia), that gives a good insight into the situation of kids working in the mines of Potosí.
After watching the documentary in class, Delia told me some more of the problems existing in Bolivia. One of these is corruption. Of course, with the low wages earned by the police, corruption is the logical consequence. Apparently, you can get police to look the other way for about 100-150 bolivianos.
Another problem is cocaine production. Although coca leaves are legal here, cocaine is not. But as in other parts of the world, production and sale are a lucrative business. When the police catches drivers or dealers, they lose everything. The state even confiscates their house and sells it. But, of course, the people in charge are seldom caught - and if one is caught, he is quickly replaced.
In the evening, the school offered a cooking class where we made Ensalada de Lentejas, a salad consisting of lentils, potatoes, sausages, tomatoes, and onions.
Despite the fact that 90% of the participants spoke English instead of Spanish, we had lots of fun cooking and eating together :-)
