Current | Archives | 2006

Alumni & Study Abroad News

If you are currently studying abroad or are a graduate of MSUM Languages & Cultures Department and want to let us know where you are and the exciting things you are doing, please contact us!

Debbie Pestka
(Spanish, Chemistry & Biology Major - Class of 2009)

My Unforgettable Bolivian Experience

My great Bolivian adventure began as I entered the La Paz airport after enduring nearly twenty hours of traveling. My first impression of Bolivia was that it took my breath away, literally. After making the nearly 3000m jump in altitude from Minneapolis to La Paz (which happens to be the highest capital city in the world), I was fortunate enough that I didn’t succumb to the full symptoms of altitude sickness, just a sudden rush of dizziness as I stood up after tying my shoe while I was standing in the customs line. I then went on to board my flight that would take me to Sucre, Bolivia, my home away from home for the next eight weeks. The reason that I was going to Bolivia was to study Spanish thanks to a study abroad scholarship that I received from the Spanish Honors Society, Sigma Delta Pi, along with the MSUM Upper-class Spanish Major Award and Scholarship.

As part of my scholarship, I had Spanish lessons for four hours a day five days a week for the entire eight weeks that I was in Bolivia. My school was pretty small with a maximum capacity of 40 students. They also had a limit of five students per class but with an average class size of two students. However, the whole time that I was there, I was the only student in my classes. Here in the U.S., my college class sizes have ranged from ten people to well over two hundred so to have that one-on-one interaction with my professor everyday was such a unique and wonderful experience for me. Normally, I’m a rather timid student and as such I usually seek help or ask a professor a question outside of class. So to be the only student in my class where I was frequently asking questions and constantly conversing with my professor helped my Spanish immensely.

Half the time my professor and I weren’t even in the classroom, but rather walking around Sucre trying different foods, going to museums, exploring the local markets, and truly experiencing Bolivian culture. Many Bolivians are very superstitious so a favorite Bolivian hot spot of mine was the witch’s market. There you could have your fortune read by cracking an egg into a glass of beer or buy things such as a llama fetus to burn in your house to bring you good fortune. People often ask me what my favorite part of my trip was and I always respond with my Spanish classes. Part of what I love about studying Spanish is learning about different cultures so to experience Bolivian culture firsthand and to learn about it from an actual Bolivian was priceless to me.

While I was in Bolivia, I lived with a host family which consisted of three fifty-something sisters, Marina, Gloria, and Nelly, along with Nelly’s husband Kiki, and their two daughters Ingrid (18) and Viviana (17). Not only did my Bolivian family allow me to stay in their home for eight weeks, but they genuinely made me feel like part of the family. One of the highlights of my trip was the day we celebrated my birthday. That morning I ate breakfast with the family as usual and because no one had mentioned or said anything about it being my birthday, I just assumed that they had forgotten. However, when I got up from the table to go to school, they all stood up and each one of them gave me a hug and wished me a happy birthday. Then at lunch that afternoon my host mom brought me flowers and gave me a big hug and said that even though my American family wasn’t there, I had my Bolivian family and that they were very proud of me and wished me only the best. After lunch, they brought out a cake for me and sang to me twice, once in Spanish and once in English (or rather an attempt at singing to me in English). I then took part in the Spanish tradition of “morder la torta” where my host sister held the cake up to my face and told me to take a bite out of it only to push the whole side of the cake into my face. I also spent one afternoon making “buñuelos,” a doughnut-like pastry, with Marina, Gloria, and Nelly. They told me that the recipe had been in the family for generations and that it was a secret family recipe but because I was now a member of the family I could have it. When it finally came time for me to leave we all cried as we said our goodbyes but they told me that their home was my home and that I was a member of the family and could come back and stay with them anytime that I wanted.

To study abroad in a foreign country is an incredible experience. Nevertheless, when you come from a country where we’re easily in contact with our friends and family with the internet and cell phones and then to go to another country where that is not the case can be difficult. Then take that and add in a language barrier and a totally different culture and it can be very challenging at times. But after everything is said and done, the experience makes you into a much more independent person with a new set of appreciations, a different outlook on how you view the world and the people that live in it, and it makes you into a stronger person in several aspects. I was fortunate that I had a pretty solid background in Spanish before going to Bolivia. This enabled me to travel independently but more importantly, it gave me the opportunity to actually talk with and listen to the stories of Bolivians. One of the most rewarding things that I was able to take away from my trip was the connections that I was able to make with the people that I met, including my host family who I still keep in contact with today. I am just very thankful to my Spanish professors at MSUM for giving me such a strong foundation in the Spanish that I have and that allowed me to truly benefit from a remarkable 8 weeks in Bolivia.