I really enjoyed my time in this project however if I was to do it again I would do it much differently. 
Program Volunteer Bolivia
Project: Volunteer Teaching English in Bolivia
My Volunteer Experience in Bolivia
It was such a relief to see to people smiling faces holding a sign with my name on it. Bolivia is a fascinating and beautiful country full of culture. I spent six weeks volunteering, along with my best friend Katherine, in Santa Cruz Bolivia followed by nine days of travelling the country...
We were placed with a Bolivian family (Mother, Father, and three children) who took in multiple volunteers. Every day the mother and/or father would cook for us.
We were fed delicious traditional Bolivian food and drinks. The family loved to involve us on weekend outings to show us the city and Bolivian culture; as well they included us at family events such as birthdays. They also loved to share stories and fill us in on the current political situation. The family made it their job to make sure we were happy, well fed, and safe; definitely a job well done.
Katherine and I volunteered at a school teaching English. Throughout the six weeks we had the privilege of teaching the whole school (the pre-kindergartener's through grade 12's) as well as the women who where studying to become nuns. We would leave our house at approximately 7am to take a bus which was located a 2 minutes walk away. The bus ride would take us through the south-east part of the city for 45 minutes before we arrived at our school. We then worked till approximately noon at the private school. The school turned into a public school in the afternoon and we were invited to teach then as well but chose not to as we wanted to take the afternoons to explore the city and Bolivian culture.
Teaching is certainly what you make it. Where I had no experience teaching in a formal classroom (only one on one tutoring) and I knew little-to-no Spanish teaching was a challenge. Definitely knowing intermediate Spanish would have been an asset as I would have gotten more out of teaching, however the project is defiantly doable and you can still help with little Spanish. One of the great things is that English is crucial for Bolivians to learn in order to further themselves, so many have a vested interest in learning the language.
I really enjoyed my time in this project however if I was to do it again I would do it much differently. Katherine and I basically walked into the project blind as there was a lack of coordination between the school and the volunteer coordinators. For example on our first day of arriving we were told "go ahead, you can teach the class" however we had no idea what their curriculum was and had nothing prepared, therefore making it a very difficult situation. The teachers tend to teach each level out of one book and use little other materials. Therefore the children get bored easily and do not have enough work to keep them occupied for the duration of the class. If I was to do the project again I would make sure to get an understanding of what level of children I would be teaching and what they are working on in the classroom. This way I could prepare lesson plans with activities prior to arriving in Bolivia and adjust as needed once there. If you're going to teach English, definitely do your homework! This way you can make the most of your experience and well as give the children the best opportunity possible to learn English. Regardless of teaching troubles though I do feel like I helped the students and the students helped me. Watching one of the 4-yr old pre-kindergarten's sing "Head and Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" (which Katherine and I taught her) all by herself was a very rewarding experience.
Santa Cruz is an interesting city to volunteer in as it is a large city and one of the richer areas of Bolivia. This allows for a little less of a culture shock then if you were to go to a rural town in Bolivia. Santa Cruz is a young city full of life where the locals are generally kind and helpful. There are plenty of things to do such as visit the central plaza or the Rio Pirai, both places where locals hang out on the weekends and where you can purchase typical Bolivian food. You can also visit the markets, the museums, the zoo, and the salsa clubs. Katherine and I travelled for nine days to the western part of Bolivia. We went to Samaipata, Sucre, Potosi, Uyuni, Copacabana and La Paz. We probably enjoyed Sucre the most out the places we visited as it is a beautiful and historic city. Although the most interesting part of our trip was the Solar de Uyuni which I would recommend not to miss if going to Bolivia. Traveling in Bolivia is really easy assuming you follow the touristy routes. There are plenty of comfortable sleeper busses which cost very little money and there is almost always someone waiting at your destination to sell you a ticket to the next location, or someone to take and show you their hostel.
Overall my experience in Bolivia was unforgettable due to the people I meet, the friends I made, the family I stayed with, and the beautiful country.
Katrina Collins
