FESTIVAL OF TODOS SANTOS

The celebration of “Todos Santos” is a Catholic event for us to remember the dead. According to the Aymaran culutre, souls travel to the west and return during this festival to their place of origin.  During this celebration, the bereaved family gather around a special table to honor the deceased. This table is specially prepared for the occasion with fruits, breads, beverages and food that the deceased liked when they were alive.

The ingredients for a “Todos Santos” ceremony are:

The Tantawawa: This is a type of bread in the shape of a person. It is made with flour, water and butter. The Tantawawa bread represents the deceased.

The staircase: This is also a type of bread. According topopular Bolivian wisdom, it helps souls cross obstacles such as hills, rocks and high walls.

The Horses: Another type of bread, this time in the form of a horse. The horses are supposed to help souls carry their breads and others gifts when returning to heaven.

Chicha Morada: It is said that this drink quenches the thirst of the deceased. It is made of purple corn, sugar and lemon. Beer, soft drinks and other types of beverage can also be offered to the deceased.

Sugar cane: It symbolizes the shadow that requires a soul on sunny days.

Food: Consists of both traditional dishes and the deceased´s favourite dishes.

Candles: These illuminate the path of the souls.

Fruit: The fruit is selected depending on the favourites of the deceased.

Flowers: They are used to decorate the table and are also mainly chosen according to the taste and age of the deceased.

When clearing the table, the fruits, breads and drinks are given to people who say a prayer honoring the deceased.

By Alejandra León

SPANISH GRAMMAR: VERBOS DE DIRECCIÓN Y ALGUNAS PREPOSICIONES

En español al igual que en otros idiomas  usamos algunos verbos de dirección para dar ó recibir información. Generalmente lo usamos cuando buscamos un lugar específico en algún  punto de la ciudad.

A continuación tenemos algunos verbos de dirección en modo Imperativo que son usados en español:

Seguir: Sigue, siga, sigamos, seguid, sigan.

Girar: Gira, gire, giremos, girad, giren.

Ir: Ve, vaya, vayamos, id, vayan.

Para dar o recibir información debemos ser lo más precisos posible para que el receptor ó el emisor pueda entendernos, para esto utilizamos algunas preposiciones que son las siguientes:

Detrás de, al lado de, encima de, en medio de, delante de, dentro de, debajo de.

Algunas expresiones más usadas:

Esta lejos de aquí, esta cerca de, frente a, a la derecha  a la izquierda, todo directo ó todo derecho, allí, aquí, acá, allá, ahí.

           Preguntas frecuentes:

¿Dónde  está el Banco?

¿Dónde puedo cambiar dinero?

¿Cómo puedo ir…?

¿Busco la farmacia?

¿A cuánta distancia está…?

¿Busco la estación de metro, tren, buses?

Para dar información:

Por ejemplo:

      Disculpe, busco la farmacia más cercana.

      Mire, vaya todo directo  aproximadamente dos cuadras, luego gire  a la derecha, siga unos 100 metros, al frente del banco  esta la farmacia.

             Dinámica de grupo: “El Tesoro”

             Objetivo:

-  Poner en práctica verbos de dirección y preposiciones.

-  Evaluar el nivel de compresión escrita  e instrucciones.

             Duración: Aproximadamente 20 minutos. (Dependiendo del número de

                               Participantes)

              Participantes: Esta dinámica puede ser realizada con dos ó más personas

              Procedimiento:

1. Cada uno de los participantes debe pensar en un tesoro (cualquier objeto), luego deberán esconderlo en algún lugar  del Instituto ó la escuela.
2. Cada participante debe tener una pareja (pareja A y pareja B).  También se puede realizar en grupos grandes  de cuatro ó cinco personas, entonces grupo A y grupo B.

3. Cada grupo ó persona debe escribir cómo llegar al tesoro una vez escondido. Por ejemplo: Salga del aula, baje las gradas, gire a la izquierda, camine  20 metros y detrás de la computadora está el tesoro. También deben describir el tesoro, por ejemplo: es de color  blanco, sirve para escribir, es pequeño, etc.
4. Una vez que hayan escrito cada instrucción de cómo llegar al tesoro, deben intercambiar la información grupo A para grupo B.

Luego que hayan intercambiado la información, buscamos el tesoro y quien mejor haya entendido la instrucción podrá encontrarlo. 

Por: Alejandra León.

Learning Spanish along the way

Most people that are learning a language take classes or practice in a formal way. I am not saying I am unique, but I am learning in a slightly different way. Ana(Director of Administration at i.e.) has decided to talk with me only in Spanish from the hours of 8:30a.m. to 12:00p.m. Granted if there is something really important for me to know, she may explain in English, but in general it's only Spanish. This is tough for me because I have not yet begun to think first in Spanish. Currently, I think about what I want to say in English and then translate it into Spanish. Also, I have realized that I have very limited vocabulary. I can talk about most things that concern scheduling classes or other things that happen at the institute, but other than that it is hard for me to communicate sophisticated things. Either way, it will be very good for me to continue speaking only in Spanish in the mornings.

Yesterday, Ana and I went to a tourism fair at Hotel Calacoto. I was very excited about going because I had hoped we would make some business contacts. After arriving, Ana and I realized that the tourism fair was more of an informational fair. Originally, we had thought that it would be many travel agencies promoting their different activities and trips. However, it ended up being more an informational fair that explained the history, benefits, or problems with current major tourist areas. Although it was highly informational, it wasn't exactly what we were expecting. Either way, we turned it into a business opportunity and made some contacts with some future partners. 

Currently, things couldn't be much better at Instituto Exclusivo. The rooms are full in the mornings and we are starting to think about expanding and having another office somewhere around the Sagarnaga area of the city. Just a though right now, but hopefully sometime in the near future it will be a possibility. We need to keep getting more studens who learn online though. Thats it for now.......

Lucas Intagliata(Director of Operations)