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I was sad to leave Sucre after 3 and a half weeks there- I enjoyed my time there and it was nice to feel like I was living there rather than just being a tourist; although in my final week I did do some more touristy things such as visiting a couple of interesting museums (featuring displays of masks used in various carnivals or festivals and information about Tarabuco culture and its famous Pujllay dance). I went to the 'Casa de Libertad' where the Bolivian declaration of independence was signed in 1825 and up to the viewpoint which looks out over Sucre.
I continued with my lessons from Monday to Thursday though I had to have them in the afternoons, which I meant I could sleep in, which was nice but I prefer lessons in the morning. I had a leaving meal on Saturday with Fernando and Ely (school owners) and some of the other students which was really nice- we went to the Chinese restaurant (I ate there 4 times during my stay and it is definitely the most authentic I have had in South America). To anyone reading this thinking of taking Spanish lessons in Sucre I would definitely recommend Sucre as a place to learn and I would also definitely recommend 'Me gusta Spanish school'. It's funny that when I first got to Sucre I was wishing I was stopping to do lessons in a smaller place like I did in Banos, Ecuador but it wasn't long before I started to really like Sucre. It's a city and has everything you need but it's a small compact city and it's easy to get around.
During this week there were 2 days off for pupils and teachers, one being a religious public holiday Corpus Christi and so most people were off work, but also "Dia del Maestro"= "Teachers' Day" where teachers didn't have to work! I think I will bring this idea back to England, along with the idea of 14th Feb being a day of friendship, not just love, as it is in many South American countries. One afternoon I took Sofia and Daniella (the daughters of the family I stayed with) to the cinema one day- we saw the new Snow White film, which was better than I thought it would be! It was a bit odd though as it had some bits from the original tale but was very different. We also made pancakes one night wjich was fun!
I ended up staying in Sucre longer than I planned as I found out that there was going to be a big dancing event on the Saturday called "Entrada Universitaria". I decided it was worth staying a few extra days so I would be able to see this and I'm glad I did. It involves the different faculties from the universities doing different traditional dances from across Bolivia in traditional costumes and basically they dance through the streets for hours, ending in the main square. I went with the family and we had seats in the plaza, although the first group didn't arrive until after 4pm, alter than expected. I had to leave at 8 to go for my leaving meal so didn't get to watch it all (there were almost 40 groups in total!) but what I did see was great, especially the Pujllay dance from Tarabuco that I had seen a video of in the museum. It was a shame I didn't get to watch it all but I couldn't miss my leaving meal and hadn't realised it would still be going in the evening; I think they were still dancing through at 11pm! This explained why the disco we went to the night before had been empty- the students were all saving their energy for the Saturday!
I am glad I opted to do the homestay and was lucky to be staying with a lovely family. In fact I met some great people during my time in Sucre, which meant leaving would be strange- back to being on my own again. But with my friend Anna arriving on 28th June I needed to get moving to see some more of Bolivia. Of course I deliberated what I should do but eventually made a decision and also opted to fly to avoid long bus journeys on what I had heard were really bad roads…..next stop Santa Cruz to go to Samaipata....
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Elizabeth dit :oh merci pour tous vos gentils comemntaires, demain je rattrape mon retard et je fais ma ronde en allant lire toutes vos belles recettes! les derniers jours ont e9te9 mouvemente9s : derniers jours e0 mon ancien travail avant de commencer le nouveau apre8s-demain, et du coup pas beaucoup de temps pour le blog et pour vous re9pondre . bref, bon coup de blues ce soir : c'est dur de tourner des pages, surtout celle-le0! je crois bien qu'il va eatre pour moi ce bocal SOS Cookies tout compte fait .