Life is sweet in sucre: studying in Bolivia’s most relaxed town
21.07.2023 - 08:40
/ roughguides.com
/ Ros Walford
Ros Walford recounts her time studying Spanish in Sucre, one of Bolivia’s most relaxed towns.
Sitting in Sucre’s shady central Plaza Mayor with my friend Katrien, it seemed that all was right with the world. The birds were singing, kids were playing, people laughing and strolling through the park and we were deep in conversation. Then, in an instant, my peace was shattered. Something was nudging me from behind – something big and furry… With pounding heart, I whipped around to find myself eyeball to bloodshot-eyeball with (possibly) the world’s most enormous hound.
“Don’t mind him,” said my friend Katrien. “That’s just Gringo Dog.”
Gringo Dog, so the story goes, used to belong to a non-Latino (or “gringo”) owner who lived for many years in this pretty Spanish colonial town – the constitutional capital of Bolivia and a UNESCO-listed World Heritage city. Somehow, dog and owner were separated and since then the dog has taken to the streets, relentlessly searching for a new gringo owner. Almost every tourist who visits Sucre thinks he is their own special canine friend, but those that stay longer know that he shares his love around.
Fortunately for Gringo Dog, there’s a steady supply of passing gringos in Sucre. Most of those that stay more than a couple of days are here to study Spanish at one of the many language schools that offer intensive classes – I was one of them.
© sduraku/Shutterstock
The town is a convenient place for travellers to stop and rest along the “Gringo Trail”, the typical route that backpackers follow through South America. It’s also one of the best places to study Spanish on the continent. It's apt that sucre means “sugar” in French, because life is certainly pretty sweet here for students. Days roll by with a gentle routine of classes, activities and nights out, with healthy competition between the many schools keeping standards high.
For five weeks, I studied at Fenix Language School, one of the best schools in town. At this small institute run by five dedicated teachers, you can almost sense the cerebral activity emanating from the one-to-one or small group classes.
Fenix became my home away from home. It provided a ready-made group of friends. They organised games of wally (a type of indoor volleyball) at the gym, home-cooked meals, trips to the central market to sample freshly squeezed juice, language exchange evenings, nights out at the many great bars and restaurants in town and weekend trips to the countryside – throughout which we spoke (almost) nothing but Spanish.
I even had the chance to take part in the annual carnival. A group of students and teachers formed a dance troupe. Every week, we practiced a simple flag-waving routine to a Bolivian anthem whilst shuffling along the