Foreign Exchange Student Neva Aliaga has become a cheerleader at PHS. Photo by: Patricia Ortiz

By Patricia Ortiz

Bolivia is a country in South America that is landlocked by Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Peru. For one year, Plymouth High School will be the school of Bolivia native, Neva Aliaga Parrado.

Going to a different country can be a difficult experience for anyone. The culture is different, the food is different, and those who come from a foreign country may not know anyone. Senior Neva Aliaga Parrado is  staying with high school Spanish teacher, Mrs. Delia Gadziola, during her one year stay in the United States.

Aliaga is from a town in Bolivia called Potosi.

Aliaga decided to become involved with the foreign exchange program because, “Where I live this kind of student exchange is not possible for everyone to do. It is a bit hard to realize but I wanted to do this because it would help me grow as a person and mature and overall be independent. I would also gain knowledge from cultures that are not mine. For all the people who are in different places in the world it is hard for us at first to try and get accustomed to school, family, etc. but as time goes on you get to accustom yourself and you realize that you will be able to make it.”

There are many things that Aliaga is looking forward to in America. She hopes to be able to understand and learn the language better because  “I have a problem communicating. I also hope to have a lot of friends that will teach me about the culture which is the main thing why I came here as an exchange student.”

Aliaga is not new to travelling. She has travelled to both Argentina and Brazil.

The official language of Bolivia is Spanish; therefore,  Aliaga knows Spanish, and “some of Quechua which is a language spoken by the Incas.” She adds with a laugh that she also knows some English.

Between the United States and Bolivia there are many differences. The climate is one of the things that differs between the U.S. and Bolivia. Aliaga says that, “where I live it is cold but in other places are hotter.” She also says that the climate differs because the United States is transitioning into the winter while  Bolivia is transitioning into summer time.

Bolivian customs are very different from the customs in the U.S. There are many festivals in Bolivia that Aliaga celebrates. “For example we have many festivals one of them is named ‘Chutillos’; it is done as a homage to a saint called Saint Bartolome. This festival is done every year where all the streets are closed. And the institutional schools, the towns, and the apartments that are near come out and dance the different typical dances of my country like “El Capoal, Saya Afroboliviana, Suris Morenada, LLamerada, Cullawada, Diablada, Chacarera among others. There is also another festival called “Guadalupe” that is a homage to the virgin of Guadalupe who performs a lot of miracles. In this festival we also go out to dance with musical bands in a very long road that goes through the city and at the end we get to the church were the Virgin is located. We need to enter into the church on our knees and give thanks and the tradition is that you need to ask the virgin for something that you need and you need to dance for her for three years in order for her to realize the miracle for you. Another festival is the Carnaval and it is celebrated in the month of February. In Bolivia the Carnaval is celebrated by going out into the streets with a group of friends called “Comparsas” and everyone goes out with bands and they get you wet with water, paint, and with clay and everything has to be done while dancing. In this festival there are tunnels were everyone has to come out dressed up in costumes of different characters or happy people and contests are done and there are queens in this carnaval,” explained Aliaga.

Some of the most important dishes in Bolivia are, “Chicharron con pollo, Chairo, Salteña, K’alapurka, Trucha, and Tranca Pecho Toda which is very good and very spicy,” said Aliaga.

According to Aliaga most of the people in Bolivia dress like the people in Plymouth. The one exception to the rule are the “Cholitas” who are also people native to the country. The Cholitas dress, “in polleras and they wear their hair in braids,” said Aliaga.

The schools in Bolivia are something that is very different from the schools here. School started at, “ 8 in the morning and we got out at 1 p.m. Then we would go to our house to eat lunch. We would go through four class periods and we did not use computers. We had one folder or notebook for every class and we could not pick the classes that we wanted. We had to take all the classes. As for other activities, we had band, sports, and help classes that would help us pick and choose the career that we would study for in college,” said Aliaga.

Aliaga’s immediate family in Bolivia consists of five people. Her father’s name is Javier and is a police officer in Bolivia. Aliaga’s name is also her mother’s name. Aliaga’s mom, Neva Parrado, is in the tourism business. Aliaga has an older sister, Angela, “goes to college and is studying Psychopedagogy [the study of the psychological aspect of teaching],” said Aliaga. Her little brother’s name is Xavier and he is an 11 year old in the sixth grade. Aliaga’s host family consists of two siblings, Emily who is in 9th grade and Ryan who just entered Kindergarten. She states that both her siblings are, “very nice to me.”

Aliaga does a multitude of things for fun back in Bolivia. “We go out in the afternoon to walk around the plaza or we go to the popular streets. My street is called Bule and it is a popular street that is close to the plaza and it is filled with shops. We also go to friends houses and we make parties, go to the movies, and on weekends we go to dances and dance at the different places that we have,” said Aliaga.