Culture Shock! Bolivia - A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette

48 CultureShock! Bolivia

Unity in diversity seems to be

on the rugged path from slogan

to reality, making inroads on the

public consciousness. A dynamic

cadre of young intellectuals, free

from the sectarianism of the

past, may serve as a bridge between the indigenous majority

and the middle class, including vice-president Alvaro García

Linera, opening economic and social paths that will make

the most of Bolivia’s natural and human wealth.

Visitors who intend to stay here for several months or

longer will have the opportunity for hands-on participation

in this dynamic process (as we shall see in later chapters)

through non-governmental organisations, volunteer projects,

student programmes in agriculture, ecology and the arts,

and business investment in sectors that create value added

products rather than stripping natural resources and sending

them abroad for later industrialisation.

Foreign visitors are involved in
championing local cultures as
sophisticated consumers keenly
aware of equitable commerce,
as students, and as people who
generally interact quite well with
the locals.