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

140 CultureShock! Bolivia

four generations present. Milk is available for the children.

The table setting may be relatively elaborate, as an image of

family unity. Unity does not mean blandness and polemics

relating to the lives of the family or the external social

situation could trigger lively discussion and even debate.

The tea hour at salons or clubs may involve either family

or friends. When more formalised, a tea time may also be

the setting for a charity event, with money raised through a

rummy game or other mechanism.

Among certain indigenous groups and those who identify

with them, an informal gathering may include the chewing

of coca leaves. Hippie expats and backpackers may choose

this type of gathering rather than a tea hour. However, tea

hour is by no means limited to affl uent classes, with labourers

partaking of the custom as well.

Beverage customs at lunch and dinner hours are less

elaborate. Lunch may be accompanied by a fruit drink,

or soda, with Coca Cola and other soft drink companies

exercising their hegemony. In this country where healthy

natural fruit drinks were a staple, the soft drink industry

has muscled its way into the

consciousness of Bolivians and

Latin Americans in general.

This may not be exclusively

a question of palate, since soft

drinks which are basically water,

sugar and artificial flavouring

are less expensive than fresh

fruit beverages. Europeans accustomed to drinking wine

with lunch will sometimes be disappointed. However, wine

is often made available, and Bolivian wines from the Tarija

region, as well as Argentine and Chilean wines, are of

good quality.

In the battleground of alcoholic beverages for accompanying

meals, beer is the leader by many lengths. Like so many

‘third world’ countries, Bolivia has a thriving beer industry,

and foreigners are rarely disappointed with the local array of

beers. At high altitudes, visitors should be aware that alcohol

and altitude can have a powerful effect. Those who are most

Coca in Coca Cola

Curiously, in a country where
the native coca leaf has been
demonised by Western elites,
Coca Cola, which allegedly
contains coca, has escaped
such criticism.