Availability:
No Space Available for Fall 2010. Accepting Applications for Spring '11!

The Central Andes of Peru and Bolivia are a region full of superlatives, existing at extremes. The ancient Land of the Incas contains a fascinating blend of vibrant cultures and dramatic landscapes placed in a modern context of political change and cultural identity issues. Through intensive Spanish language courses, numerous service learning opportunities, rugged travel, wilderness trekking and independent study, Andes and Amazon semester students explore the links between land and people, past and present. Students will also examine current political trends, social movements and environmental conservation efforts in the mountains and jungles of Bolivia and Peru.

All roads lead to La Paz and our time in Bolivia will revolve around this bustling urban center, with its palpable sense of important political, economic and social change.  Students will experience the proud cultural heritage of La Paz while soaking up the warm hospitality of its residents.

From La Paz, the Andes and Amazon group will set out for our first rural home-stay in the Apolobamba Mountains along the Peruvian border to the north, one of the most remote corners of the Andes. Here we live with Kallawaya families, a culture renowned for its lineage of healers, fortune-tellers and shaman. We live as the locals do, helping harvest tubers and legumes and helping to make adobe bricks, each day bridging our two cultures, learning about subsistence and definitions of poverty. After home-stays and a 6-day trek in the Apolobamba, we move to our base in Sorata for the next month. Sitting at a temperate 6,000 feet, Sorata is stunningly beautiful, perched on a ridge below two 21,000 foot peaks, some of the highest in the Andes. In Sorata we develop Independent Study Projects with themes as varied as traditional weaving, current politics, Andean music and sustainable agriculture.

A traditional hacienda style farm perched on the banks of a rushing mountain stream will act as our classroom and program house. Here we will begin studies in cultural ecology by exploring the intricate links between the rich cultural heritage and natural landscape of the Andes region. We will meet daily with language instructors who guide us through intensive Spanish-language courses. At night, we bed down in traditional Aymara households, offering a rich contrast to the Kallawaya and Quechua culture of the Apolobamba. Our time in Sorata is also defined by the collaborative work we do with the Sorata Youth Association, affording opportunities to learn about leadership, grassroots development and youth-empowerment through sustainable development and service projects.

The contrast between barren high-alpine landscapes and lush tropical jungle is nowhere more stark than where the Andes meet the Amazon. To intimately experience this transition, we trek along pre-Incan trails known as “the path of gold” that dive from 15,000 foot passes above Sorata through verdant cloud-forests and into the unimaginably lush Amazon rainforest. We learn about Amazonian tribes, ecology, conservation and development in the Madidi National Park, (one of the most bio-diverse places in the world and one of Bolivia’s most contentious conservation projects) and we also visit the Manu National Park in Peru.

Rising back up from the Amazon to the higher climes of Peru, we arrive at Cuzco, the heart of Incan culture and a historic colonial Spanish city. From here we take excursions into the Sacred Valley and visit Machu Picchu, studying pre-Hispanic civilization and eco-tourism. We finish our time in Peru with a trip to surreal Lake Titicaca, with additional studies of pre-Columbian Tiahuanaco and Incan cultures amid this famous mythological birthplace of Andean civilization.

On the Andes and Amazon semester program, expect to hone your Spanish skills while discovering the links between vibrant indigenous peoples and the diverse and breathtaking landscapes they inhabit. Students will come away with a deep understanding of indigenous political trends, important challenges in conservation and development, and a first-hand understanding of day-to-day life in some of the earth’s most dramatic locales.

*This program area offers a Spring Extension Expeditionary Internship for Fall Semester students.

** The Andes & Amazon Semester is accredited through Prescott College, and students can opt to receive up to four 4-credit courses, though Prescott charges an additional fee. Please call Dragons for further details.