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A GUATEMALAN MARKET Summer-school students had an opportunity to tour the Guatemalan highlands.

at Thunderbird Field, Arizona; teachers of all grade levels kindergarten to college from Pittsburgh, Detroit, Galveston, Baltimore, Chicago, and New York; housewives and clubwomen; ex-Wacs, college professors from Savannah and Emporia; a Washington, D. C., business girl; a Department of Agriculture specialist learning Spanish while preparing to work on the 1950 all-American census; a missionary studying advanced Spanish and Quiché on his vacation time; and many others made up the student group.

All students carried a pretty heavy schedule, and it was possible to have classes

scattered from eight o'clock in the morning until four or even six o'clock in the afternoon, with late special conversation groups. Classes were conducted entirely in Spanish. In the first days the beginners were somewhat swamped by four hours. with four different teachers, some of whom knew no English at all. The understanding faculty group came to the rescue, and soon arrangements were made to facilitate the beginners' work.

Plans have been approved to offer a Master of Arts degree (recognized in the United States) upon completion of three summer sessions and the submission of a

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thesis. The fields of concentration will be Central American studies, Mayan civilization, and Latin American literature. A very strong beginning has been made by offering in the first summer term courses in all three fields, notably Central American economics, by Professor Marco Antonio Ramírez; Mayan civilization and language, under Professors Ricardo Castañeda Paganini and Flavio Rodas; Latin American institutions, by Dr. TorresRioseco; and several survey and specialized courses in literature by Dr. Torres-Rioseco, Dr. Joaquín Zaitegui, Señora María de Sellarés (principal of the Central Normal Institute of Guatemala), Professor Fernando de León Porras, and others.

Without lessening the emphasis upon thoroughness in class work, the summer school went beyond the limits of the classroom walls, textbooks, and even library shelves, in offering a great variety of cultural and social events to enrich the experience of the summer-school students. Weekly informal dances in the patio of the

university building with marimba-band music and group singing were enjoyed in the company of Guatemalan students attending the regular university session. An average of two evenings a week was devoted to poetry and lectures on art. The lecturers included the writer and authority on Guatemalan arts and crafts, Mrs. Lilly de Jongh Osborne; the eminent poet Dr. Rafael Arévalo Martínez; and several of the younger generation of Guatemalan poets, Raúl Leiva, Fernando de León Porras, and others. Students received special invitations to attend concerts and art exhibits and to participate in the activities of the Academy of Fine Arts and the Guatemalan-American Cultural Institute.

Even in the regular class work, the professors were extremely helpful in arranging to take groups to places of cultural and historical interest. Among the teachers in attendance, there was a desire to visit public and private schools, the Normal Institute for Girls, and day nurseries.

On the purely social and recreational side, the summer school students enjoyed the privileges of guest membership in the American Club and the Mayan Country Club throughout their stay. The Woman's Club invited the women students to a beautiful tea at the new Hotel Victoria in honor of Dr. Nora Thompson. Weekend trips were arranged to Lake Amatitlán and Lake Atitlán and to the highland cities. Two of the girls enjoyed swimming in the private pool at the home where they were staying, and all students found the gracious hospitality of the Guatemalans most charming. The summer school itself was host to the entire group of Americans and Canadians, as well as to several Guatemalan students, for an all-day excursion to Antigua, Ciudad Vieja, coffee fincas, and other places of interest; a picnic luncheon was served at San Juan Bautista overlooking the lovely hillsides surrounding Antigua. On this occasion one of the American girls was dismayed to find that while she was eating a particularly drippy piece of fruit in picnic

fashion, without benefit of knife or fork, a Guatemalan camera enthusiast had set up his tripod and focused his camera on her.

For about twenty-five women students the six-weeks summer school had an additional attraction in the two-weeks tour through the Guatemalan highlands before the session and a two-weeks tour to other countries in Central America following the close of the session. Both were conducted by Dr. Nora Thompson.

Summer school in Guatemala had a very penetrating evaluation in the decision of a young college instructor who holds a master's degree from a United States university and has had a year of study in Chile. She has now decided that she wishes to work toward the special degree given by the University of San Carlos. And as for those perhaps less scholarly but no less enthusiastic, the only boon they might ask is that the day be stretched to include more hours to let them enjoy to the full living in Guatemala for a summer and pursuing the summer courses at San Carlos.

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OUTING OF SUMMER-SCHOOL STUDENTS

A picnic luncheon was served at San Juan Bautista on an all-day excursion to Antigua, near-by coffee fincas, and other places of

interest.

GEORGE M. GALSTER

How would you like to step out of an airplane at 13,000 feet without a parachute? You can expect to do just that when you arrive by air at Bolivia's mountain capital.

As a matter of fact, the airport at La Paz is one of the highest in the world. . higher than most commercial airliners fly in the United States. The runways have to be extra long too for planes to land safely in this rarefied atmosphere. Engineers calculate that ground runs are lengthened nearly 300 feet for every 1,000 feet increase in altitude. Thus, it isn't unusual on a dusty day at La Paz to see a plane disappear in the distance before it ever leaves the ground.

Such terrain makes flying difficult in Bolivia. Yet these same towering moun

tains are the biggest reason why aviation is contributing so much to the republic's economic development. To understand why this is true, let us look for a moment at Bolivian topography.

The whole central and western portion of the country is like one gigantic table, as flat as a board except for the upward thrust of giant mountain peaks. Challacayo, Mururata, Illimani, and Hampaturi. Here in this mineral-rich, food-scarce altiplano are concentrated most of Bolivia's population and all of her industry. Off to the east, however, stretch the fertile plains of the Bolivian Chaco, rich in agricultural wealth, forest products, and oil, potentially a perfect complement for the other section.

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But this is where the difficulty lies. Lack of adequate ground transportation virtually isolates these regions from each other. Until now, Bolivia has by-passed this problem by importing food and other basic necessities. These have been paid for by exporting vast quantities of tin and other strategic raw materials. Now that the war demand has ended and Malayan tin mines are again competing in world markets, the government believes it is high time to tie these geographical divisions together, integrating the nation's economy.

An important part of this program is the construction of a highway connecting the trade centers of Cochabamba and Santa Cruz. While this project is being pushed along with United States help, it will

actually be decades before an adequate road system is completed in this area. Meanwhile, Bolivian officials believe that air transportation can play an immediate and far-reaching role in effecting this unification.

Generally speaking, the blueprint calls for more than just an expansion of air services. Bolivia, as a nation, must become more air-minded not only to utilize aviation to the greatest possible degree, but also to provide sufficient trained personnel for the expanding air industry.

Captain Germán Pol, Chief of Civil Aviation, made this clear recently when he explained the government's new three point program; (1) reorganize and expand the air training program, (2) promote

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