'Evo' and Chocolate - - - > in Spanish

This past week I went to a two part lecture for one of my cultural events through the Spanish department in Chico State. The speakers showed strong skills and were able to put on good presentations, although I definitely experienced some difficulties in understanding as they were done completely in Spanish. I was hoping that I would be comfortable taking notes and keeping up with the talk, but naturally I had a difficult time because my brain would try to process and translate as opposed to simply understanding the language spoken, but I got what I could out of the talks. I felt that the second of the two presentations was easier for me to understand, although both were done well with visual aid through Powerpoint.

            One of the speakers talked about Juan Evaristo Morales Ayma, Evo, the President of Bolivia. Evo is the first indigenous President and is the leader of the coca leaf movement for campesinos. This movement as I understood is not in agreement with the requests of the United States, who has demanded an end to the coca leaf in central Bolivia. Additionally Evo is the leader of what sounds like a Socialist party. This does bother me a little bit in several ways. Although I am not a fan of America as the global police force, I do agree that harmful drugs could more easily be negated with international strategy and cooperation, but conflict most be met with suave negotiations.

            The other speaker spoke about the cacao tree and its prominence in    Latin America. Much of the worlds chocolate is produced in Latin America, Brazil and Ecuador namely. Chocolate has been on the table for centuries, when the infamous Montezuma would consume it with his meals daily. Chocolate was actually known as the drink of the gods. Even though these speakers were difficult for me, I did feel that in trying to keep up I was actually learning even more, it was an overall good experience.

    The cacao tree is a vital part of the Latin American economy and its role must be secured by the nations because so much relies on the exportation of this single product. Then again, I am pretty confident that chocolate will make it through a few more years....in fact I am going to support these people and go satisfy my sweet tooth right now... :-)