Home 8th Grade: Spanish Immersion Trip to Mexico
8th graders participate in this international trip to practice their language skills in an authentic Spanish-speaking environment and to engage in cultural exchange and immersion within a multi-generational Mexican context. Students gain a deeper understanding of Mexican culture and history. Students explore the role that material dependency plays in their lives, experiencing the benefit of a week of home-cooked meals, no screen time, and no cell phones. Student also practice self-reliance and experience the meaning of community accountability, while having fun during this trip.
Each morning and again each afternoon, our students and students from Mexican schools attend their choice of three out of sixteen different workshops run by local craftspeople and artisans on the camp grounds. By day, sharing meals, exploring nearby cities, and engaging in sports and other organized activities (such as salsa and merengue lessons) expand students’ language experience. Our students will also visit a rural elementary school and perform skits in Spanish and play cooperative games with the children. By night, hikes into countryside, song-filled bonfires, reflection writing, appreciation circles, theater games, and chaperoned dances will keep everyone’s language monitor on full-tilt.