Yesterday afternoon, we took a short drive to a local ermita, where we did some goal setting and reflecting about the trip. Jordan, director of LITA and active teacher during the program, worded it perfectly: promises you are making to yourselves. To be more open, to be more courageous, to be more kind, to be more curious...these are values we are pushing students to nurture in the coming days. Last night, after a wonderful dinner of soup, salad, chicken, and fresh fruit, we gathered around the hearth, and Jordan gave students an inspirational charla about how to really become fluent in Spanish. It was a turning point in the program because we had a lot of Spanglish up until that point, and after that talk, I think it really clicked for kids and we've heard them speaking in Spanish (and laughing a lot) between themselves all day today.
After a breakfast full of homemade touches (like toast and 4 different jams and honey and butter all made on the farm we are staying at), we began our day with a bus ride to the coast: specifically, the cliffs of San Andres de Teixido. We walked past wild horses and cows grazing, taking in the quiet and simple yet breathtaking sights. It was a highlight to hear the kids gasp as they looked down on the crashing waves from the tallest point.
We then took a small hike down to the pueblo below. Legend has it that if you don't hike to this pueblo and touch the walls of the temple before you die, you will reincarnate as a bug and have to make the trek to the temple. Though we aren't a superstitious group, we are a group that likes to cover all of our bases, so we touched the town's temple before getting on the bus to go to lunch.
Stopping at a delicious tavern nearby, we sat together (intentionally sitting next to peers we don't necessarily sit with to try and get to know one another more) and gorged ourselves on some great food and conversation. We gave toasts in Spanish, expressing what we were grateful for, and they said things like Ana (the owner of the bed and breakfast), Pedro (our bus driver), and conversations in Spanish with each other. It was an awesome way to take the temperature of the group, and it seems like everyone is really enjoying being unplugged and engaged in relationship here.
More to come! Stay tuned!
-Sra. Rocamora, Sta. Bowers, and Sr. White
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