Spanish Immersion: Nicaragua and Mexico
The second semester of our year-long adventure will be markedly different from our first. The most obvious fact is that we are planning to be in Nicaragua from January 23rd to April 7th. Truth be told, we are going to do a two-week trip up into the Yucatan starting after the first week of March, but then we'll return to Nicaragua for the final two weeks of our Central America semester abroad.
The first two weeks will be spent in a Spanish Language Immersion and Homestay Program in San Juan del Sur and then we move north up the coast to the little surf town of Popoyo, where we will stay for a month hoping to not only catch some waves but also practice our new-found language skills. |
In preparation for our Spring Semester in Central America, we used the Spanish Language program from Rosetta Stone. It's been fun to work along as a family though at times internet connectivity has been a major problem! We hope that as our Second Semester progresses, we'll be able to come back to that program with a deeper understanding and appreciation for the language.
Update: San Juan del Sur
January 23rd - February 7th, 2016
Veronica's San Juan del Sur Spanish School was the starting point for our Spanish Immersion. For two weeks, we attended one-on-one Spanish classes from 1pm - 5pm just a five minute walk from our homestay at la casa de Susana. Each of us had a perfect teacher who matched our interests, energy and needs and we all came away from the experience excited about the language and culture and eager to use our Spanish. Both Grant and Ethan have written on their experiences and you can click on the boxes below to read their respective takes:
January 23rd - February 7th, 2016
Veronica's San Juan del Sur Spanish School was the starting point for our Spanish Immersion. For two weeks, we attended one-on-one Spanish classes from 1pm - 5pm just a five minute walk from our homestay at la casa de Susana. Each of us had a perfect teacher who matched our interests, energy and needs and we all came away from the experience excited about the language and culture and eager to use our Spanish. Both Grant and Ethan have written on their experiences and you can click on the boxes below to read their respective takes:
After two weeks of wonderful instruction, conversations, homework, and, yes, even examinations, we were proud to show off our accomplishments with our profesores. It was wonderful to watch the boy's knowledge and fluency grow and Grant and Ethan are each writing about their experiences, in both Spanish and English, so make sure to watch for that update on their blogs.
Jefery, Ethan, Ceidy y Grant
Our Homestay
Our homestay at Susana's also turned out to be it's own cultural experience as their multi-generational household not only welcomed us in but also served as a nightly local eatery for the community at large. This meant that after a morning of exploring and an afternoon of classes, we would come home to a relaxed, yet always bustling, scene on their front porch which faced the main road going into town. In that tranquilo atmosphere, we would sit, listen and watch the action on the street and try to refine our abilities with William and Andrew (Susana's grandsons), daughter Erica, sister-in-law Chilo and a host of other people that populated the house.
We had a truly wonderful time in San Juan del Sur as we found our confidence grow in speaking Spanish while we navigated around town, caught taxis to different surf breaks, made new friends, learned how to cook traditional 'Nica' cuisine and just were able to interact with regular Nicaraguans at a deeper level. With our homestay close enough to the tourist aspects of town (if we wanted it) but far enough removed so it was easily avoided, we felt pleasantly adrift in another culture.
A little slice of Nica life Every morning we would wake up and before the sounds of a packed bus heading to or from Rivas echoed down the road, before the muffler-less motorcycle revved by and before the truck carrying a whole produce aisle slowly broadcasted their wares via microphone, came a simple little dairy farmer plying his trade. We grew accustomed to hearing him and his horse at the start of the day and thought that it would be great to include below: (Hint: hit the 'play' symbol three times!) |