Día 14

Jueves

After a wonderful two weeks here in San Miguel, we sadly say goodbye to this magical place. Please enjoy the pictures from our last day and a few thoughts from the students.  

¡Muchas gracias por su apoyo!

The trip to San Miguel has been a great trip full of memories and experiences that I will carry with me for a very long time. I have learned more Spanish than I ever could have hoped for and was able to see a part of Mexico that some people rarely see.  

-Will Holland

The trip to San Miguel has been both enjoyable and culturally enlightening.  The frequent trips to the market, park, and plaza have helped me better my knowledge of the Spanish language, people, and customs. Thank you to all of those who made this trip possible. 

-Nathan Heath

San Miguel is a town full of culture and excitement. The constant conversation in the market with the locals and the information-filled classes have given me better knowledge of Spanish and have made me want to strive to get batter at Spanish. Thank you to my mother and father who made this enlightening trip possible.    

-Phillip Jordan

This trip was very fun.  San Miguel is a very active town, and I cannot think of a day when there wasn’t a celebration. The teachers were very helpful and assisted me in increasing my Spanish. The staff at the Casa Carmen were very nice and their food was good. I want to thank my parents for letting me go on this trip, and I would definitely come back to San Miguel in the future.  

-Lachlan Sidak

              

Coming to San Miguel has made me a better and more worldly person. Not only have I improved my Spanish skills, but I have also immersed myself in a culture that was foreign to me before. Most importantly, I have created relationships with the teachers and people of San Miguel that I will remember forever. This trip has made me realize how lucky I am to live the life I live, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to come on this trip.

-Dan Huynh

My time spent here is San Miguel has been an enlightening and unforgettable experience. I have learned so much and had so much fun spending time with the locals playing soccer, learning more than I ever thought possible, and seeing all the cultural monuments and sights all across San Miguel. I hope to return one day and see even more of the city.

-Nicky Irwin

My trip to San Miguel exceeded all of my expectations. I have learned a new culture, practiced a new language, and met new people.
-Clark Klitenic

Mexico’s culture was different than what I expected. The people here were extremely friendly and welcoming. 

-Ben Burgess

San Miguel was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I will never forget.  Grandmere, thank you so much for this opportunity.  

-Henry Holliday

This trip was unforgettable. I’ve learned a lot, eaten great food, learned about Mexican history, and had a great time. Everyone has been very nice and helpful, and the trip was stellar, and a once in a lifetime opportunity. 

-Tate O'Rourke

We learned a lot of Spanish on this trip and had a lot of fun with our many activities including: masks, paper mache, soccer, Aztecan dances, a pyramid, making guacamole, going to the market and more. Thanks a lot to the teachers and our parents.

-Zachary Leiter 

This trip to the beautiful town of San Miguel has not only improved my speaking ability, but also my understanding of the culture. We learned of the history of the town through visits to monuments and capital cities. The trip has not only been beneficial to me but to all participants on the trip, both students and teachers. Finally, I would like to thank my parents for making this once in a life time trip possible. 

-Smith Mohler 

San Miguel is a wonderful place, a trip that all students should make.  It opens your eyes to different cultures. You learn Spanish with wonderful teachers, go on all kinds of excursions, and play soccer with the locals.  It really is an amazing place.

-Everett Davis

It was a fun trip!  The teachers really helped me improve my Spanish. 

-Kevin Murphy

San Miguel was an incredible experience that helped me boost my Spanish greatly. All of the teachers and staff at Casa Carmen were amazing. I will never forget about this trip! 

-Nicholas Cicero

Día 13

Miércoles

Hoy fue un día muy interesante.  Nos despertamos a las 7:30 y desayunamos.  Nos arreglamos para salir a la escuela y nos fuimos a las 8:40.  Aprendimos una canción nueva en español, y entonces empezamos las clases.  Después de una hora y media de clase, merendamos y salimos.  Caminamos por el mercado en camino al museo de máscaras.  Cuando llegamos, caminamos por la casa de los dueños y entonces entramos al museo, donde vimos muchas máscaras de diferentes tamaños y formas.  

Muchas de las máscaras vienen de México y representan las diferentes culturas de este país.  Vimos videos de las muchas danzas mexicanas que usan las máscaras.  Cada máscara en el museo es única, y cada una tiene su propia historia.  Después del museo, regresamos al mercado a echar un vistazo y a comprar recuerdos para nuestras familias. 

Después del almuerzo y una siesta, regresamos a la escuela para prepararnos a hacer una actividad donde hacemos máscaras. 

Los maestros nos pusieron en grupos de tres y empezamos a crear nuestras máscaras.  Después de aprender a hacer papel maché la semana pasada, nosotros sabíamos hacer las máscaras.  Cuando todos terminaron, escribimos una historia de la máscara y la presentamos.  Todos fueron premiados con una visita a la heladería.  Por la noche, algunos de nosotros fuimos a la heladería o a la churrería para churros y chocolate caliente.  ¡Fue un día genial!     

~Ben Burgess y Kevin Murphy

Wednesday

Today was an eventful day.  We got up at 7:30 and ate breakfast.  We got ready for school and left at 8:40.  We learned new Spanish songs and then went to class.  After an hour and a half of class, we ate our snacks and headed out.  We walked through the market on our way to the mask museum.  When we arrived, we walked through the owner’s home and into the museum, where we saw masks of all shapes and sizes. 

Many of the masks came from Mexico and represented the different cultures in this country.  We watched videos of multiple Mexican dances involving colorful masks.  Each mask in the museum was one of a kind, and each had its own history.  Following the museum, we returned to the market to look around and buy gifts for our families. 

After lunch and siesta, we returned to school to prepare for our mask-making activity.  

The teachers placed us in groups of three, and we began creating our own masks.  After learning how to make the paper maché figures from last week, we knew how to make the masks.  When everyone finished, we wrote our own story about the mask and presented them to the group.  Everyone was rewarded with a trip to the ice-cream shop after finishing the presentations.  Our evening activity was a trip to either the ice-cream shop or the churrería for churros and hot chocolate.  It was a great day!

~Kevin Murphy and Ben Burgess

Día 12

Martes

Hoy era un día emocionante, lleno de muchas compras. De rutina, nos amanecimos a las 7:15 de la mañana. Después de organizarnos para el día, nos reunimos en el comedor para desayunar. A las 8:40 am partimos con nuestros maestros hacía El liceo de la lengua.

En la escuela empezamos el día con un juego de Bingo basado en el vocabulario que hemos estudiado aquí, los ganadores recibieron dulces. Después de la tercera ronda de Bingo, nos dividimos en nuestras clases. Durante las clases aprendimos nuevos tiempos verbales como el condicional. Aunque nos costaba entender el nuevo material al principio, con la ayuda de nuestros maestros, al final lo entendimos.

Luego visitamos un nuevo mercado llamado El Tianguis. Este mercado es el mercado más grande que nosotros hemos visitado en México. Lo que hizo este mercado tan especial era la variedad de cosas que se podía comprar allí. De rebanadas de pizza hasta electrónicos, había allí lo que quisieras. En fin, muchos compramos las camisetas de nuestros jugadores de fútbol favoritos. 

También, muchos compraron camisetas y regalos para sus familias.  Después, regresamos a Casa Carmen, almorzamos y tomamos una siesta.  Muchos de nosotros descansamos mucho en preparación para la práctica de fútbol con el antiguo jugador de fútbol profesional, Nunzio Valente.  Por la primera vez, nosotros jugamos entre nosotros.  El partido estaba lleno de ofensiva, y el tanteo final era 16-15.  Parecía un partido de FIFA porque todos jugamos con nuestras playeras nuevas.

Teníamos hambre y estábamos cansados, así que regresamos a Casa Carmen para la cena.  Después de un día agotador, terminamos el día relajándonos y haciendo la tarea, por supuesto. 

~Nicholas Cicero y Daniel Huynh

Tuesday

Today was filled with excitement and plenty of shopping. It all started with our normal wake-up at 7:15 am. After getting organized for the day, we all gathered in the dining room for breakfast. Then, at 8:40 am we left Casa Carmen with our teachers and walked to the Liceo. We started our school day playing vocabulary bingo. The winners received candy. Three rounds later, we all separated into our respective classes.

During our classes many of us learned new verb tenses such as the conditional tense. Although at first it was a bit confusing to understand the new material, our teachers explained everything to us. Then we visited a new market called El Tianguis. This was by far the largest market we have been to. What made it unique was the wide variety of items available for us to buy. Items ranged from pizza to electronics. In the end, many of us bought the soccer jerseys of our favorite players.

We also bought t-shirts and presents for our families.  Immediately after this, we had a fine lunch and a much needed siesta. Most of us got in a good nap in order to be rested for soccer practice with former Italian professional player Nuncio Valente. For the first time, we were able to scrimmage amongst ourselves. The game was filled with lots of offense, as the final score was 16 to 15. It seemed like a game of FIFA because we were all wearing our new jerseys.

Feeling tired and hungry, we returned to Casa Carmen for dinner. After an exhausting day, we ended our evening with some relaxing and of course, homework.

~Dan Huynh and Nicholas Cicero

Día 11

Lunes

Hoy, después de desayunar, nosotros estábamos listos para empezar la segunda semana de la escuela.  Los maestros llegaron a Casa Carmen a recogernos e ir al Liceo.  Después de dos horas de clase, nosotros dimos una vuelta y fuimos a un campo de fútbol nuevo. 

Luego, empezamos a jugar al fútbol con nuestros maestros.  Después de un partido divertido, regresamos a Casa para almorzar.  Para el almuerzo, comimos pozole.  Es un tipo de sopa con pollo, lechuga, cebolla, cilantro, maíz, y tortilla.  ¡Estuvo riquísimo! 

A las cuatro de la tarde los maestros del Liceo llevaron a nosotros a una danza azteca en la escuela.  Allí, nos encontramos con algunos estudiantes de Fray Pedro.  La presentación azteca era muy interesante y aprendimos mucho.  Vinieron dos hombres.  Uno estaba vestido de con ropa tradicional azteca y representaba la noche.  El otro hombre representaba el día.  Los hombres bailaron cuatro danzas.  Mientras un hombre bailaba, el otro tocaba el tambor. 

Después de las danzas, nosotros aprendimos sobre la cultura azteca y los nombres de cada pieza de la vestimenta de los danzantes en náhuatl, el idioma de los aztecas.   Cuando terminaron los danzantes, tuvimos un intercambio con los estudiantes de Fray Pedro.  A la hora de cenar, los cocineros de Casa Carmen prepararon una cena diferente.  Ellos prepararon un asado para nosotros y comimos al aire libre. 

Comimos elote, carne de res, vegetales y arroz.  Después, vimos la película Los juegos del hambre 2 en español.  Fue un día muy divertido y lleno de actividades. 

~Enrique Holliday y Nicky Irwin

Monday

Today, after breakfast, we were ready to start the second week of classes.  The teachers arrived at Casa Carmen to pick us up and go to El Liceo.  After two hours of class, we took a stroll and went to a new soccer field.  Then, we began to play soccer with our teachers. 

After an exciting game, we returned to Casa Carmen to eat lunch.  Today we ate pozole.  It is a type of soup with chicken, lettuce, onion, cilantro, corn, and tortilla.  It was delicious!  At four in the afternoon, the teachers from El Liceo took us to an Aztec ceremonial dance.  There, we met up with some of the students from Fray Pedro School.  The Aztec presentation was interesting, and we learned a lot.  Two men came to do the presentation.  One was dressed in dark traditional Aztec clothing, which represented night. 

The other man, dressed in white, represented day. The men presented four traditional dances.  While one danced, the other played the drum.  After the dances, we learned about the Aztec culture and the names of the different pieces of clothing in Náhuatl, the language of the Aztecs.  When the dancers finished, we had a conversation class with the students from Fray Pedro. 

At dinner time, the staff here in Casa Carmen, prepared a different kind of dinner.  They prepared a BBQ for us, and we ate outside on the patio.  We ate corn, beef, vegetables, and rice.  Later, we saw The Hunger Games 2 in Spanish.  It was a fun day filled with many activities.

~Nicky Irwin and Henry Holliday