This week, the group’s leader Geno visited all the students in their host communities and shared the following with us today:
The students are doing really well! All of them have started teaching and are really enjoying their host families. Here’s a brief update on each community:
- Allie & Elana are teaching at a school with about 50 students. They are working with the younger kids in kindergarden, 1st grade, and 2nd grade, teaching them English. They have also decided to start teaching adults in the community, especially for women, many of whom have husbands in the U.S.
- Emily & Emma are teaching different levels of English to elementary school students. They also play soccer in the afternoons.
- Blair is working with preschool and kindergarden students all day. In addition to assisting the primary teacher with teaching the colors and other themes in Spanish, she teaches them parallel vocabulary in English.
Geno reports that the students are really improving their Spanish. There are very few English speakers in these mountain communities so they have plenty of opportunity to practice!
This weekend, the group will gather together for the first time since they parted ways two weeks ago. They will all come to San Isidro and spend a few days at Geno’s apartment drooling over Geno’s infamous grilled cheese sandwiches, relaxing and cooling off at the pool near the apartment, and sharing their teaching and homestay experiences with one another.
Stay tuned for updates from the students themselves early next week!
