Once a Chupaeño, Always a Chupaeño

So here’s Jack’s final wrap up:

Basically, I had an awesome time.  It’s so cool for me to say that I actually have a home in Chupa, Panama that I can always go back to, because I didn’t think that I would reach that point in just 6 weeks. But the people in Chupa are the friendliest, most hospitable, most cariñosos people I’ve ever lived with.  I loved walking around town after school and stopping by people’s houses, sitting on their porches, having great conversations with them.  Every Sunday was really special–whether I went to a family reunion where my host father met up with his 7 siblings for the first time in a couple of years, went around Los Santos visiting 6 beaches with my host family for 10 hours in the back of a pickup, or crossed the river to my teacher’s parent’s house for a day of eating, swimming, and baseball. My incredible experiences with the people in Chupa also carried over to the classroom.  My school only had 19 students and they were at a basic level of English, so I basically used class time to work on some English while doing things they don’t get to do–painting, drawing, making collages, acting, etc.  The kids were awesome and I was blown away on the last day when, at the end of a típico party, they went up one by one and thanked me, a lot of them crying. It was a great 6 weeks and I can’t wait to return to Chupa when I do a big Central America trip–something I hadn’t even considered before traveling to Panama and experiencing the culture there.

ELENA!!!!!!

Elena Caceres grew up in the suburbs of Chicago as the youngest child in a family with three older brothers.  Not only did Elena just recently receive her degree in bilingual eduation from Loyola Univeristy in Chicago (we have a real certified teacher on our hands) but also completed the LE Panama program last summer! She has spent lots of time in Panama (her dad is Panamanian) and her brother currently lives and works in Costa Rica.  Elena studied abroad in Costa Rica and was able to explore and experience both Costa Rican and Panamanian culture for 6 months.  Elena is the perfect go-to person for questions and concerns both about Panamanian life and about teaching Spanish speaking kids in general. Elena taught English in La Colorada last summer and absolutely loved her host family and had an amazing experience.  Elena has tons of awesome advice, such as bring facewipes if you are a girl who likes to wash her face at night, because she says that in her village they always turned the water off at six o clock….you have to think about these things because water is not something you can take for granted like we tend to do in the United States.  

Elena is a certified teacher who is fluent in both Spanish and English and knows a ton about Panamanian culture so would be an awesome person to talk to if you need advice about teaching or living in Panama! Elena already has a teaching job lined up in bilingual education in a school in the suburbs of Chicago that starts in August.  Elena’s biggest fear used to be spiders but says bugs are no big deal to her anymore, after her experiences in Panama! Elena is extremely helpful and knowledgeable and will definitely bring a lot to the table in both your own personal experience in Panama and the teaching mission in general!

Here’s Jennifer White!

Jennifer (or Jenn, whichever you want to call her) is super excited to travel to Panama, just like the rest of us. She just returned home to Tennessee from school at George Washington University, and is now just spending time with all of her family and many relatives. Even though she is an only child, she has so many cousins that she can drive through town and know almost everyone! She’s a West Wing fan, and plans on spending some quality time with those favorite characters before our travels. And even though she is not a huge “treky,” the last ticket she bought was to the Star Trek movie. She definitely still likes ‘When Harry Met Sally’ much better, however.

At school, Jenn prepared to teach English by immersing herself within the Global Language Network. She taught English to people of many different cultures—such as Peruvians, Asians, a Turk, and more—and loved learning the cultural differences between everyone. She has travelled to Peru, Mexico and the Dominican Republic with her high school, and is excited to get back to travelling with us! Jenn’s major is International Relations, and she has loved her classes and material she has learned so far.

See you all soon!

-Emily S.

Meet Brittany Perrotte

Right off the bat, Brittany and I already had a few things in common. We both just finished our junior year of undergrad and returned home to mothers berating us to unpack and move in.

She returned to her hometown of Pittsburg from Washington DC, where she attends George Washington and is majoring in Spanish with minors in both International Studies and Theatre. She will have a few short weeks with her mom, dad, brother Corey and chocolate lab Coco before meeting up in Panama with all of the other LE volunteers.

A lot has prepared Brittany for this trip. As a Spanish major, she loves the language and the culture. After living abroad in Chile and spending a lot of time traveling in Costa Rica, she is ready to take on new cultural differences in the rural regions of Panama. She’s also excited about meeting her host family, picking up the local slang, and teaching. With previous experience as an individual tutor, she looks forward to working with an entire classroom of kids, and her strong language background with definitely help.

One word of advice, however, would be to keep her away from any dangerous climbs. While heights don’t bother her, a fear of edges lends itself to sooner finding Brittany on a beach or in the jungle before she’ll trek up a mountainside.

She (and I!) look forward to meeting everyone on June 17th- get ready for a great summer!

Dina Marie Pitta

Dina Marie Pitta is a rising senior at the Univeristy of Wisconsin in her hometown, Madison. She is double-majoring in Neuroscience and French Lit. Dina Marie plans to attend med school, and will probably be applying from Panama! Although Dina Marie has just begun to study Spanish, she is fluent in French because she spent some time living in France. She has gained teaching experience by acting as an ESL tutor for students, including Hispanic youth that have lived in the US for a few years. Although she knows that tutoring Panamanian children who have little exposure to English will probably be more difficult, she has experience teaching a young French boy who speaks no English, so she has improved her hand gesturing skills and should be ready to take on the challenge in Panama.

Dina Marie comes from a big Greek family and is very close with both of her parents. She has a brother, two half-sisters and two step siblings. An interesting fact is that her stepdad is the VP for Sketchers’ shoes and her mom is an anesthesiologist. The most recent ticket that Dina Marie has purchased was a plane ticket to Paris, where she will be traveling over winter break to visit the family of a friend. She has a fear of birds and generally thinks they are gross. She is also slightly clostraphobic after being stuck on an elevator for a night!

Dina Marie is very excited to pick up some new Spanish vocabulary in Panama and take a summer to teach before she settles down to study medicine. So get excited to meet her because she is going to be a great addition to our team!! Oh, and its Dina Marie, not Dina.

Les presento a Jack

Jack is a freshman at Stanford although he is originally from New York.  He is still undecided on his major but he feels international relations might suit him.  Jack has two brothers, one older who attends Stanford as well and another younger brother who is still in high school.  He has taken courses in Spanish but it has been two years since his last class so he is nervous about speaking Spanish in Panama.  He is very familliar with traveling since he lived in London for two years and traveled throughout Europe.  It was great meeting Jack and I hope this gives you all a little more information about him as well!

Ladies and Gentlemen…Erica Petru!!!

Fellow LE Panama volunteers, let me introduce you to Erica Petru!

Erica, a native of Oakland, California, is now a sophomore studying International Studies and Environmental Studies at the University of Washington in Seattle. Her choice of academic track is especially beneficial in today’s world as environmental issues continue to have a prominent impact on global affairs.

The University of Washington and Seattle have provided Erica with many opportunities for personal growth. She really enjoys being a part of a big campus community and exploring the wonders that such a vibrant city like Seattle has to offer. During her spare time Erica and her friends love to explore Seattle’s different neighborhoods and see their hidden treasures.

Erica first heard about LE from a friend who had participated in the Mexico program. She decided to apply and now she is very enthusiastic about being a part of the experience. She has never taught a full academic class before but she has had the opportunity to tutor many children. Erica also coaches a middle school Ultimate Frisbee team in Seattle; she is also a part of her school’s Ultimate Frisbee team. Her hard-working attitude will definitely make her an excellent teacher and LE volunteer!

As you might have guessed by her last name, Erica’s family has immigrant roots. Her father’s family is from the Czech Republic while her mother’s family is from California. She also has relatives in Argentina, who she has spent time with in order to master the Spanish she has learned in school.

Erica is still at the University of Washington and she will be starting her final exams soon. Shortly after finishing her exams, she will be flying to Panama and begin an exciting summer adventure with us all!

Introducing Emily S!

Emily Shayman recently finished up her sophomore year at Wisconsin University  in Madison, WI. She is double majoring in Social Work and Spanish. Currently, Emily is recovering from finals and getting excited for LE Panama 2009 at her home in Chicago, IL.

A few years ago Emily traveled to Costa Rica to work in an orphanage for the summer in lieu of taking a whole year off of school. This was a great experience for her, and she is dying to return to visit her former host family as well as the friends she made there. Additionally, Emily taught English as a second language to Sudanese and Mexican refugees while she attended Drake University. Both of these cultural exchanges have helped prepare her and made her eager to travel to Panama to experience a different culture and way of life.

 During our interview I discovered that we have some things in common. Both of our parents are a little worried about us traveling abroad. We both like Coldplay (the last ticket she bought was for a Coldplay concert which she attended in Minnesota with friends). Emily has a fear of bridges, which is kind of related to mine in that they both involve transportation. Also, we both really enjoyed Slumdog Millionare as well as Across the Universe.  Finally, she will be arriving in Panama City on June 17^th less than 30 minutes before me.

I really enjoyed talking to Emily, and I look forward to meeting you all in Panama!

-Jenn

Meet Alejandro!

Alejandro is currently a freshman at Georgetown University in Washington D.C.  His family moved from Cuba to Miami in 1997 when he was six and a half years old.  He said that living in the capital is much different from his experience growing up in Cuba and then Miami, but while moving was a culture shock he really enjoys D.C.  The capital has such an international culture and diverse languages, and living in that atmosphere has taught him a lot.  Alejandro is planning to pursue a degree in International Relations from Georgetown, with a specific emphasis in Latin American studies.  He hopes that this degree will help prepare him to advise U.S. foreign policy regarding Latin America and that his teaching experience in Panama this summer will complement his studies.  Socially he spends a lot of his time meeting foreign exchange students at Georgetown, creating a network of international resources and friends.

Alejandro has had some great practice teaching that will definitely prepare him for this summer in Panama.  He taught English to adults and also taught Tai Kwon Do to children.  He plans to do a class session in which he teaches his students parts of the body through a Tai Kwon Do lesson.  Alejandro told me that he is a little bit scared to teach kids because his teaching experience is mostly with adult students, but I’m sure he will do a wonderful job.  He first heard about Learning Enterprises through a friend who had applied to the Mexico program.  He is really excited to travel this summer because it will be his first time traveling to a place outside the U.S. other than Cuba.

It was a lot of fun talking to Alejandro and I am really excited to meet the rest of you as well!

-Erica

Rachel Hollander!

Rachel Hollander is originally from Milwaukee, and goes to Wiconsin Madison.  She’s in her fourth year there, and is on a 5-year plan to get her K-12 teaching certificate from the School of Education.  She’s a Spanish education major, and might go back to school for her Master’s in education later on.  Right now, she’s been really busy between her job as a waitress at a wine bar and her student-teaching job.  She loves to travel, and studied abroad in Sevilla, Spain.  It was an awesome experience, and she traveled throughout Spain, but she lived and interacted with other Americans and so didn’t feel fully immersed in the Spanish language.  She has also traveled to Cost Rica, which she loved.  She’s almost fluent in Spanish, but is excited for greater immersion in Panama.  Her written Spanish is fine, but most of her Spanish classes didn’t place much of an emphasis on conversational skills.  In Panama, she thinks the hardest thing will be to relax with her host family and submerse herself in their culture.  She calls herself a bossy person and says that this is the reason why she likes to teach, but she didn’t really seem so bossy on the phone so I’m pretty sure she’s great.  She likes to have fun and relax, even though her life is super busy right now.  And she’s super excited for Panama!