The Spanish department’s cultural immersion trip to Cuernavaca, Mexico took place over February break, continuing the language department’s annual tradition of more than 35 years. It was an event-packed trip, with numerous chances at cultural immersion and creating connections with the people there.
During the trip, students stayed with host families in Mexico and had the chance to explore the city and take part in activities with students from the Bachillerato Internacional Uninter (BIU) school in Cuernavaca. The trip was chaperoned by Spanish teachers Arnaldo Rodriguex and Sarah Voorhees and Health teacher Amy Obenour.
During the trip, students took classes and visited places such as downtown Cuernavaca, Teotihuacan, Lake Tequesquitengo and Taxco. They participated in activities like bowling and salsa dancing.
Sophomore Veda Jammula became interested in going to Cuernavaca after seeing it as a chance to travel out of the country. After hearing of the unique experiences the weeklong stay in Mexico offered, she signed up for the trip.
“The fact that I would be living with another family finalized my decision. I wanted to learn something different and in the end it was definitely worth it,” she said.
Voorhees, who went on the trip for her 12th time, said that this year’s trip was unique because the group visited an orphanage. They spent time with orphans by drawing in coloring books, playing with toys, listening to music and playing sports with them.
Jammula said that for her, the highlight was immersing herself in the Mexican culture by meeting the students there.
“The people are the most caring and sweetest people I have met,” she said. “So to be able to talk to them in Spanish and learn their new ways opened my eyes to understanding their culture.”
The Foreign Language Department’s next trip is planned for spring break when the French department will be taking a group of eight students and two chaperones to France in order to see many of the country’s landmarks, such as Versailles, Avignon and the Church of Notre Dame.
