We were fortunate to discover the language school "Experiencia" and Silvia, the school's director, the first time we came to Tepoztlán.
Sign outside the door of the school.
And here's Silvia!
The air is fresh and clean, the sun seems to always shine, and Silvia
invites whoever walks in through her front gate with warmth and
kindness.
The entrance to the school.
The classroom is in the great outdoors under an open-air tent on the outskirts of the village. Experiencia overlooks Tesoro Mountain and the school is surrounded by flowers, palm trees, art, chirping birds, dogs, cats, and other animals.
The tent that we study under.
Another view of our "classroom."
Tesoro Mountain. The word tesoro means treasure in English.
Another view of Tesoro.
One of the structures on the property surrounded by palms. Visitors can stay in rustic accommodations on the property if they choose.
Art that children helped create by the entrance to the school.
A mural (also by the entrance) that Lea and her close friends Lissett and José helped paint.
One of Silvia's cats who stays close while we're studying!
And one of the dogs.
And a rooster on the property!
A short video that will give you a great view of the school and Silvia's home.
Lea was feeling so homesick for our dog that Silvia offered us one of
her cats (who was a kitten at the time) for us to take home during our
long stay here. We have grown to love Leon dearly and he's become an
important member of our family here.
Lea with our cat Leon. Leon means lion in Spanish. He's no lion though!
Lea and Leon.
Silvia's language school is also her home. Here we not only study the language, but also learn a lot about the Mexican way of life. When you are a student of Silvia's, she lets you into her world. This has been frustrating at times in that Silvia is often late to start class, she'll answer the phone during class, she'll take longer breaks than expected, and she'll meet someone who comes to her door during class time. Where we come from, this generally isn't what's expected, but for Mexican culture (where relationships are valued over efficiency and work) it's natural for a school to function in a much more relaxed way. Kimberly has had to change her mental framework and expectations. It is true that these classes cost money and she's brought to Silvia's attention what students from her culture expect. Silvia has grown to honor and respect this. It's also been an important lesson for Kimberly about flexibility and letting go of the control that our society so strongly enforces. Silvia once said that, "People from the USA live to work, but in Mexico, people work to live." Again, we have learned so much from Silvia beyond the Spanish language. We can't thank you enough Silvia for these valuable lessons which we will hold dear for the rest of our lives.
Silvia and Kimberly.
Silvia cooking.
Silvia with one of the cats while teaching.
And with one of the dogs.
Silvia with her niece Veronica who has also taught on occasion.
Silvia welcomes you into her kitchen and you learn how to cook Mexican food (after learning the ingredients and recipes in Spanish!) and on occasion, when she has groups, she takes you on excursions to sites outside the school.
Kimberly helped cooked "Chile Rellenos," a traditional Mexican dish.
Here's the chile rellenos with rice and beans. Yum!
Kimberly at "Xochicalco," an archeological site near Cuernavaca.
Studying with other people from around the world has been an incredible experience!
Two Canadians, two Americans, and two Mexicans (our teachers).
Here's a group that came from Portland, Oregon, their homestay Mexican hosts, and Silvia and I.
The group from Portland.
An American young man on the left (who returned to Silvia's after being there with his parents as a child many years before), Veronica (Silvia's niece), and a young woman from Australia.
A Canadian, a South African, and three Americans. This American couple did a lot of medical work in developing countries and to continue this work, knew they needed to learn more Spanish.
A Canadian woman on the right who Kimberly studied with, and a teacher of ours (center) for a few days who has become a friend of Kimberly's. They meet at a coffee shop downtown! It's a time that Kimberly looks forward to weekly.
Silvia's sister Vicki (left) and Kathy, an American woman that Kimberly studied with.
We even helped build a new adobe structure on the property the first time we were here!
Kimberly and Miguel hard at work. Miguel and his wife have become friends of ours. Miguel generally works as a gardener at the school.
The adobe house upon completion!
Brian's Spanish proficiency is high so he knows Silvia well but hasn't spent much time studying at the school. Lea has helped Silvia teach English to children at the school in the past. This year Lea is heavily involved in her own school, soccer, and her friends and hasn't made it out to Experiencia much, but has fond memories of her time out there. Kimberly has clearly spent the most time at the school.
Lea teaching English a few years ago.
Lea continued to help out with English class. The first two kids on the left are Lea's close friends in Mexico, Lissett and José.
Short video of Lea teaching English when she was younger (with a little coaching from mom who is behind the camera).
We have all learned a lot about daily life here in Tepoztlán from Silvia. She has been an incredible resource to us.
It's not only Silvia we have gotten to know when we are out at Experiencia. It is her brother who also lives there, the women who help her in her kitchen, the man who gardens, and others who come and visit.
Kimberly and Wolf (Silvia's brother) who also lives at the school.
Silvia, her boyfriend Octavio, and the three of us, and Leo in Lea's arms!
We all understand that the Spanish classroom goes far beyond the gate of the Experiencia classroom. It's so important to simply speak, listen, practice, read, and write in the language in terms of learning it. We're all trying!
Silvia told Kimberly a story that is worth sharing. Silvia had a group of US children at the school as part of an exchange program. At the time, she had a rustic, outdoor kitchen. The children who visited came from very privileged backgrounds. One of the boys celebrated his birthday while studying at Silvia's and she threw him a special party. She also took care of him when he had a medical emergency. When he returned home, the boy was asked by his parents what he'd like for his birthday, he grinned and said,"To give Silvia money to help her build a new kitchen." The parents let Silvia know that not only did their son learn Spanish from her, but he learned about what it means to be human and truly care for other people.
Thank you Silvia, for not only what you have taught us in terms of the language, but for all the lessons we have learned from you about what it means to be human. We are so grateful for how widely you have opened your heart to us.
Here is Silvia's web site http://www.experiencia-tepoztlan.com/ if you're interested in learning more about Experiencia. We highly recommend the school if you're interested in a Spanish language intensive study.
Kimberly teaches at El Sabino, the same school Lea attended here in 2009 for part of kindergarten. Although it is in a different location now and has grown, El Sabino, a private school with approximately 50 kids total, ages 3-9, is the same magical place we originally discovered.
I teach art along with some English to 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders. I manage to get by mostly with my limited Spanish, demonstrations, and of course hand gestures! There is a student who speaks perfect English and others speak some, so they help with translation.
The school uses the Montessori philosophy. A large yard featuring sculptures, a bird house, a chicken coop, a playground with bicycles, play structures, and a play "airplane" overlook the mountains. There are a couple open-air classrooms, and the indoor rooms have large windows. It is a heavenly place to teach and to learn!
This is a view when you enter the school. Our art class is now in this building.
These canopies shine in the sunlight!
The flowers on the property are beautiful!
The bird house in the yard.
The playground with the airplane on the right.
Beautiful sculptures in the yard.
This is quite a bench, huh?
Tibetan peace flags hang in the yard.
The chicken coop.
The outdoor classroom that I originally taught in.
The older children's classroom, right above where we have art class.
A room in the preschool area.
A short video which is a tour of the school.
A short video of girls playing on the play airplane in the yard.
The director asked me last year if I would teach at the school. I was thrilled by the invitation! The other staff members have been welcoming toward me, and the kids seem happy to have a special art class.
The director at a harvest festival at the school.
I'm coming from a much more rigid approach in regard to education so I've had to get accustomed to things being much slower paced and functioning more from a heart space.
I teach a few students at a time opposed to a large group. The 20 children flow in and out of art class. This approach has definitely taken time for me to get used to, but what a gift it has been for me to teach a small group of children at a time (4-5) who are truly interested and engaged. We move at a much slower pace than at my school at home, with no expectations to finish any given project at any certain time. It's a peaceful environment where creativity and spirituality is emphasized.
Initially I taught 10 children at a time for an hour each. Now we have class indoors with 3-5 children at a time and they flow in and out of the art space.
Yes, and there's even a cat at the school!
The children working in their classroom above the art space with one of their teachers.
Here I am with my students who eat lunch outside.
And lunch with some of the girls that I teach.
A short video of my student's working on their art.
The director (who I've grown to love) pulls me aside and we talk about teaching from the heart and allowing and encouraging the flow of creativity from the students. For example, we recently did watercolor paintings of flowers. I first talked with the kids about how flowers are a gift of nature and that we can examine closely their detail and beauty. We went out to the large yard and each student examined a flower closely. They began by drawing it in pencil and then came inside and colored their drawings with oil pastels. I demonstrated blending of oil pastels as an introduction to the blending of colors when using watercolor paints. They then moved on to their paintings. How beautifully they turned out!
When any given student feels they are done with their art for the day, they leave and go back to their classroom. If a student is deeply engaged and focused, they can stay longer. So there aren't the same time or number constraints as at home; there is freedom and lack of stress. The children are very well behaved, motivated and interested in learning.
A few of the younger faces around the school.
In addition to teaching, I enjoy displaying the children's art work. It's also been a pleasure to attend some of the school- wide events held outside of the school day.
The first project we did which focused on the student's names with design elements.
And cut out paper collages.
Torn Paper Masks.
And drawings of famous people that each student was assigned to work with.
An evening event before winter vacation.
I have to admit that I have mixed feelings teaching at this private school. I teach at a low-income public school in Madison and have always been committed to public education. Teaching at this private school here in Mexico forces me to see that all over the world, it is privileged children who have access to this kind of education. It isn't fair that there's such a wide gap between the haves and the have-nots, especially for children, simply as a result of the economic class they were born into.
If you saw my last blog post, you learned about the public school that Lea is now attending. She has 39 children in her class to one teacher, in comparison to the 20 children I teach who have two teachers and an additional helper. My daughter's public school in our barrio has limited resources. The walls of her classroom are practically blank and the playground is cement block.
Lea's classroom in comparison to the private school.
The playground at Lea's school. This helps illustrate how different public schools are from the private.
A typical family from Tepoztlán could not afford to send their child to El Sabino. I have found that most of the children's parents at the private school were brought up in other countries. Most of the students have light skin at the school, and most (if not all) of the children at Lea's public school have darker skin. There is a direct correlation here in terms of race and economic class-- a world wide issue which I hope to see change in my lifetime.
I thought this painting of one of my past student's artwork in Madison was fitting to show here.
And another painting. It's important to remember that our children are our future!
It wasn't a hard decision for us to send Lea to the public school in our barrio. We wanted her to have more of a genuine experience. Even though we could afford the private school and sending Lea to the private school would have felt perhaps easier, more comfortable, and more familiar to us, we knew that's certainly not what this journey is about for our family. As at home, we also support neighborhood schools. When we walk through our barrio here, we know most of the children, or they at least look familiar. Lea's friends live closeby and we feel a sense of community where we live. In the private school, children live all over the village.
It has been a great experience for me to teach art here in Tepoztlán. I feel blessed to have the opportunity! I also feel good about returning to Madison and teaching the population that I am more accustomed to. There is a way in which I feel they need me more than these kids do here at the private school, although it's also important to remember that kids are kids no matter what race, class, ethnicity, gender, etc.
I hope to bring back some of the relaxed, spiritual, and creative inspiration that I've gotten from this school environment and integrate what I can back home.
