Spanish Students Experience Immersion for a Day

Students in Honors Spanish 4 visited their year-long pen pals on Friday, May 12 at Riley Elementary, a Spanish immersion school in Milwaukee.

In addition to meeting their pen pals and speaking Spanish with them, the group of high schoolers and elementary school kids went to Cielito Lindo, a Mexican restaurant in Milwaukee.  They also had the chance to read in the classroom and play on the playground.

Sophomore Megan Lawson had a great time on the trip.

“I had a really great experience there. We had been communicating with our pen pals through letters written in Spanish, but it was nice to see them in person,” she said.

For junior Gabriela Duncan, eating authentic Mexican food was the highlight of the day.

“I had a very positive experience as I got a chance to practice my Spanish and play with some very friendly second and third graders,” she said.  “My favorite part of the day was definitely making new friends and eating my weight in tacos at this authentic Mexican restaurant for lunch after the visit.”

Although for the most part her experience was positive, Lawson acknowledges that there was a challenging aspect to the visit.

“It was hard in comparison to the letters because with those we had time to think, and when we saw them in person we had to think on the spot and sort of hope that we conjugated everything correctly,” she said.

While some found it difficult, junior Kelly Hanlon thought the whole experience was heart-warming.

“I really enjoyed exchanging letters with my pen pal Estrella.  It was sweet to see how excited she was to meet me, and I know I was just as happy to get the letters from her as she was to get the ones from me,” she said.

Overall, Honors Spanish 4 students had a blast with their pen pals, and learned a lot as well.

“It was a special experience,” Hanlon said.