Guatemala Immersion Program for Teachers and Other Professionals 2007"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness,
and many of |
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| When and where? | Summary:
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| What is the program like? | |
| Who may come? | |
| Deadlines? | |
| Credit? | |
| Cost? | |
| Reimbursement? | |
| Contact? | |
When and where?
We will leave Sunday July 8th and return Sunday July 22nd, 2007. Our
primary destination is Quetzaltenango, Guatemala where the Casa
Xelajú Spanish School is located. More information on Casa Xelajú
is available at: www.casaxelaju.com.
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What is the program like?
We will stay with Guatemalan families, generally with two or three students
to a household. The Guatemalan families will provide all weekday meals.
Monday through Friday, we will
have Spanish classes at the school for five hours
a day. This is in a one-on-one or very small group setting, up to four students
per
teacher. You will start at whatever level you are on now, combining conversation
and
grammar to improve your skills. You may also request a focus area, if you let
your
teacher knowwhat you want to study, you can work on any specific subject.
Three afternoons a
week we will have cultural activities. This could include anything
from a visit to a local school or a tour of the city to a weaving lesson or
even a visit to a
coffee plantation. One afternoon a week we will d a volunteer activity such
as working with
Habitat for Humanity, or La Pedrera, an after-school program started by Casa
Xelajú for
local impoverished communities.
The first weekend
we will travel to the town of Panajachel on Lake Atitlán. While we are
there
we will take a boat across the lake to Santiago Atitlán. Sunday we will
visit Chichicastenango,
a town with one of the largest and oldest weekly markets in Central America.
The final weekend
you may choose to go to Antigua, the beautiful old capital of Guatemala, or
for an additional fee,
you may choose to visit Tikal, the largest of the Mayan ruins located in the
Peten forest.
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Who may come?
This trip is primarily planned for elementary school teachers who are, or
soon will be, teaching
Spanish in their classes. It is not, however, exclusive to that population.
Other teachers, social
workers, administrators and other interested adults are also welcome to join
us. This trip is not
sponsored by Albemarle Couny, and therefore open to everyone, including those
who do not
work for the County.
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You will receive a certificate
from the school for 50 hours of class time at the conclusion of the
trip, which translates to 50 recertification points for Albemarle County teachers.
If you record those
cultural activities that are specifically educational, you may request additional
recertification points
for these on a credit per hour basis.
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The total cost of the trip, including
airfare and taxes, is $1879.85. This price
is fairly all-inclusive.
It covers roundtrip airfare, in-country transportation, tuition to Casa Xelajú,
your homestay with a
Guatemalan family, all weekday meals, cultural activities, weekend hotel stays,
and some weekend
meals. There are a few things where the costs are not included, such as a
$25 tip fee, the remaining
weekend meals, and any souvenirs, coffee, or ice cream that you might buy
on your own.
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You may qualify for some Staff
Development money on this trip. Depending on how much
you have used in the past year, and how much you will use what you will on
the trip, teachers
could be reimbursed up to $1000 of the cost of the trip. Other personnel should
check I should
check with their departments on this. All applications for Staff Development
money should be
approved before our departure date.
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There are two contacts for this
trip: Blair Davis and Laura Dean. Blair Davis can be emailed
at bdavis@k12albemarle.org, and
Laura Dean can be emailed at lauradean13@yahoo.com.
Email is the best way to reach us, but if you´d rather call, Laura can
be reached at (434)-989-
2197 and Blair can be reached at (434)-390-7693. Once we have our group, we
will be sending
out updates via email to our travelers.
If you are interested in participating in this trip, you should contact one
of us for a registration
form. Forms can be ponied to Blair at Yancy or mailed to Laura with a $100
deposit that is
applied to the total cost of the trip (Note: Please make all checks out to
Casa Xelaju). If you
plan to mail your registration and deposit to Laura, you can send them to
the following address:
225 Mallard Lake Drive
Earlysville, VA 22936
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