June 13, 2022 - First Public School Visit

School visit-Donald Rodrigo Tafur

 

     Today is the thirteenth day of our immersion adventure in Cali, Colombia.  It is hard to believe that we have almost arrived to the halfway point. As usual, it was a day packed with activity that unfolded cultural knowledge, new language challenges, and treasures of memories. The day’s schedule included our fourth school visit which was also the first visit to a public school, Spanish class at Javeriana University, a presentation about Human Rights and Gender issues in Colombia, and the day ended with a Salsa lesson.

     The public school visit was a new experience for us. At this point, we have visited three private schools and have been very impressed with their campuses, students and teachers. Today, we were also impressed with the public school but not for the same reasons. The conditions of the equipment, buildings and grounds of the campus were noticeably lower than those of the private schools we had visited. But what was impressive was the energy and enthusiasm displayed by the students and teachers.  We were blown away by the students’ excitement to see us and interact with us as well as show us their talents and skills.

     The morning was all planned out and obviously required a great deal of preparation by a select group of teachers and students. Upon arriving we received a warm welcome and were treated to a Spanish language presentation of “Adivinanzas” (Riddles), “Modismos” (Idioms), “Trabalenguas”(Tongue-twisters), and Coplas (four-line stanzas). They applied their knowledge of “Coplas” and music skills to write a song to welcome us. We had a great time singing it all together. Next, we toured the school going in and out the classrooms to observe different grade levels and subject areas. All the projects and school work were impressive, especially the audio-visual programs. Part of the tour included two young girls performing dances for us. They delivered awesome performances and it served as another great reminder of how important dance is to the Latin culture.

     Another factor that emphasized the importance of dance, especially in the Cali culture, was the fact that we ended our day with a Salsa lesson at Javeriana University. This lesson was part of the schedule from the beginning and we can now understand why. We started the month with a Salsa lesson at the university, and within the last few weeks, we have continued our attempt of acquiring the Salsa moves at two different Salsa clubs. Those visits were fun and gave us the opportunity to touch our toes on the dance floor to see what we could do and I must mention what the Caleños could do. It seems as though everyone can dance as though they are performing on “Dancing with the Stars”. We did ok, no one lost or broke any toes, but I think I can say that after those attempts, we were all relieved to return to the dance “classroom” with our very skilled and patient teacher. We now have more experience and a deeper appreciation for Salsa and were ready to dive in deeper.  The lesson went well and I believe we all gained some finesse with our steps and technique. Now maybe we can relax a little and learn how to “feel the rhythm” as we perform the steps. The steps may be simple but the execution, just like the Cali culture, is complex. We have one more lesson before we hit the club again, wish us luck!