My work at UFPA finished for the semester during the last week of June so for the past week Sean and I have been working with the U.S. Embassy in their English Immersion Program (EIP) which was held in our city this year. We are very lucky to have one of the embassy's bi-national language and culture centers here which provides English classes, academic and study abroad advising for students interested in going to the States and American cultural events. When I went to the bi-national center to ask if they needed volunteers at the beginning of the year, they asked me if Sean and I could help with the EIP in July.
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| Day one - orientation |
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| Students showing off their nail art in preparation for the program |
The program is very competitive and popular with students. To be eligible, the students have to have a high level of English, get good grades, be involved with volunteer work in their community, attend a public school, be under a certain level of family income and show leadership skills. My role during the week was one of three English teachers and Sean was the cultural coordinator. This meant that I planned and taught five 2 hour long classes over the course of the week and Sean was a kind of jack of all trades (which included cooking the food for the 4th of July BBQ on the last day). We were both also mentors to small groups to help them prepare for their presentations at the end of the week.
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| Waiting in the hotel for the students' arrival |
The theme this year was American sports and the sports that the embassy wanted us to cover were: basketball, American football, soccer, baseball and extreme sports. To be honest, the whole experience felt a bit like summer camp as we stayed in the hotel with the students and were with them 24/7. It was a lot of fun but very tiring. It's pretty cool how much we packed into one week and how close everyone became in such a short time. I already wish I could help out with it next year!
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| Group photo for the 4th of July celebration |
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