Spanish Club Members Get Lesson from Team Nicaragua

One can certainly learn a lot about a country, its language and its culture in the classroom but experiencing it all first hand can certainly leave one with a deeper knowledge and a new perspective.  

Members of the Spanish Club now have a deeper understanding of the culture and the people of Nicaragua thanks to guest speaker Andrea DiMarco, a Montclair University student who recently returned from a mission to Nicaragua.

DiMarco, who is the niece of Maria Squillace, a Spanish language and business teacher at the high school, who also serves as advisor of the Spanish Club, came to the school on Friday to share her tales of Nicaraugan culture, its people and her Team Nicaragua experience  with the students.  

Squillace said the students are learning about Central America in Spanish 3 and this was a perfect opportunity for them to learn about the Nicaraguan culture.

DiMarco showed the students some photographs of the places she and her teammates visited including the market place where they learned that the average Nicaraguan family lives off of what is the equivalent of $2 a day.

This small amount needs to feed an entire family of six three meals a day.  They mostly eat rice, beans and platanos and a dish called tostones which is plantains fried, mashed down and then fried again which DiMarco said is delicious.  In other parts of the county there are areas that are considered “rich” she explained meaning that the average cup of coffee there costs more than the $2 it costs to feed a family in the poor areas of the country.

There is a section of the country known as La Chureca that is so impoverished people actually pick through trash for survival, she said.

She and the Team Nicaragua members visited Los Quinchos, an orphanage of children who were rescued from the streets. DiMarco said the children were wonderful, very friendly and all they want to do is hug and have their picture taken. She and the teammates had collected backpacks, notebooks and other school supplies for them as part of their mission.

For part of the trip, the students stayed with host families. The people are extremely generous, DiMarco said, as they were willing to give up their own beds so the visiting students had a place to sleep and they asked for nothing in return other than to listen to their stories and share them with the rest of the world.

Students asked if the host families get paid for hosting the team members. DiMarco said they do not receive money for hosting but they are provided with extra food to which Squillace pointed out may be how many of these families get by.

There are not a lot of jobs, DiMarco said, adding that many people in parts of the country are illiterate and sell sunglasses or wash cars to make a living.  Doctors make more money driving cabs then they do practicing what they learned, she said.

The students asked DiMarco if she visited any schools while she was there to which she explained she didn’t actually get to enter any school buildings but learned that classes are conducted in a community type center where all students are taught in one classroom. There are no grades, she explained.

As for the level of education, most of them just get the opportunity to read and write she explained. Squillace and fellow Spanish language teacher Finis Galante emphasized how important it is to read as it is the most basic skill one needs to get through life.

The teachers said years ago many people in these countries didn't realize how important reading was until they were faced with situations that opened their eyes to its important such as one family which lost its home because they were asked to sign a document they could not read and inadvertently signed their rights over.

In order to be accepted into the program, DiMarco needed to write seven essays, and have several references. She also held fundraisers to earn the entire $1,5000 it cost to go on the trip.

She and her fellow teammates blogged about their experience while they were there and she invited the students of the Spanish Club to visit their blog site to learn more http://teamnica11.blogspot.com