Today was a Friday kind of day ----RELAXED!. Students cooked lunches for us, explaining recipes in English. One teacher arranged a mariachi band and sang with them as her father was one of the musicians. We danced ---NO!! The student who asked me to dance proudly wore a traditional Spanish flamenco costume.
That evening we concluded our teaching week with a farewell dinner at the Museo San Agustin, the multi-star boutique hotel, a short walk from the hotel. First we were guided around the hotel but our pictures can't tell it all, so I suggest you Google this name. It's a work of art and history.
Originally built in the 1600's as a hacienda , it was used by the Augustinian monks as a place to sleep, as they traveled throughout the country to convert the indigenous people to Christianity. We loved the beautifully painted walls and ceilings; valuable objets d'art; plaques in Latin quoting biblical passages (translated perfectly by our own Jim Romer); French antiques; the chapel upstairs and two large balconies with views onto the city. Then we had cocktails in the lobby as a pianist played music from Cats, Pacobel Canon and other classics. The ceiling in the lobby was originally open but is now covered with gorgeous stained glass. http://hotelmuseopalaciodesanagustin.com/
After a delicious “alta cucina” dinner and more good conversation, we exchanged gifts, made individual comments and thanks, and the Director shared more of his dreams for the university and students. All of us part feeling far more ENRICHED than the day we stepped off the plane.
For those students reading this blog, remember to see TV and movies in ENGLISH and form language “clubs” in which you practice speaking with each other regularly. To quote a Dartmouth College language professor: “SPEAK to LEARN”. Don't “learn to speak”.
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