As a tourist in my own city, I absolutely loved the 7-day Puertas Abiertas Latin American programme. The programme was incredibly well-organised with Tui Tuia | Learning Circle facilitator Kara Morrison and coordinator Kath Doody hosting an action-packed and totally-immersive week.
Each day was full-on: we learnt from Latin American tutors in the morning, connected with global citizens and community leaders in the afternoon, and applied our cultural knowledge and language skills in the evening. I particularly enjoyed learning about the history of Latin American politics, meeting ambassadors of Colombia and Aotearoa, and completing an escape room – all in Spanish!
Despite having studied Spanish for a while, I initially found myself floundering to keep up with the more-fluent of our 12-person cohort. However, after a couple of days of only hearing, reading, and speaking Spanish, I felt my brain flick over to the language. The dinner table conversations at delicious Latin American restaurants offered a safe space to consolidate my previously book-focused language skills, and was instrumental in helping me vocalise my Spanish.
Puertas Abiertas had all of the benefits of being in Latin America for a week, combined with an extra level of language and cultural support. The combination of theory, experience, and application immersed us as a group, and gave us the confidence to develop our speaking fluency. I can’t wait to travel to Latin America and put it all to use.
Thank you so much to Kara and Kath, my 11 new friends, and to Nikki Lima and Matthew O’Meagher from Latam CAPE for supporting the course and contributing to the fun.
Article by Josh Ellwood (Jorge)
Photo: Top, header image L-R front row: Maria Jesus Vasquez Lesser (Tutor), Hiromi Beran, Anna Young, Nikki Lima (LaTAM CAPE). L-R middle row: Kath Doody (Tui Tuia | Learning Circle), Ingrid Hanon (Tutor), Carolina Castro (Tutor), Keighley Robertson, Emily Blennerhassett, Gabrielle Schuck, Sergio Alvarez (Tutor). L-R back Row: Esteban Espinoza(Presenter from ALAC - Aotearoa Latin American Community), Indiana de boo, Josh Ellwood, Piper Pengelly, Olivia Scott, Anna McGregor, Michelle Hay, Alicia Jackson, Hannah Prout, Kara Morrison (Tui Tuia | Learning Circle). Photo credit: Meg Sydenham.
Other photos: A selection of photos taken during the Immersion including at the Escape Room, Movie theatre where we watched a film from Mexico, Goosechase activity (bottom left photo) and the Cooking activity(bottom right photo).
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Puertas Abiertas Latin American Immersion
As a tourist in my own city, I absolutely loved the 7-day Puertas Abiertas Latin American programme. The programme was incredibly well-organised with Tui Tuia | Learning Circle facilitator Kara Morrison and coordinator Kath Doody hosting an action-packed and totally-immersive week.
Each day was full-on: we learnt from Latin American tutors in the morning, connected with global citizens and community leaders in the afternoon, and applied our cultural knowledge and language skills in the evening. I particularly enjoyed learning about the history of Latin American politics, meeting ambassadors of Colombia and Aotearoa, and completing an escape room – all in Spanish!
Despite having studied Spanish for a while, I initially found myself floundering to keep up with the more-fluent of our 12-person cohort. However, after a couple of days of only hearing, reading, and speaking Spanish, I felt my brain flick over to the language. The dinner table conversations at delicious Latin American restaurants offered a safe space to consolidate my previously book-focused language skills, and was instrumental in helping me vocalise my Spanish.
Puertas Abiertas had all of the benefits of being in Latin America for a week, combined with an extra level of language and cultural support. The combination of theory, experience, and application immersed us as a group, and gave us the confidence to develop our speaking fluency. I can’t wait to travel to Latin America and put it all to use.
Thank you so much to Kara and Kath, my 11 new friends, and to Nikki Lima and Matthew O’Meagher from Latam CAPE for supporting the course and contributing to the fun.
Article by Josh Ellwood (Jorge)
Photo: Top, header image L-R front row: Maria Jesus Vasquez Lesser (Tutor), Hiromi Beran, Anna Young, Nikki Lima (LaTAM CAPE). L-R middle row: Kath Doody (Tui Tuia | Learning Circle), Ingrid Hanon (Tutor), Carolina Castro (Tutor), Keighley Robertson, Emily Blennerhassett, Gabrielle Schuck, Sergio Alvarez (Tutor). L-R back Row: Esteban Espinoza(Presenter from ALAC - Aotearoa Latin American Community), Indiana de boo, Josh Ellwood, Piper Pengelly, Olivia Scott, Anna McGregor, Michelle Hay, Alicia Jackson, Hannah Prout, Kara Morrison (Tui Tuia | Learning Circle). Photo credit: Meg Sydenham.
Other photos: A selection of photos taken during the Immersion including at the Escape Room, Movie theatre where we watched a film from Mexico, Goosechase activity (bottom left photo) and the Cooking activity(bottom right photo).
