The First Trip

Last year we decided that it would be a great idea to live somewhere else for  the summer. The idea was to see if we were able to live for a month with only what we could carry in our suitcases. Since it was our first time we decided to do it only for two weeks and in a somewhat familiar place, we chose Guatemala and El Salvador.
Since this trip required that we travel by plane, our packing options were very limited. We packed only the essential clothes. I had learned from our camping trip to Florida that you need to bring clothes that you can layer up because the weather is so unpredictable, sadly for me, my experience in Florida was a hard way to learn this because I packed only summer clothes and one meager little sweater.

It looks sunny but it was cold, Estrella was freezing! I am wearing my summer dress and my little sweater!

 Imagine my surprise when we were camping in the Everglades and a swarm of mosquitoes came after me as I was trying to prepare dinner in my shorts!!! Then it rained the next day, luckily I had packed my favorite camping waterproof pants, which I wore for the rest of the camping trip.
The point is,  I learned from that to pack clothes that I can wear down or up, that I can layer up in case it gets cold and clothes that I can use for a night out or a walk around the city.

So, back to our trip to Central American, we had three carry on suitcases in total, for the four of us. We did not stay on our own place, we stayed with my brother for a bit.

Then we drove to El Salvador and stayed with my grandma, which was pretty much camping.

This is her property.

This is how we had to take baths, the water was always freezing!

Living Simple

I missed somethings during that trip, like the fact that our phones didn't work, there was no internet at my grandma's house, I realize how much I like my microwave! :) but all those things really didn't matter much, we were able to live for a whole week with no more than three outfits, doing laundry by hand, cooking without all the cooking gadgets we are used to. The girls were able to find entertainment in things that most of the time we take for granted, they observed nature more, they could sat still for hours waiting for butterflies to land on them, they explore my grandma's orchards and her different kinds of flowers, they learned how to make "masa" (dough for tortillas) from scratch, and then make tortillas with grandma.

This is the bathroom

playing with the butterflies

More than a vacation, it was a time to learn and live with the resources we had at hand. But, after a week with her we were ready to go back to our house.

Learning a Language

Now the best part of that trip, besides being with family was that my daughters were "forced" to speak Spanish, the youngest had, until that point, refused to speak in Spanish, she could understand me pretty well, but I could never make her talk to me in Spanish, the oldest was already pretty comfortable switching from one language to the other. Being immerse in the language was a great opportunity for them to really use all their strategies as simultaneous language learners. Bella started by observing and using her hands to talk to people, then she started repeating every single thing she was told or she heard others say, specially other children, by the end of our trip she was able to have a little conversation with my grandma! I was amazed! The oldest was able to improve her vocabulary and speak more fluently. They really just needed that little push to embrace the fact that they are two language learners.

This past school year was Bella's first year in Dual Language and she blossomed!!! She still uses those strategies that two language learners use, repeating, observing, using her hands to communicate, she is more willing now to speak both languages, to switch when she knows that the other person doesn't speak English or viceversa. This was a great trip for my daughters and their experience as bilingual kids. 

So, what strategies have you seen your children, (students or your own) to use when learning another language?