Student Travel
What People Say Avout Viviendas León
What Teachers say:
Overall, this was an extraordinary experience for the students and for me. I am profoundly grateful to VivendasLeon for facilitating and making this type of experience possible and open to students in the Bay Area. Personally I learned a great deal more about NicaraguaÑthe land, the people, the politics, etc. I am also deeply grateful for the friendships that have been fostered and look forward to maintaining these contacts as the years unfold. I have great hopes that this trip can become one of the regular SA Intersession trips. This is education at its very best and most effective. The world is gradually changed in long-term ways through this kind of program.
W.Doug Gallagher, Director of Music, Sonoma Academy, January 2008
I feel the work was very much done side by side with the community and with their support, which to me is one of the most important elements. Also I really liked the fact that the work (i.e. helping to build a community center) was hard and made it more authentic. It wasnÕt [the kind of] ÒworkÓ that gives a pretense of service.
Kim Martin, Director of Community Action, Marin Academy, July 2008
What Parents say:
The cultural differences really made an impression on [our daughter] and she talked a great deal about what she learned and sawÉThe thing that impressed us is that she interacted with people, paid attention, and learned from her experience.
Mark and Heidi
[Our daughter] loved the connection with the local people and the opportunity to learn about a culture and country different from ours. She felt greatly appreciated by the people in Goyena and feels good knowing that the work they did as a group will make a difference for the village in the future.
Gunilla and Ray
What Students say:
This trip was fun, eye opening, filled with new experiences, hard work, adventure, connections with new people and attempts to communicate in a different language. ÉI have become more aware of what life is like for people who are not as privileged as me, and I have learned that connections with people are more important than material possessions.
Rebecca
An amazing experience! I felt I learned so much about the social, cultural and political aspects of Nicaragua. We were welcomed with open arms and that led to a priceless experience from which I feel I have gained insight into what life is really like in Nicaragua.
Taylor
The trip was overall a great balance of fun, work, and education. I had plenty of opportunities to immerse my self in the culture and to improve my Spanish. The program was great in that we stayed in a close-knit group without staying entirely tourists.
Ben
This trip has been a definite growth experience and has motivated me to keep up with my SpanishÉBefore this trip I had only really gone to Mexico and thought this experience would be similar, but I found that it was not all. I loved being able to absorb the culture, which was overwhelmingly different at times, and to learn more about the reality of the world.
Emily