Mexico Trip Allows Girls to Experience Local Culture
For 10 days in June, girls from New Leaf Academy of North Carolina had the unique opportunity to live in a foreign country, where they experienced new traditions and immersed themselves in a new culture.
Six New Leaf girls travelled to Merida, Mexico, where they stayed at the home of New Leaf dancing and fencing instructor Giles Collard and his wife. While there, the students explored Mayan ruins, took Salsa lessons from natives, ate local fruits and vegetables, and travelled by horse-drawn taxi.
For most of the girls, it was their first time out of the country, and was an experience that may have changed them for life.
"The girls used skills they learned at New Leaf - how to adapt, how to be tolerant, how to be respectful," Collard said. "They got a different perspective, and things they thought were bizarre made sense down there."
Living Like Locals
Collard began bringing New Leaf students to his Merida home in June 2008 as a way for them to become familiar with a culture other than their own.
"They learn so much from the experience of being in another city, and not acting like tourists," said Collard, who is also trip leader. "When they are in Merida, they do things like the locals do."
That meant the girls learned to live without air conditioning, even when the tropical climate reached 96 degrees. When it got too hot, the girls knew they couldn't complain, and instead jumped in the pool or took a siesta.
Living like a local also meant that the girls made use of the Spanish they learned in school, hung out and played soccer with locals, cooked Mexican foods, went shopping for traditional clothes and entertained new friends. They even took Salsa lessons from local students who were working on their English skills, which gave students from both countries an opportunity to find new ways to communicate and brush up on other languages.
"We put the girls in the presence of people who would help them with their Spanish," Collard said. For one student in particular - who spent half an hour talking with a native Spanish-speaker to help her get the proper inflection - it was a motivator for her to learn Spanish and do a good job at speaking the language.
Facing Their Fears
Climbing Mayan ruins, taking horse-drawn carriage rides through the jungle and swimming in lakes buried in caves was not only fun for students, but also helped the girls face some of their fears.
"They had to overcome their fear of heights and, for some, swimming in unknown waters," said Mary Kinsey-Hyche, family services coordinator at New Leaf North Carolina. "They supported each other and worked as a group."
Since most of the girls had never been abroad before, the trip inspired them to learn more about their destination. It also tested their ability to be flexible and tolerant of others, and to apply what they learned at New Leaf about how to cope when they feel challenged, stressed or scared.
"Anytime you go to a different country, there is a challenge with having to be flexible," Kinsey-Hyche said. "This trip takes everything the girls learned at New Leaf and puts it into practice."
A Worthwhile Experience
After their time in Merida, many of the girls couldn't wait to return to Mexico. Alexis G., a 16-year-old student who went on the trip in June, said she looks forward to returning to Merida because she enjoyed her time there so much.
"My Mexico experience proved to be an exciting, adventurous and cultural experience," she said. "I learned so much about the Mexican culture and its people throughout my trip, and am very grateful to have had the opportunity to attend."
Alexis said she most enjoyed the cenotes, limestone sink holes where the girls went swimming. To get to some of the cenotes, the students had to climb down wooden ladders; in others, they encountered bats.
"The day we attended the cenotes was both a long and amazing experience for me," she said. "Throughout our trip to the cenotes, we took tons of pictures with my underwater camera. This experience was the highlight of my trip."
During the trip, Alexis celebrated her 16th birthday with homemade pizzas, a tres leches cake from the local bakery and a handmade giraffe piņata filled with Mexican candies.
Comfortable Surroundings
While in Merida, the girls slept in one big room in Collard's house. On one of their first days there, they each got to pick out the hammock from a local store that they would sleep in during the trip.
Six students went on the most recent trip to Mexico, June 19 to 29. The girls were separated into three teams, with rotating duties of planning meals and buying the needed food; making breakfast, lunch and dinner; and cleaning up afterwards.
Because Collard owns the house, the surrounding area is familiar to him, which makes it easier for the girls to navigate and feel at ease. They quickly got to know the local bakeries, restaurants and markets, as well as where doctors were in case of an emergency.
Collard's house is located 20 miles from the beach and three miles from the downtown center. For transportation, the girls - many of whom have never even been on a bus at home - used horse taxis, bike taxis and horse-drawn carriages, as well as buses.
"It got them excited about life," Collard said. "Life is so much bigger than the girls think it is."
Broadening Girls' Horizons
Girls are selected for the Merida trip based on their academic performance, their level of progress, and their parents' and counselors' approval. Girls are asked to attend based on priority, and only after their parents have given the go-ahead.
"The girls that were still students at New Leaf did a good job adapting to being in a different culture, taking on various responsibilities, and were comfortable with the structure and boundaries set by the adults," Hyche said.
For the graduates, the trip to Mexico was a refresher of the structure and boundaries that exist to keep them safe and gave them an opportunity to "take a break" from their teenage worlds and engage in an exciting cultural experience.
The girls who are selected for the trip learn about Mayan culture before they arrive in Merida. Most were already familiar with Spanish because it is either part of the curriculum at New Leaf or an elective, depending on the student's age.
Four New Leaf staff members accompanied six girls during the June trip. By limiting the group to six, the girls have a better opportunity to work together as a group.
"The girls lead pretty privileged lives compared to the average teen in Mexico," Collard said. "The trip shows girls the realities of the world. It's a safe way to expose them to the idea that American kids live in Disney World. It helps them understand, and appreciate, what kind of lives their parents have given them."
New Leaf would like to continue taking annual trips to Merida in June, which is a good time for recent graduates of the academy as well as girls still in the program.
"I'd like to integrate it more into the curriculum of the school so it's part of the girls' grade, and have a project come out of it," Collard said.