Monday - 2.19.24

Today was a day that made me think about how lucky I am to be a Spanish teacher at Edgemont. We had our first of two days with Colegio Padre Emiliano Tardif and it was nothing short of spectacular. From the moment that we got on the bus at the hotel, everyone already knew that today was going to be special. We all had our "Edgemont en República Dominicana" shirts on and were ready to arrive at CPET! As soon as we arrived to the school we were greeted with open arms and the welcoming sounds of bachata and merengue! 

After all of the students and teachers received us in the front of the school, we made our way to their auditorium where we were once again met with song and dance. We were all blown away by their talent and preparation for our visit. It was clear that they had though of every detail to make us feel welcome. To say that we were impressed with their performances would be an understatement. We did also show them that we too had talent! Our very own barbershop quartet sang beautifully, performing our national anthem and Billy Joel's "For the Longest Time." One of our students even teamed up with one of theirs to sing a duet of Alicia Keys' "New York." 

Once we finished up with the performances and opening ceremonies, we grabbed a delicious snack that the school prepared for us and then gathered in the front of the school again and formed seven teams with both Dominican and American students. The first challenge for each newly formed team would be to create a cheer! Each team did a great job and it was the perfect way to get everyone in the group familiar with one another and prepare for the "rally." A rally is basically a series of competitive events and each team tries their best to win! Seeing all of our students work alongside the Dominican students was AWESOME. They were speaking both in English and Spanish and the Dominican students were so excited to help our students whenever they wanted to learn how to say something.

Once the teams were established, we were off to the races! We had so much fun competing in a potato sack race, a soccer shoot out, a memory challenge, among other tasks. Once everyone was tired out from all the activities, we made our way to a beautiful space that they turned into a dining area. We sat among our newly formed friends and enjoyed a delicious homemade meal. The food was amazing and it was just what we needed to refill our tanks before going out to the pool party! 

The day at CPET concluded with a refreshing dip in their pool, some dance lessons, and time to strengthen the friendships that were blooming. I think its clear that we had an incredible day! We returned back to the hotel and everyone got cleaned up, rested up a bit and then we all headed out to a really cool food truck park where we ate dinner. Each student chose what kind of food they wanted and then we all enjoyed a relaxing, delicious meal.