Mansfield students perform community service in Panama
A group of U.S. students spent two weeks in July in Panama courtesy of AFS, (right to left) Lydia Pendleton, Sydney Clements, Caroline Casey, Jean Loeffler, Brent Beaupre, Becca Goldman, Ethan Baker, Stephanie Diamond and chaperone Barbara Casey. Photo provided by Barbara Casey.
In July, five students from EO Smith High School and a student from Kingswood Oxford High School, a student from Hartford Classical Magnet High School and a student from Rochester, NY joined together under the auspices of AFS Intercultural Programs to participate in a two-week immersion experience in La Pintada, Panama.
During the two weeks, the students performed 30 hours of community service for this small central Panamanian town by painting and tiling their public library.
The town of La Pintada is located 3 hours west of Panama City in the Province of Cocle and has a population of roughly 3,000 people. Very few local residents speak any English, so this was a true immersion experience for the students.
Students were placed with host families, where they were treated as a member of the family.
It was an eye-opening experience for the students on so many levels, from experiencing firsthand how language skills develop - within a few days, most students could understand a great deal of what people were saying - to the achievement of finally being understood by others.
The students came to La Pintada with a range of language abilities. One was almost fluent, while others were studying French, German or Latin in school. Even those without a Spanish language background found they were speaking Spanish by the end of the experience.
They also got to experience a culture completely different from their own.
The E.O. Smith students who participated in this experience are: Brent Beaupre of Ashford; Caroline Casey, Stephanie Diamond and Sydney Clements of Storrs/Mansfield, Ethan Baker of Willington.
Additionally, Becca Goldman of West Hartford, Lydia Pendleton of Hartford and Jean Loeffler of Rochester NY participated.
Local AFS volunteer and Area Team Sending Coordinator Barbara Casey, who lives in Mansfield/Storrs chaperoned the trip.
For more information about AFS Intercultural Programs and for other opportunities like this, please contact Barbara Casey at 860-429-7362.
Posted July 29, 2010
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