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East Chapel Hill Meets San Ramón
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by Sandy Williamson
East Chapel Hill High School
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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| | Introduction to a Different Way of Life
The breathtaking beauty of the morning sun rising over the mountains in Matagalpa; the excitement of students hiking jungle trails in search of the elusive howler monkey; the taste of passion fruit picked off the vine; the first bite of warm tortillas that we made ourselves in the traditional way; the sound of the voices and instruments of local people as they played for us around the evening bonfire; the delight in the faces of the rural schoolchildren when we showed them how to make pinwheels, paint with string, and sew a quilt; the sincerity and warmth in the voices of the adults who shared their experiences during the Sandinista Revolution and the difficult years that followed; the hope and strength of the young people who told us of their own struggles and dreams -- all this and more make up the memories of this year's spring-break trip to Nicaragua.
The tie between my pre-AP and AP students and the Durham-San Ramón Sister Communities has been in place for many years. Ever since we learned of the needs of this special community in Nicaragua, we felt compelled to lend a helping hand. We have raised funds to help build and stock a new library, we have donated textbooks, and we have contributed to the annual drive to provide pencils and notebooks to the children who otherwise could not attend school. And, for many years, we have supported Finca Esperanza Verde, a coffee plantation in the mountains of Matagalpa, by selling its delicious shade-grown coffee at fair trade prices. We even got to meet some of the people from San Ramón when a campesino theater group came to North Carolina to present a marvelous program of authentic street theater.
An Unforgettable Week
This year, however, was the first time my students and I were able to travel to Nicaragua to visit our sister community, and it was an amazing and unforgettable week for all of us. Our group was small, just myself and 10 others, including three parents and seven students. We met with local leaders of the sister communities and made our plans based on what they told us, but we really had no idea what to expect. We were a bit apprehensive as we learned about the need to take malaria preventative medicine and typhoid and hepatitis shots. We found out that we were about to visit the second-poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, and we studied the political and social issues of this country ravaged by war and corruption. We boarded the plane with high hopes and some trepidation. Now that we are back, I can say with all honesty that this was the best trip I have ever taken with students -- the most meaningful and the most powerful. We were all deeply affected by what we experienced, and I am now planning next spring's trip with a new group of travelers.
One reason for the success of this trip was the careful preparation that the two sister communities made for us. The ecotourism program that we enjoyed was in its third year, and their goal was to make sure that we had a marvelous time: that we were safe, that we learned a great deal, and that we interacted in a meaningful way with our hosts. From the minute we arrived at the Managua airport, we knew things were going to be great. We met Heidi, our interpreter and guide for the week, who helped us board a bus for Matagalpa, where we climbed into the back of a pick-up truck for our trip to Finca Esperanza Verde. We spent four days there and were enchanted by the beauty of the area. We stayed in rustic cabins and ate delicious meals prepared especially for us by an amazing cook. We learned all about the coffee-growing process, the production of butterflies, and the local flora and fauna. We picnicked at a nearby nature preserve, visited a new elementary school built and supported by the sister communities, and attended a Sunday-afternoon baseball game between two local teams. After a long hike or an afternoon of digging post holes at the new school, we lay in the farm's hammocks and read about Nicaraguan history, waiting for our next delicious meal or our next talk on some aspect of the culture and politics of Nicaragua.
After four days we reluctantly left the farm behind to travel to the town of San Ramón, where we met our local host families and learned all about the history of the community and its people. We learned how to make nacatamales, bought art from local artists, visited two schools, and were serenaded by the band whose instruments we had helped to provide. My students were pleased to be able to spend some time with young people from San Ramón, using their Spanish to find out what life was like for them there. Everyone we met was gracious and friendly; our trip fees supported their community, and they gave us a priceless week of great human richness. We saw great poverty and great beauty, great suffering and even greater hope for the future. We returned to our homes committed to continuing our support of this community. When a delegation arrives in Durham in September to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Durham-San Ramón Sister Communities, we will be there to welcome them and strengthen the ties between our community and theirs.
To find out more about the Durham-San Ramón Sister Communities, visit their Web site in "See also" below.
Sandy Williamson has taught all levels of Spanish in North Carolina for 29 years, including AP Spanish Literature since 1985. She was a Carnegie-Mellon Fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1985-86 and a Fulbright Exchange teacher in Argentina in 1990. Williamson presented ideas for teaching literature to both AP students and students in the Pre-AP years at the 2001 AATSP national conference. She is currently teaching at East Chapel Hill High School.
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