School Days at La Mariposa

School days at La Mariposa are an intense, wonderful weave of learning experiences, some highly structured and some more informal, with infinite possibilities for inventing one's own path.

Breakfast is on the terrace at 7:15. Classes begin at 8:00. Before lunch, I've had a 2-hour conversation class and a 1 1/2 hour grammar class with a 30 minute juice break. Jenny (at right) has been my conversation teacher this week. Today, something special for me, she read to me from the Autobiografia of Ruben Dario, one of the nation's most honored (no longer living) poets. This text became the topic of our conversation, text alternating with talk. (Jenny speaks no English. This is good for me!)

Lunch on the terrace is followed by afternoon activities, which have often been prepared for in the morning's conversation class. For example, the unifying theme of my conversation class the first day I was here was Tortillas y sopa de queso (Tortillas and cheese soup). That afternoon, in the kitchen, there were lessons in making tortillas y sopa de queso. And guess what we had for dinner!

Often our afternoon activities are field trips from which we return at dinner time. After dinner....la tarea (homework!). We are very busy at La Mariposa Spanish School! And there's lots more to tell. Later.