The 7th and 8th grade Spanish class at Georgia took its first field trip since before COVID and had a blast! Students toured the VT Tortilla Company with the owner Azur Moulaert. A forestry engineer turned entrepreneur, Mr. Moulaert was born in Belgium, grew up in Costa Rica, speaks three languages, and gave a tour in Spanish of his organic tortilla factory! The students got to see, smell and experience the process of making tortillas and are now making a video in Spanish of their learning.
Additionally, the students enjoyed a take-out lunch from El Gato Cantina along the Burlington waterfront with their friends, which was a highlight of the trip for many.
Finally, the classes toured UVM’s Fleming Museum’s exhibit “Unpacked: Refugee Baggage” by Mohamed Hafez and Ahmed Badr, and learned the challenges of being displaced and starting over through art dioramas. Everyone enjoyed exploring the rest of the museum as well with its paintings, Native American artifacts and Civil War rifles among other interesting displays at the museum.
Worn out from a long day, the students can now go home and remember studying culture and language outside of the four walls of the classroom.
Some feedback from students:
7th grade:
“I think the trip was worthwhile because a lot of people learned about stuff they didn’t know and how different things were for other people.”
“We got to test our understanding of the Spanish language.”
8th grade:
“…in my opinion it was a really good break from normal school and amazing learning opportunities. This experience was very eye opening for me.”
“I believe this trip was worthwhile because it gave us experience. The tortilla factory submerged us into some Spanish culture and challenged us to really focus on what our tour guide was saying in Spanish. The refugee exhibit also opened my eyes to other people from other country’s struggles in violence and religion.”
“I enjoyed the trip a lot. It was very interesting to be able to connect things we learned in class to current events and local places. I also liked being able to be outside of school in smaller groups.”
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