I went all-in when I pitched Spanish camp to Brent. Luckily this place didn't make it hard- they have tons of information on their website and YouTube videos. So I didn't have to do all the talking and honestly, Brent didn't put up a fight. It's just that it is so expensive, ipso facto, I felt the need to justify the cost beyond just getting Liesel and Ireland out of our hair for a couple of weeks. I really, really, REALLY wanted them to go to Spanish camp!
Brent and I were fortunate enough to serve Spanish-speaking missions and we have both used our Spanish since. I will never forget the humbling experience of going from a relatively intelligent person to a "me Tarzan, you Jane" level of speaking ability. Some people pick up languages quickly and I am not one of them. And yes, Spanish is one of the easiest languages you could possibly learn. There are so many refugees in the world, I wanted the girls to understand on some level how hard it would be to go to a country with a completely different language. So we paid through the nose to send them to a bougie camp to do that... I do see the flaw in that plan but hey, we are doing our best.
Brent and I were fortunate(?) enough to take early-morning seminary. We are well aware that high school is tougher because of that. Not just because of the sleep deprivation, but because of the work load. To lighten that load, Spanish camp would hand the girls an easy A. Instead of worrying about their Spanish coursework, they would have the brain space freed up for other courses.
Brent and I were fortunate to grow up in the 80's and 90's when kids were a little more free. I remember going out to play and being told to just be home before it was dark. Things have changed and kids are monitored round the clock. Spanish camp would give the girls a chance to be free a bit. They could explore a world without the constraints we have (with nothing but good intentions!) placed around them. It would increase their independence and grow their confidence. Yes a sleep-away camp is pricy, but it pays dividends in the end.
Can we talk about how gorgeous the North Woods of Minnesota are? My jaw dropped when we checked into our hotel. Work had been really rough and I kid you not this view healed my soul a bit.
Upon check-in, the girls had to turn in medication, sign up for activities, trade in their money for pesos and pick their Spanish name! They took inspiration from their middle names- Gayle for Ireland who went with Gabriela and Grace for Liesel who chose Gracia. She kind of regretted that since Gracia is so close to "gracias" which is said a lot.
Ireland's cabin was San Jose...
...while Liesel was in San Juan.
The girls were already trying so hard to use any Spanish they could think of and Brent and I were impressed that the counselors really did speak pure Spanish- hardly any English. The Spanish village is so pretty- the architecture is apropos of a Latin town and they even had churros as snacks! We gave the girls big hugs and said goodbye.
From there, they also took their phones. We could write to them through the parent portal and they had stationary and stamps to write us back. I only ever heard from Ireland though- which made sense. She's a bit more sentimental that way. Sydney wrote to them and then ran to the mailbox the day after to see if they'd written her back. It was cute. Liesel started a letter but never had time to finish it unfortunately. I made sure to write the girls every other day- I figured that struck a balance between being neglectful and smothering. They were able to read them during siesta.
With Covid-19 still a big issue, the girls had to take a test before camp, get tested as soon as they arrived at camp, and wear masks until all the test results were in. There was no refund if your kid tested positive and we'd been traveling so much, Brent and I were sweating it a bit until we heard the happy news that everyone at camp tested negative- phew!
We received daily updates from the Instagram page along with photos and videos. Here are a few:
Ireland there in the yellow hat- this was a game where their group had to be linked together.
It's a little harder when you're the person on the end...
...getting pulled the most!
One evening they had a formal dinner where they ate Italian.
Both Friday nights they had a dance where Liesel connected with a fellow dancer and they flexed some of their skills.
Each evening they had activities like this one where they had to dress their leader as a famous Latino person with only the materials they had available to them. This is Gloria Estefan.
Liesel's group had "a 70-year old dude who I'd never heard of".
In spite of some drama, they made tons of friends!
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They learned about all kinds of different cultures- this is the night they learned about Columbia.
Thank goodness we raised them to never be food fussies because they ate REALLY well and tried all kinds of food they'd never had before.
There was also the camp part- they swam and sang songs by the campfire. Ireland did an overnight on an island where she realized she really doesn't like true camping so much- haha! So many spiders!!!
One of the Portuguese villagers tried to convince Ireland to switch camps for one euro. Liesel met a sweet boy named Enzo and mentioned if she ever had a little brother she would want one like him. He was also from Chicago.
It was great to have them gone, it was great to have them back. They were brimming with tales to tell and bolstered in their Spanish- just as we had hoped! Glad we invested in this one, for sure!
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