AMITY INSTITUTE CULTURAL REPORT

FIRST REFLECTION: The Impact of an Internship

EDWARD FERNANDO CHIGUAZUQUE

AMITY INTERN ST LOUIS LANGUAGE IMMERSION SCHOOL IN MO (2021 -

2022) MAY 16TH, 2022

1775 Hancock Street, Suite 170, San Diego, California 92110 - (619)-222-7000
www.amity.org
SAINT LOUIS- MISSOURI

FIRST REFLECTION: NEW PERSPECTIVES- DIFFERENT SURROUNDINGS

 “You will never be completely at home again because part of your heart will always
be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing
people in more than one place.”

- Miriam Adeney

LIVING THE AMERICAN DREAM

When you first think of leaving your country, you do not even realize how many

things you will have to face in the future in a foreign land. Living the experience by

yourself, makes you feel excited, shy, passionate, and disorientated. My thoughts

about The United States were just about American Football, cheeseburgers, and

donuts. This is everything we know from the huge cultural barrier that can be only

seen through movies, tv shows, and other people´s experiences. I feel grateful I

found a unique opportunity to come to The United States as an Amity intern this

2021-2022 period. Many people from my country do not have the same

opportunities and it will be an honor for me to share with new coming interns

something about my experience and I will try to answer question like how to face

culture shock? how is living and sharing your life with a family you do not know at

all? how to teach in an American environment? and last but not least, tell my

feelings about places I never thought I could go.

1775 Hancock Street, Suite 170, San Diego, California 92110 - (619)-222-7000
www.amity.org
First of all, it is important to break out

all those misconceptions people might

have about being Latino and not being

able to go abroad to start building up

your new beginning or your future.

 Here, it is the biggest moment of your

parents when seeing you boarding the

airplane going to fulfill the American dream. It is alright to feel scared, it is alright to

feel anxious. Everything that takes you out of your comfort zone is the key to adapt

yourself to a new environment ,and to a new culture. And of course, it is not easy to

adapt yourself, but culture shock is proof that you are doing right.

I have to say that one of the things that are completely different from my home

country is transportation. Even though Colombia is not as big as The United States,

it is quite easy to get transportation almost everywhere. Most people in Colombia

do not have their own vehicles, and especially in

Bogotá, public transport is massive in

comparison to Saint Louis (MO), which allows

me to move more easily through the city without

any problem. In other words, getting around in

San Luis is a bit more complex but it is possible

to use the bicycle as an alternative means of

transportation more practically and healthily.

1775 Hancock Street, Suite 170, San Diego, California 92110 - (619)-222-7000
www.amity.org
Also, due to Colombia is a tropical country and is located in the Ecuador

zone, it does not allow us to have different seasons like in the States. It is quite

interesting to see how the sun sets at 9 at night, which makes very long days and

you can take advantage of it as much as possible. However, taking into account I

come from Bogotá, which is a cold city, and summer is a very beautiful season,
where many things could be done outdoors, this the terrible heat sometimes

reaches 100 degrees, and it makes me feel tired very easily. Nothing that could not

be fixed with a very cold drink.

On the other hand, living with another family different than yours gives you

the chance not only to get to know each other but also to be open-minded. It is the

right time to take a moment to compare two

worlds separated by different factors such the

language, the economy, and lifestyle. This is to

say that it allows you to understand people´s

behaviors, traditions, and

customs without being disrespectful. At first

impression, all of this seems like a great barrier

that will hardly be overcome. I have to say that

barriers are the perfect opportunity to prove to

yourself that this is just another step in the

process of adaptation to keep learning as much

as possible. I could say that my communication

skills have improved a lot, and the most

important thing is that I do it with more confidence.

1775 Hancock Street, Suite 170, San Diego, California 92110 - (619)-222-7000
www.amity.org
Furthermore, a simple thing I always have done with my family is to take a

moment in the night after a long day of work or school to talk to them, to know how

their day was, and to set the table to have dinner together. This is not the exception
in the United States, and this is one of my favorite moments during the day because

it simply makes me feel that I am at home. Moreover, I find it very familiar that

American families greatly appreciate the fact of sharing with relatives without

interruptions such as cellphones, televisions, or any type of technological device

because this is a valuable time.

I as a foreigner, the best and easiest way to

share

with the family something about me and my

culture is

through having the opportunity to make dinner and

let

them know that what they are eating is a typical

dish

from my country. In fact, looking at their faces and

seeing their big smile when having dinner together

and

a simple "thank you Edward for preparing dinner today",

shows everything turns out good and my mom did well

when teaching me to cook.

1775 Hancock Street, Suite 170, San Diego, California 92110 - (619)-222-7000
www.amity.org
To continue with, I want to describe my initial observations and explorations

as an Amity Intern at St Louis Immersion Language School (SLLIS) - Missouri. This

school is a primary and middle school, and it is well known due to the teaching
method implemented in the acquisition of a second language. the school is lead in

the implementation of the Gomez and Gomez Dual language Method which

consists of the teaching of a second language making use of good bases of the

mother tongue to transfer all the communication skills (writing, reading, speaking,

listening) that have been built and taught from one language to the other .

In other matters, The St Louis Language School (SLLIS) has 3 different

programs for the second language which are: Spanish, the biggest program in the

school, French and Chinese. parents can choose

one of the 3 programs since kinder garden and

continue with the process of the acquisition of the

second language until the last year of middle

school. Hence, as an intern, I have the opportunity

to know people from all over the world. There are

so many qualified teaches from China, France,

Haiti, Mexico, Spain, Colombia, Honduras, and

some more countries. The good thing about having

different programs at the school is that you can

celebrate and know about each culture like the

Chinese moon festival that is celebrated on the first

full moon of the fall season.

1775 Hancock Street, Suite 170, San

Diego, California 92110 - (619)-222-7000
www.amity.org
Additionally, the Spanish assistant

program has allowed me to have excellent

mentors, who have patiently shared part

of their

knowledge and experience with me. Together

with the teacher Jose Manuel and teacher

Julieta, I have started my learning process with

kindergarten children, which I have to confess

that it is not easy to start from scratch and begin

to teach little people full of different characters, cultures, and languages, it is a real

challenge. Therefore, some of the tasks I have been performing are taking care of

students who have been struggling in the classes. The idea is to take students

aside in small groups to work on very specific activities such as spelling activities,

small writing tasks, and math games to catch up with the program. As well, working

together with the lead teachers to prepare additional materials and activities allows

me to exploit my creativity.

1775 Hancock Street, Suite 170, San Diego, California 92110 - (619)-222-7000
www.amity.org
 Finally, the experience of being
an

intern in The United States has shown

me

how different cultures can get together

and

learn from each other. It's not easy to

live with

anyone you do not know or even people

you

dearly love. It's also hard to watch, to

share

the most intimate aspects of your life

without

the ability to filter. Hence, you can keep

growing and learning from new and unique

experiences in your life that will eventually

reward you with many friends, adventures and

it will always make you feel at home wherever you go. I just want to smile, enjoy the

adventure of traveling the world, and give my 100% to become the best

professional

in my field.
1775 Hancock Street, Suite 170, San Diego, California 92110 - (619)-222-7000
www.amity.org