Single Mom & Niña Spanish Immersion #workingsummer
Five years ago I became a Certified School Social Worker at the High School in my community. I remember the first week in my new office and it changing my life forever. The life stories that fled in and left me longing to do more has been unthinkable. At that time, my daughter was five and within a year I’d find myself divorced and doing things SOLO! Through this time of transition I had worked on finding myself. I hadn’t been alone in over ten years and faced with a new reality. I got back to the things I had once enjoyed in my late adolescence; people, music and culture! I found myself dancing;learning Salsa, Cumbia, Bachata and so much more! This was a way to communicate without having a spoken language! I found myself within conflict between a language barrier, my career and my mission to help others.
Our district has taken the initiative to implement an educational program for the fast growing population of Hispanic students. However, we do not have a Bilingual Social Worker. I work with a large population of immigrant students. I find it difficult and frustrating that I cannot understand and have a basic conversation with them. I took several years of Spanish and Italian from Middle School through College. I would like to refresh my skills and gain confidence to become competent in speaking Spanish. This would assist students who walk into my office! This being said, I have decided to make this trip to Mexico with my daughter along side of me. This will enrich our districts mission, the lives of my students and help Gia and I bond. We will gain an educational experience that will leave lasting footprints on both of our hearts.
This next part isn't easy to share, I'm still adjusting to our lifestyle and changes that we have had to make. This is part of our story, and the most important! My daughter was recently diagnosed with High Functioning Autism. It's been a long road for both of us. We recently took a trip together, which caused anxiety for both of us. While on vacation, I saw a different child. One who loved to explore, make new friends and let her momma dance and just be silly! This experience will add to the needed extracurricular enrichment and socialization she needs to grow into an adolescent and allow her to gain the needed skills to make friends and cope in socially difficult situations!
We will be homesteading with different families and embracing new culture. Part of the work I will bringing back to Kingston, New York is for our Internship & Career Center. I will be learning about their textiles, clothing, weaving and other hand crafted goods to find work places that welcome their culture! As part of my overall mission to help others, I have found a local not-for-profit agency within the community. My daughter and I will be volunteering over the course of 7 weeks and have already started the process.
Our 7 week stay will be during the schools summer break. We will stay in Merida, Mexico for 7 weeks and participate in 6 weeks of programming. With my daughter being on the spectrum we need a few days to settle into the new culture! We are hoping to raise $3000 or more for this $11,100 trip. The full cost of this program includes the education for one adult and one child, homestead, meals, and transportation. We have set aside our own funding and have several sponsorships to make this possible! However we are short just over $3000.
