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03/02/2008: "Dispatches From The Field"

Spain – Trek to Santiago de Compostela, Galicia
(Kaj Benson, Lucas Peralta, Ashleigh Barnes, Zach Milkis, Sonja Anderson, Evan Anderson, Chelsea DeCouteau, Katie Johnson, Gabe Colburn and Ingrid Carlson)

One group is in Spain, led by SSIS Spanish and English teachers, Adam and Angie Erickson. Students will be trekking throughout Spain and participating in a Spanish language immersion and cultural studies program.

The Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, in northwestern Spain that has been followed since the 10th century. There is no official starting point for the pilgrimage, as religious pilgrims from all over Europe would simply depart from wherever they happened to live (Germany, England, Italy, France etc.).

Goethe once stated that “Europe was built on the road to Santiago.” It was here that the citizens of so many nations first shared ideas, technology and language as they walked to the shrine of the Apostle Santiago (James).

Modern pilgrims walk the camino for many purposes aside from the traditionally religious intent: athletic, spiritual and cultural. One of the best things about hiking on the Camino is the chance to experience authentic rural Spanish life in a way that a tourist never could.

Our students will come to understand what it means to be an ambassador for their country, their state and their school, while practicing their Spanish and learning about Spain. They will gain an especially intimate view of Spanish culture as they spend 8 days living with local families and attending a local high school in the town of Astorga, Leon.

This 500-mile trek across northern Spain will not only provide our students with a deep understanding of the country, but, as they overcome the physical and spiritual challenges along the way, they will also come to better know themselves.





The Aisa Trip


The Asia group, led by SSIS co-founders Ted and Peg Hope, has landed in Bangkok, Thailand, and will be making their way through Thailand, India and to their eventual destination in Bhutan. The SSIS student group is: Christian Carter, Bryce Fintel, Felipe Carbonell III, Amelia Carver, Chloe Choi, Peter Duggins, Laura Kriete-Bain, Joshua Lehr, Grant Schwinge and Kai Wilson.

The program offers students an in-depth, cross-cultural educational experience among village people in Asia. It provides a structured and intellectually demanding schedule of cultural study, field study, interaction and exploration. The program seeks to enhance empathy across cultures and celebrate diversity. In particular, the program helps students begin to feel what it means to be Thai, Indian, or Bhutanese. The chief influence on learning in this program will come from being a participant in daily village life.
The experience -- the immersion in village life -- becomes the main teacher. The Asia program is physically, spiritually, and emotionally strenuous and often places intellectual and physical demands on students that can create a remarkable, transformational experience. The nature of the challenge is different, so too are the rewards. The program has a quality staff of experienced trip leaders, faculty, and administrators.

American Southwest Ecological/ Cultural Studies
The third group, led by SSIS Middle School teacher Sharon Massey, will travel to the American Southwest. The SSIS student group is: Jonathan Balise, Alex Oettinger, Joanna Leff, Rachel Yang, Dong Hyun Nam, InSeok Hwang and Forrest Allison.

The group will travel south by van to Red Rock Canyon country in N. Arizona and S. Utah. Cultural and environmental studies will include studying the Anasazi culture, visiting ruins and backpacking to remote areas as well as working with a local group on condor studies and reintroduction programs. The group will visit the Grand Canyon and hike the S. Rim.

The trip includes a four-day service project with staff of Grand Canyon National Park, helping remove invasive plants throughout the Colorado River corridor.
The group will travel home through Utah, exploring National Parks and day hiking to exciting locales.