El Lago del Bosque Savannah | Spanish Language Village

Hasta la proxima

By cmoraga | Published: July 26, 2009

Parents, villagers, counselors, directors, and friends of the language villages,

Tristemente, El Lago del Bosque Savannah has come to a close. We had a very succesfull session and are already looking forward to next year. On behalf of the entire staff, thank you to the parents and villagers for making language learning a priority.

As always, click on photos to see the enlarged version. Also, because not all photos fit on one blog page, please click “read more”. Hopefully you have enjoyed the updates and pictures of the happy campers. It was fun working and living together at el Lago del Bosque. ¡Sí se puede!

Marisol, blogmaster ’09

Marisol's group demonstrates what they learned for the parents: commands, directions, movements, body parts, and numbers.

¡Felicidades! Isabel, Carlota, Lucía, and Lorena spoke ONLY Spanish for an entire day. They all got the 'super super español' award.

José, Guillermo, Carina, Alejo, Lorena, Lucía, Cristina, and Carolina were in the most advanced charla with Alba!

Carlos, Lolita, Denis, Olivia, Pablo, Mariana, Máximo, Cecilia, and Elena gather together on the last night.

Benito, Ema, Isable, Tomás, Zoila, Rey, Carlota, and Celia smile and show off their certificates.

Marisol, Erika, Diana, Diego, Eduardo and Rosa show the certificates they received after the banquet.

'Carla', dressed up as the queen of the 'fallas' celebration.

The Spanish celebrations continue! Villagers wore 'pañuelos' and made lots of noise as they paraded toward the fire.

Dark clothes are typical during 'fallas'. In this picture, the campers are learning the 'Paquito el Chocolatero' dance.

¡Feliz cumpleaños Ema!

Enjoy the rest of the summer.

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A succesful session comes to a close.

By cmoraga | Published: July 23, 2009

As always, click “read more” to see all of the pictures.

Stay tuned because there will be one more blog posted this weekend. After the campers leave.

The villagers always have creative ways to present the menu.

Queen Ema and the joker, Celia, present the lunch menu.

Carolina and Cristina are focused on their work during 'charla'.

Alba's charla prepares for their presentation.

Olivia makes 'platanos fritos' during cooking class.

Bull's eye! 'Tiro con arco' is always a big hit.

Just hangin' out . . .

During Inti-Raymi, a Incan celebration, we learned a traditional dance.

The campers with twisted ankles bond during dance time.

Benito, the Inca, gets ready to "sacrifice" the llama.

Marisol, Blogmaster 2009

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More photos from El Lago del Bosque.

By cmoraga | Published: July 20, 2009

To see more pictures, click “read more”. Also, you can click on each picture to enlarge it. Enjoy the blog and stay tuned.

Gabriela leads a group discussion during a role-play activity.

Our two counselors from Spain, Alba and Lolita, are dressed in traditional Incan costumes for the 'programa de noche'.

Get ready for water aerobics with Super Carmen!

The 'llamas' family enjoys the Sunday picnic.

The 'Linces' family takes a minute to smile for the camera during the Sunday picnic.

Here we have even more 'ilustraciones de los libros cómicos'.

In this picture, the 'aldeanos' are illustrating the comic books that they wrote.

'Disco volador' (ultimate frisbee) was a popular Sunday afternoon activity.

'Aldeanos' sit on the stage and await the next activity.

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El Lago del Bosque is in full swing!

By cmoraga | Published: July 18, 2009

Parents and villagers, you can always press “read more” at the bottom of the page to see more photos and blogs. Stay tuned for more photos next week!

: Isabel and Rosa are engaged in their latino hairstyling activity.

: Cecilia buys a snack with euros at the 'tienda' and chats with Benito.

: ¡Olé! José and Erika dance the Merengue.

: Denís got the 'big heart' award and Diego got the 'Super Español' award. ¡Felicitaciones!

: These villagers were "fishing" during Thursday's night program, 'juegos de la calle' (street games).

: Villagers earned lemonade and cookies after finding out how Chileans celebrate Independence Day.

: Celia, Carlota, Rey, Jose, Lucía, and Cristina, sip on lemonade at Café Salvaje.

: Rosa and Erika are all tied up and ready for the 'carrera de tres pies'.

: Go Cecilia! Uno, dos, tres . . . treinta y dos (32)

: Everyone in Casa México shares their 'rosas y espinas' (highs and lows) before going to bed.

: Casa Argentina gathers around the table before cabin council.

Marisol,

Blogmaster, 2009

Posted in News |

Video from July 10

By cmoraga | Published: July 17, 2009

Parents and campers from session ss32 and 2248, we have now posted a short video from the dance we learned after burning ‘las fallas’. Click the link below to see the video!

paquito-el-chocolatero

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Having fun during week one! SS52

By cmoraga | Published: July 16, 2009

In this picture, campers and counselors reenact a US-Mexican border crossing simulation.

One volunteer from each casa plays cultural jeopardy each day. So far, Casa Argentina is in the lead.

Pool party!!

During ‘canto y baile’, everyone learned the penguine dance.

Casa España gathers together to play the map game with Alba.

Denise, Tomás, Diego, and Carmen bring Chilean empanadas back to their tables!

Rosa, Elena, Lorena, Lucía, and Isabel smile for the camera. Notice the tie-dyed shirts they made that are hanging to dry!

Marisol,

Blogmaster 2009

Posted in News |

Goodbye and Hello

By cmoraga | Published: July 14, 2009

The counselors are sad to see the campers go, but excited for the next batch of campers to arrive!

The campers show their Spanish skills to the parents during closing ceremony, on July 11th.

The parents listen to their children singing and cheering in Spanish.

Here we have ‘fallas’, ‘molas’, and other typical Spanish art pieces made by campers during week one and two.

THE NEXT SESSION BEGINS!

Here, Carina checks in with Esperanza on her first day.

Alejo makes his way through ‘aduana’ (customs).

New friends, Celia and Carolina, sit at Cafe Salvaje on day one.

Marisol,

Blogmaster 2009

Posted in News |

Time flies when you are having fun!

By cmoraga | Published: July 11, 2009

The counselors showed off some "talents" too! We sure know how to dress up and have a good time.

At the talent show, the counselors showed off some moves!

Casa México choreographed a dance to a camp favorite, "Tunak Tunak".

: Go Diego! His break dance skills were a huge hit at “El Lago del Bosque Visión”, talent show 2009.

: Charito, our camp nurse, poses in front of the Indian Counsel House.

The campers warm up before starting their volleyball match.

Here, Alba and Lolita, the counselors from Spain, explain the "falla" ceremony that takes place in Valencia every spring.

The campers all put on their "panhuelos" before the ceremonious burning of the "fallas".

The campers all put on their "pañuelos" before the ceremonious burning of the "fallas".

The "chicas" from Casa España relax on the porch.

Miguel and Adán show off the "recogedor de plata", the award their cabin won for keeping things neat and tidy.

Thanks for a great session at El Lago del Bosque! We will miss all the campers.

Marisol,

Blogmaster 2009

Posted in News |

Look at what we have done this week!

By cmoraga | Published: July 10, 2009

These campers all took the "super español" challenge. They spoke ONLY Spanish for 5 hours. Congratulations to Silvia, Carolina, Carina, Teresita, Adriana, and Fernando.

: The camp mascot, a Georgian peach, teaches the fruit song and reviews cultural information during “grupo grande”.

Benito and Robiño take a minute to smile for the camera.

: Marisol, Silvia, and María make a traditional Spanish dessert during “culinaria”.

Here is the main lodge where we gather for group activities.

Welcome to Casa México!

This picture was taken during "canto y baile"- a time when we sing, dance, and work up an appetite!

For one of our night programs we did "el cocinero del hiero" (the iron chef). In this picture, the winning team works on their "tucan" dessert.

During Wednesday's night program we did "el cocinero del hiero" (the iron chef). In this picture, the winning team works on their "tucan" dessert.

Mercedes smile for the camera and shows off the fabulous creation that she and her teammates made.

Samuel, Mercedes, and Carolina smile for the camera and show off the fabulous creation that they made.

Look at the beautiful "molas" that the campers made during art class!

Time is flies at El Lago del Bosque! The counselors will hate to see this fun group of campers leave on Saturday. Each and every one of them has improved his/her language skills in one way or another. Thank you, parents, for making this immersion experience a priority.

Please keep checking the blog because we will be posting at least another dozen photos from this week within the next few days.

Marisol,

Blogmaster 2009

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