As I write this, I’m hoping the passenger next to me can’t hear that I’m blasting Adele through my headphones to drown out the conversations on an airplane destined for San Jose, Costa Rica. I’m headed on a Spanish immersion trip for teachers with Common Ground International and so far they’ve done a phenomenal job answering all of my anal questions and preparing us for an unforgettable experience. I’ll be staying with host families for three weeks, one in Granada, Nicaragua, and two in Santo Domingo, a suburb of San Jose. 

Like most teachers, I’m a pretty dedicated list-maker, and all about “keeping the end in mind.” So of course, before I actually embark upon this almost-month-long Central American excursion, I need to outline my goals for this trip. 

1) Improve MY Spanish. This was priority number one for booking this trip in the first place. This upcoming school year, I’ll be going for my National Board Certification, and as a world language teacher I have to achieve an Advanced proficiency level in Spanish on the ACTFL written and oral exams. After a few years of teaching Spanish 1 & 2 and using adequate Spanish with my patient native-speaking colleagues, my Spanish needs a boost. I’ve never been able to achieve ACTFL advanced, so I’m hoping three weeks of one on one Spanish classes and living with a host family will give my language the push it needs. I’m going to commit myself to spending as much time with native speakers as possible, which is different from my times abroad in earlier years, when my priorities swung more towards adventuring with my new interesting ex-pat friends. Now that my boyfriend and I have turned each other into homebodies and teaching has turned me into a person who unapologetically goes to bed a 830pm, I feel like my urge to get in on the backpacker scene has all but evaporated. If I’m going to make friends in-country, it will be through my host family, not through the folks staying at the hostel down the street, which is going to help my Spanish immensely. 

2) Find opportunities for my students. I’m sure the connections I’m building on this trip will help me create more authentic experiences in the classroom for my students, and I’m hoping to build relationships in the countries that my students may be able to benefit from. I work at one of the best public middle-schools in the area that draws from a relatively high-ses community. I would love to find a way on this trip for them to give back to students who are less fortunate than them, though it might be a tricky thing to accomplish. This year our school is also transitioning to PBL-based instruction, so building relationships with other teachers in the country can only help with bringing Spanish to life for my students.

3) Aprovechar. I want to lean in to this experience abroad and really take advantage of it for all its worth. I’ve definitely been guilty of going abroad and spending hours in an Internet cafe talking to my friends at home. I am committing to staying in touch with my loved ones, but I want to try not to spend a ton of time thinking about what I’m missing (which is a lot, sorry family, I love you). I am going to be asking my host family to spend time with them and act on their suggestions for adventures, which I’m sure they will happily provide. 

4) Grow my PLN. I save this goal for last, since part of my goal is going to be to unplug from my phone, but one of my summer projects is to get more involved with other teachers online. I’m going to use this experience to share with them and grow that PLN that my principal keeps bugging us about. There’s not much of a better way to test out the waters online than to shamelessly share travel photos. Maybe I’ll finally download Instagram too (omg!).

I’m excited about this opportunity to grow as a Spanish teacher and will try to post on how I’m coming in achieving my PD goals. Have you ever spent time abroad as part of your summer professional development? What were your goals before you left? Did you accomplish them? Let me know in the comments below 🙂