Na’atik’s online Spanish language immersion program kicked off the month of June with a Virtual Intercambio or Intercultural Exchange around the theme of mental health. The Intercambio was an opportunity to reflect on education and inner work from May, which was Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States.

As parts of the world begin to see relief from the COVID-19 pandemic, many have found themselves figuring out what mental health looks like . The common thread, whether in the depths of isolation or emerging from beneath our respective rocks, is connection, according to the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) “5 Steps to Mental Well-being.”

While some of these steps are directly related to connecting with our circle of seres queridos (loved ones), we can look at these as a guide to finding a general sense of feeling grounded. We can work toward an overarching, holistic connectedness through body awareness in physical activity, being generous with our time or talents, practicing mindfulness, and participating in a learning community when learning a new skill.

 Our online Spanish students and local English students were able to put several of these into practice by participating in our June Intercambio, sharing their native language mastery to help others in second-language acquisition and learning more about each other in the process. 

“I learned that some … would go to their favorite places in nature and be secluded and write either songs or poems,” says Mary Frankenthal, one of Na’atik’s online Spanish students. “Music was a big thing that kept almost everyone sane.”

Some of the recommendations for mental wellbeing had overlap, such as gardening (physical activity) and connecting to the outdoors (mindfulness).

Lenore Goldstein, a Spanish student who is currently living in Carrillo, and Ivonne Cruz Santander, a local English student, both bonded over this shared hobby.

“I enjoyed speaking with [Ivonne], who is a scientist and a mom, and it was fun to share how we both garden to keep ourselves sane and calm and outdoors,” says Lenore.

For another Spanish student, Karen Powell, the experience of participating in our Intercambio was enlightening in and of itself.

“It was really fun to get to know the jovenes (young students) in Carrillo,” she says. “It was also helpful [for language learning] to hear accents.”

Na’atik’s Virtual Intercambios are an opportunity for our Spanish immersion students to connect with our local English students, whose programming is heavily subsidized by our Spanish and Maya classes. Participating is donation-based.

 If you’d like to practice your Spanish skills and join in on our next Intercambio (typically Saturdays at 11 am Central Time) and sign up for Spanish or Maya language classes, contact Erica at say@naatikexico.org.