Home is where your family is...
Family vacation at Na'atik Language and Cultural Institute
Na'atik Spanish classes
Mexican cooking class
Chichen Itza Mexico
This month the Morgan family from California spent four weeks in Felipe Carrillo Puerto studying Spanish and living with the Garcia Uicab homestay family. Now, even with two travel-savvy parents traveling off the beaten track is no easy feat with three children under ten!More and more we’re seeing families with an increased desire to give their children not only exposure to a language but also exposure to different cultures. And, more often than not, the children of the families who choose cultural immersion from Na’atik Language and Cultural Institute return on their own once they’re older to top up their language skills.Knowing that they would be with us for a full month, we placed the Morgans with one of our homestay families who have a daughter around the same age as their eldest; Cecil. Instant playmates – tick! Being here for a period of time, especially as a family of five, they needed their own space as well as integration into their new Mexican-Maya family so we knew the Garcia-Uicab’s home layout would be able to cope with the increased footfall!The family arrived in one of the hottest, sweatiest months imaginable, but the kids adapted better than we ever could have imagined. Cooling off in the pool and shade seeking when needed. We have air-conditioned classrooms so although we like to think that our students turn up early because they’re all so keen to study, it might also have a tiny bit to do with cooling off before their lesson!Due to the different levels, we split our family up for lessons, both Sandy and Shea (the parents) work with young people back in the US so they were looking to improve their Spanish to help them communicate better within their community. Working with our Spanish teacher Paulino, they first established their level and then tailored a program to meet their needs.The kids had their lessons with our Spanish teacher Jimmy, he used games and quizzes to engage them and build confidence when speaking to their homestay families. The great thing about a Spanish immersion program, at any level, is that you can apply what you’ve learned in your lesson back at home with your homestay to really embed. Practice makes perfect!The Morgan family really do have a sense of adventure so at the weekends naturally, they wanted to explore further afield. Coming in the summer holiday meant that all three of their homestay family’s children were off school/university, along with homestay dad Felipe, who is a teacher. The families instantly clicked and were invited to tag along on family trips to Bacalar and Chetumal, Chichen Itza and Coba. We also offer a number of excursions and activities which they joined us for.The kids especially were sad to leave having really embedded into the Na’atik community and their parents even said they were surprised at how well they had adapted to their new surroundings. Whether it was riding in the back of Felipe’s pickup truck down a highway, making their own empanadas and guacamole, practicing their Spanish at every opportunity, exploring Felipe Carrillo Puerto or just making lifelong friendships with their homestay family the Morgan family embraced every part of their stay in Carrillo.We hope they’ll all come back and visit us again soon.
If you would like to read more about Mexican culture, history, cuisine and language, check out our blog page for our latest monthly articles. You can also sign up to our newsletter to receive these straight to your inbox along with the latest news about our non-profit school for local and Indigenous students in Felipe Carrillo Puerto.
The best way to experience the Mexican lifestyle is in person, with a Na’atik Immersion experience. Not only do you live with a local Mexican-Maya family, sharing home-cooked meals and free time, but also receive expert instruction in your chosen language at our school. Best of all, every immersion experience helps fund our subsidized and free local education program, helping local students to access opportunities and make their own futures.