Just over a week ago, twenty-one Proctor students set sail for Ocean Classroom’s 27th year of changing lives through a term at sea. Students and crew aboard World Ocean School’s schooner Roseway trained in Gloucester Bay to wait out inclement weather before heading north to The Gulf of Maine. We will post weekly updates from Ocean Classroom on The Buzz, but encourage you to check out the daily Ship’s Logs posted on World Ocean School’s website.
We were having dinner in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France when I received the call. As soon as I saw the incoming call from Mike Henriques on my iPhone screen I knew there would be no spring term and my heart sank.
Life is unpredictable. If you told us that this spring we would not be in France teaching but instead writing this blog from our unheated shop, turned into quarantine home in western Washington State, it would be hard to believe. Our son and his wife live in the house and Jen and I are quarantining. We all have social distancing stories to share I'm sure - here's ours.
For the last eight weeks, five Proctor sophomores have been immersed in Costa Rican culture, living with local host families, and learning an incredible amount of Spanish. Proctor in Costa Rica affords a language and cultural immersion experience to Proctor sophomores every winter and spring. Studying at the Monteverde Institute Costa Rica and living with local host families, students not only learn an incredible amount of Spanish and continue their regular sophomore level courses, but immerse themselves in one of the most biodiverse regions of the world. The sophomores studying on Proctor en Monteverde this winter reflect on their winter term abroad.
Our final trip while in Spain was to Málaga, down south in Andalucía and in the same region as Sevilla. Everyone met at the bus station as we normally would. And blast off, on the bus to Madrid, then to the subway, then finally to the high-speed train. Three hours later were walking through the streets of Málaga to get to our hotel, taking in murals and graffiti, as well as the warmer temperatures. The rest of the afternoon consisted of free time to wander the city, shop, and explore. I got lost. Then we joined back with Ryan for a little orientation, getting gelato, and seeing an ancient Roman theater in front of an old Moorish castle. The day wound down with an excellent dinner at a Spanish-Argentinian fusion tapas restaurant.
“If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living.” -Gail Sheehy
Proctor Academy's Mountain Classroom program nears the final stages of its ten-week adventure across the United States. As the group enters full circle and the independent student guided expedition, the growth of this group comes is palpable. Read more from this week's update.
This is our last week at home before heading to Florence for the final trip. It’s a week of wrapping up personal works, finishing our term long book project, and enjoying the last cups of Chocolat Viennois from Le Festival, the café where we have Literature class.
