Comments on: Sabbatical Thoughts

By: Jason

Jason — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:44:52 +0000

Be sure to plan a Sunday morning stop in Nashville! It would be a great joy to have you join us for worship.

By: Nezuko

Nezuko — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:21:52 +0000

If you do the California wing of that trip, and need a safe haven in the San Francisco Bay Area, a friend here to take you to the sights, a place to do laundry, or whatever, I volunteer.

By: Everett

Everett — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:27:11 +0000

Hi PB,

If you think you’ll make it down to San Diego on the California leg of your trip, you’re welcome to stay with us. We’re members of First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego, which is a large congregation, and there are smaller UU congregations in the area as well.

(And it turns out that one of your high school singing chums is one of my wife’s college singing chums, so we come with references!)

Drop a line if you’re interested.

By: KJR

KJR — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:21:49 +0000

I have studied at six different Spanish language schools in many different cities in Mexico and in Guatemala. Where to study depends a lot on your goals. These days every Spanish speaking country has schools in many, many, different places. I would pick a place you might enjoy visiting but avoid an area with lots and lots of language schools like Antigua or Cuernavaca. (too many Americans and less personal attention) If you want immersion, pick a city that won’t be overrun with Americans.

Host families vary widely, depending on the country and the price. My Mexican experiences were somewhat better in terms of the quality of the accomodations. However, if you are the kind of person that is fussy or likes things “just so” don’t do a homestay. I’m not fussy and I really enjoyed it and learned something, but a number of women complained about the cleanliness, the food, etc. even in rather clean, pleasant, but not American standard accomodations.

NRCSA is a good clearinghouse for schools and rates them. I liked the schools I picked through them somewhat better than the ones I found on my own, but they were a bit more expensive.

A personal favorite for a city in Mexico was Oaxaca. It was big enough to have a lot of interesting things to do — nearby ruins, lots of nearby villages with artisans, a great zocalo for people watching and eating. Small enough to do a lot of walking or cheap cabs. Temperate climate.

I found my time there I got lots of reading and writing done, but you have to bring your own books and I had a hard time carrying enough for three weeks! Three weeks is really a lot better than two. The third week I always made a lot of progress. [Thanks, hon. I’m thinking of starting my Spanish immersion studies in Boston this summer! Kinda pricey, though. Geez. And one of my pet peeves is Americans who travel and expect everywhere else to be like home. Have a great trip to DC next week!! xoxo - PB]

By: Chalicechick

Chalicechick — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:20:50 +0000

New idea: Do this. Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo. [I love the whole Matt thing. It makes me so happy. -PB]

By: Tony Lorenzen

Tony Lorenzen — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:04:38 +0000

Borderlands Center at Brite Divinity School at TCU in Fort Worth, TX

Luis Bernard
Director of the Borderlands Center for Latina/o Church Studies
l.c.bernard@tcu.edu
817.257.7589
http://www.brite.tcu.edu/degrees/borderlands.asp

And, of course, if you do happen to be in the Fort Worth area, you are most welcome to visit us at Pathways Church, UU.

By: Diane Miller

Diane Miller — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 04:40:40 +0000

One less well known home-stay with classes language immersion program is in Queretaro, Mexico. It’s an hour or so north of Mexico City. I didn’t do the program, but I’ve visited friends there in a beautiful and largely unnoticed UN World Heritage Site town, one of the old Colonial Cities. My friends wanted to practice their English, so my idea of reviving my Espanol didn’t go far. After some wonderful time in the mountains, seeing some old churches, I got the notion of retracing the path of Junipero Serra, walking through the Sierra Gorda mountains and up Baja and the Pacific coast where he founded missions. I’d love to trace Thomas Starr King routes, which would be an interesting project. But if I had a sabbatical I doubt that I’d do either one. Queretaro is about half an hour from San Miguel de Allende in case you want to visit the UU fellowship there, see Virginia and Farley Wheelwright, or hear a lot of ex-pats talking.

The RT drive is an ordeal. I’d suggest flying in to one place and renting a car for a segment of the tour. One Way is the maximum to consider, IMHO. I just drove a few hours on the Kansas section of Interstate 70, including the first section of the Eisenhower interstate plan that opened, near his home town of course, Abileen. A few hours wasn’t bad, but days and days are another story.

By: Christine Robinson

Christine Robinson — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:36:11 +0000

Yikes, PB, that’s way a lot of plans. If I were you I’d ditch one of those trips. (I went to Guatamala using Amerispan to help me plan. It was a great outfit but that was 15 years ago. There’s nothing like a homestay and private lessons in a country where nobody speaks English to force you to take the risks of practicing what you learned.

If I were planning this I’d give myself three weeks of “entry” and three weeks of “re-entry”.

Good Luck!

By: Tandaina

Tandaina — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:36:18 +0000

Later January: go somewhere Spanish-speaking and warm, take an intensive Spanish language course, and rest for 2-3 weeks. Any ideas for locations, escuelas?

Yes I do! How does Austin Texas sound? ETSS (Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest) is there. We do lots of hispanic ministry in the area and Spanish is taught on campus. While you might not want to join the Spanish intensive on campus (since you’re looking to avoid that!) the professor might be able to hook you up with a Spanish intensive in the area. (We do a Spanish intensive including ministry immersion in Jan so your timing is perfect.)

Email me if you want more info!

By: Manda

Manda — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:15:30 +0000

Hi Peacebang,
Thanks again for meeting with me at Festival of Homiletics. I appreciated your great ideas, and am weaving them into my wardrobe. Good luck in your sabbatical planning. Here’s my suggestion for a Spanish-language immersion program, of which I participated when I was on sabbatical in 2002: http://www.cpi-edu.com
This is the website for CPI (Centro Panamericano de Idiomas), which has three locations in Costa Rica - either by the Pacific Ocean, rainforest, or San Jose. You choose your location, or move around to experience one each week. The program was excellent, with high-quality teachers. They were very organized and helped arrange transportation to and from the schools. You live with a local family and go to class for part of the day, with optional activities offered throughout the weeks (and I spent a lot of time on the nearby playa swimming and relaxing). I stayed for four weeks and learned MUCHO ESPANOL. If I had the opportunity to do it again, I would either go back to Costa Rica, which is a stable, relatively safe country, or, as suggested in an earlier comment, find a school in Nicaragua, which is my favorite country to visit. The people are so full of hope amid such challenges. Buenos suerte!

I currently have one more month of my three month sabbatical to go, and am happy that I did not overplan, but left lots of room for the Holy Spirit which has filled my time with delightful, unexpected insights and opportunities. I would also urge you to not overplan.

Blessings!