Tierra Nuestra

A few weeks ago, (I realize I am very behind in posting, bear with me, its been a rough/busy couple of weeks!) our fifth grade class had our big overnight trip to an estancia out in the campo. There is a non-profit foundation called Fundacion Tierra Nuestra that goes around to different schools in Asuncion and the neighboring suburbs and teaches the kids about ecology, the environment, and different ways to care for the earth. This fundacion raises money by having camping trips for schools that have a money. Our kids pay money (almost $100) to spend two days camping in a bunk type setting with different counselors doing all sorts of activities. I fully support the idea and I think its a great way for the fundacion to raise money while getting our students out of the city and realizing that there are different things to do instead of watching TV. In fact, our students were not allowed to bring any electronics with them on the trip, except for a camera.
We traveled by bus for almost 2 hours to get to the estancia. The location was absolutely beautiful, with a view of the Paraguayan hill in the background of the soccer field.
The fundacion had some excellent games and activities for the kids, including making instruments from recycled materials, making chipa (a bread made from mandioca flour), night games with scary stories, and free time to ride horses and play soccer.
It was a great way to spend some time with the students outside of the classroom and a test to my Spanish skills since the whole weekend was in Spanish! I was proud of myself when my American students were asking me to translate for them the scary story, because usually, its the other way around!