Turrón de Alicante

What a nice surprise this afternoon to go to my mailbox and find a package sent from Spain by my former student, Nicole Pivato. And an even nicer surprise to open it and find a turrón inside. (Turrón is a special treat made with almonds that is eaten during the Christmas holiday season in Spain.)

But the real treat is hearing from a former student and finding out what is going on in her life. Nicole received a Fulbright Scholarship to teach English abroad. She is living in Madrid and teaching in Alcalá de Henares "en un colegio con primer and segundo ciclos y 5 años infantil. Los niños son muy majos y también muy listos."

Nicole was a wonderful Spanish community-based learning student. She was studying to be a Spanish teacher, and she did her community learning work at BTW elementary. That was a smart way to combine her efforts and put into practice not only what she learned in my "Spanish in the Community" course but also her education courses. Then this Fulbright opportunity arose. In the letter of recommendation I wrote about her dedication to community-based learning and the classroom experience it gave her with Spanish-speaking youth. I don't know how the Fulbright committee makes its decisions, but I firmly believe that her CBL work made her application even stronger.

¡Felices Fiestas, Nicole! ¡Felices fiestas a todos mis estudiantes!
Ann

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