Visit and video chat: Escuela Ceferino Namuncurá

Notes from the field: Sara Reid

On Thursday, November 17^th students from the Escuela Ceferino Namuncurá in Argentina and the Hollister Dual Language Academy (HDLA) in California virtually crossed borders and learned more about each other during the first video chat between the sister schools. The video chat involved students and teachers in all grades from both schools, plus some family members of HDLA students. Staff members from the sister parks helped organize the event; Veronica Johnson and Kimberley Sawyer participated at HDLA, and Parque Nacional Quebrada del Condorito park ranger Mariano Passano and myself were present at Ceferino Namuncurá.

The children asked questions that ranged from what sports they play, to what they learn in school, to what animals live in their area. Questions and answers about food required some explanation, since students in Argentina have never seen a taco, and students at HDLA don’t know that locro is a traditional squash soup. A question about extracurricular activities resulted in a girl from Ceferino Namuncurá displaying the weaving she was working on, and a boy describing the crafts and tools they make with leather. The students realized they have many things in common, such as sports and the subjects they study in school. They also were fascinated by their differences, such as the fact that students at Ceferino Namuncurá all have horses, and most students at HDLA arrive to school by car. Students in both schools enjoyed the exchange and were thrilled to talk with children across the world in their sister school.

After an hour and twenty minutes the students signed off but I remained at the sister school to continue the exchange and learn more about the realities of the students. The school is located just outside the national park in a regional hydrologic preserve. The nearest town is three hours away on a dirt and rock road. The school is surrounded by protected pampa, or grassland ecosystems, with small and dispersed homesteads dotting the landscape. Many of the students live in these nearby ranches where their families have lived for generations, making their living by raising sheep and cattle. In fact it was local parents who built the school in 1967 so their children could receive an education and remain in the countryside. Today the Escuela Ceferino Namuncurá not only provides a high quality education to students in what appears to be the middle of nowhere, it also supports the traditional livelihoods of rural highland families.

The school is difficult to get to and most families do not own vehicles, so the students at Ceferino Namuncurá live for three weeks at the school and return to their homes for about a week. Both studying and living in the school, everybody works as a team, much like a family. Teachers and children eat their meal together, and chores such as cleaning up after the meal are shared. After class, students and teachers gather in the ‘living room’ to do homework, watch television, and work on arts and crafts. At bedtime the older students help the younger ones get ready for bed, and the teachers sleep in the same dormitory rooms as the students. On the weekends, after the students and teachers clean the school together, they go out for hikes, or visit their elderly neighbor who greets them with fresh baked bread. The students are all like brothers and sisters, and the teachers fill the roles of parents, nurses, friends and role models, twenty four hours a day.

The fact that the students, and teachers, live together makes for a school situation different than any I’ve ever experienced. At the end of my two days at the Escuela Ceferino Namuncurá, I felt like part of the family. The students were open, loving, and proud to share their school with me. Leaving the school I was sad to say goodbye, but inspired by all that we have to learn from each other. I look forward to continued sister school exchanges that will be unique opportunities to enrich the lives of all of the students, teachers, national park staff, and community members involved.