Episode Transcript
[00:00:10] Speaker A: This is the Owlcast, the official podcast of ACS Athens.
Listen to the exciting story of the American community schools of Athens.
Check out what drives all the members of our international community of learners as we create the education of the future here's. John Papadakis.
[00:00:46] Speaker B: In an international school setting, especially during dedicated Heritage Months, is a powerful way to foster inclusivity and appreciation for the rich tapestry of backgrounds that make up the community.
During Hispanic Heritage Month, which typically spans from September 15 to October 15, students have the opportunity to delve into the diverse and vibrant cultures of the Hispanic world. From the colorful traditions of Mexico's Dia de los Muertos to the passionate rhythms of the music, there is a wealth of fascinating aspects to explore. Students can learn about the importance of family in Hispanic culture, the impact of influential figures like Frida Carlo and Gabrielle Garcia Marquez and Savor. The delicious cuisine. Embracing Hispanic heritage not only allows students to appreciate the contribution of Spanish speaking communities, but also encourages cross cultural connections and fosters a sense of unity and respect for one another.
Continuing the celebration throughout the year, other Heritage Months will bring forth equally intriguing facets of the world's cultural mosaic. These celebrations offer opportunities for crosscultural learning, highlighting the importance of embracing diversity and understanding the unique histories, traditions and contributions of its culture represented in the international school community. By doing so, we promote global citizenship and encourage a deeper sense of belonging and appreciation for one another's backgrounds. The most important aspect of observing and celebrating cultural heritage and awareness is that students volunteer to this activity of the writing studio in the learning commons by signing up, creating their own cultural artifacts or submit already made ones from art pieces to literary writings, poems and other forms of self expression.
[00:02:52] Speaker C: My name is Denise Legoreta. I am a Spanish teacher at ACS and I'm here to talk about the Spanish Heritage Month, which I think it's a very important month to reflect upon the cultural, historical and social influence the Spanish world, of the Spanish people throughout the world and especially the United States. Because as we all know, this celebration started in the United States.
As a Mexican, I grew up in Mexico. I never celebrated this month. However, there is a coincidence that during this month we celebrate the Independence Day in many of our Latin American countries. For example, in Mexico we celebrate the independence in September. We also celebrate the discovery of the Americas. It was on October the twelveTH and we also have the Day of the Dead. So it's a month full of celebrations as well. Also, I think that it's important not only in the United States but around the world to recognize the hard work that many Hispanic people do and we should recognize the contribution made to the US. Society and again throughout the world of all these people because we have to remember that many of them leave their countries running away from poverty, violence or sometimes political persecution and we have to recognize them. These people this month validates our existence in the world and reminds us of who we are and that our culture is something we should be proud of. The fact that resonates more with me is the culture I feel proud of being part of this rich culture and what I do to preserve it is I am a teacher of course, is that I always link my lessons to the Hispanic culture. For example, this month again we are celebrating the Day of the Dead and I keep on doing that all the time. Feliz mes de la espanidad atolos Gracias.
[00:05:20] Speaker D: My name is Christina Rocha. I am teacher at ACS. Currently I'm teaching ESL EFL but I've been teaching Spanish also for many years here. I grew up with a Mexican American father. That's why my last name is Rocha. He is the one who kind of instilled in me anything having to do with Mexican culture, which is of course Latin American culture. And it's celebrated for Hispanic Heritage Month.
But in general, Hispanic heritage culture and this is something that I've always tried to keep up with, whether it be through language, teaching with Spanish but most importantly, really with the culture and understanding. Who are the Hispanic people? What do they stand for? Because Hispanic is really a very broad term and it encompasses so much, so many different peoples and nationalities and their shared heritage, their shared respect, their shared celebrations for their cultural customs. And this is something that I've always tried to continue with my own students but also with awareness, whether or not I'm teaching Spanish or not. It's awareness of these traditions. It's awareness of the cultural aspects, for example, the music, the food, remembrance of different types of rituals when it comes to death, for example, with the Day of the Dead this week, very important and being aware of these different cultural understandings. So for me, Hispanic Heritage Month or Hispanic Heritage in general is really about awareness. Awareness of all of these different things that make up this beautiful, very, very multicultural culture. For me, I would think it's the tradition of keeping the love for Spanish and everything that makes up what Spanish is alive. The language, of course, and understanding. When people say, oh, that's Spanish. Well, okay, yes. When culturally they say that, let's be careful because some things Spanish are from Spain and there's so much other Spanish speakers that are from Latin America and other places as well. So this is something very important, this awareness. Again, to make sure that we understand and we are aware of. What do we mean when we say Spanish? What do we mean when someone says Hispanic? What do we mean when someone says Latino? Because these are all very they're different words. They have different terminologies, different definitions and different histories. So I think awareness really is the most important thing that I try to maintain and keep up with tradition wise for anyone in my life.
[00:08:19] Speaker B: Today's Outcasts hosts writing studio coordinator Helen Seretis and Maria Marcella Orego Tamayo, along with a group of the Hispanic Heritage Month students. They all discussed their experience of their cultural journey. They went through talking about cultural understanding and empathy, finding common grounds through their differences, and expecting the unexpected.
[00:08:51] Speaker E: Hi, my name is Helen Soretis. I'm the writing studio specialist. I'm really excited to be here today with a very special group. I'm going to start off by introducing my friends here, claire and Glaciers, 11th grade. We also have Afroditi Teledi, 7th grade. Vasilia Laki, 10th grade. And last but not least, Ms. Marcella Orego, spanish instructor from Colombia.
So today we're coming together. We want to talk a little bit about what we do in the writing studio. We host monthly Cultural Heritage and Awareness Month.
These began in the fall of 2022. Our goal was to help increase the sense of belonging and allyship for students, so they were able to stand up for someone with an unheard voice in schools and kind of bring students together. So these celebrations are based on the Harvard Heritage and Awareness Month calendar. So basically, our aim is to highlight the history, culture, social identities of various groups. Today we've come here together to reflect and talk about student experience, teacher experience. We're very excited. We started off with Hispanic Heritage. So before we dive into that, I want to just give a list of all the heritage months that we will have for this school year. Sometimes we might change them. We're also open to student feedback and maybe adding other months. If you wish to come, please come visit us in the writing studio or shoot me out an email. So for September, as we said, we had Hispanic Heritage Month. October. Right now we're celebrating Jewish Heritage Month. November is Native American Heritage Month. December is disability awareness. That's a new one. This year that we've added february's Black History Month. March is Woman's History Month. April is Arabic Heritage Month. May is Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. And then June, we end the school year with Pride Month. So I want to hear a little bit from my friends here. Maybe I guess we can start off also by sharing how students can participate. So students can participate in these heritage months in a variety of different ways. They can bring in a type of cultural artifact. So to decorate, we have a decoration booth outside of the writing studio. So it could be a poster, a sculpture, a flag, et cetera. I don't know if anyone wants to jump in here, maybe afraid to discuss something that you've created and what was your inspiration for that.
[00:11:40] Speaker F: So I created a drawing mostly based off Mexican culture and The Day of the Dead. And I had different artifacts in the drawing. From Spanish and Mexican culture.
[00:11:57] Speaker E: Awesome. Okay. It was a very vibrant piece. You used all the different elements and the colors, so we put that up on our door.
Anyone else that created any artifact? I know that Clara here. You've written various poems, so we have the opportunity for students to become Cultural Writers of the Month.
So they can write. We give them specific prompts. They could answer a specific prompt, like maybe write a biography on Frida Kaolo, for instance. So Clara took the initiative and she wrote various poems, but will highlight her poem, one of them from last year. From last year's Hispanic Heritage Month. Clara, do you want to read out one of your poems?
[00:12:42] Speaker G: Yeah, the one from last year, which I think it was from a prompt about how an immigrant must, must feel. And it's called Prideful stigma.
I am not safe. I am undercover. In a world that doesn't feel my own living a life that feels like someone else's. I am not safe. Running thoughts water drips a flash of a metro sign sprinting thoughts I am not safe. This is us. I am living the life and I love it. But I hate it because I never feel safe. I've reached the inside hallway. There I sit undercover. No attention. Remember I've reached the inside. Ringing looks those I know well ringing I speak in my language one I used to love, one I used to be proud of. I speak in my language. I am not safe. Those things I used to feel are gone. A little girl's fantasy becomes her hell. I am not safe. I am exposed. I try to end the conversation quickly. I get off from the next stop, bumping into people, each with a flat look. So I try to end the conversation quickly. I started to hear the comments. Untrue, of course. Nasty and hurtful. I never stop hearing the comments. My cover is blown. I sprint. My thoughts, my legs. I sprint. That's when I relinquish control. Thumping to the floor. A stranger with one comment. It changed my life. I get up from the floor. He's still there, laying. He feels safe. Are you in the right side of town, miss? He speaks in my language. His accent is terrible. I tell him yes. I walk away until I stop. I shout in my language. A pressure lifts off my chest and I don't care. Everyone stares, but I don't care. I am that little girl living in the fantasy again because people can stare. I am not safe because I am an immigrant. I may never be fully safe, but I am proud of who I am. I am proud of who I have become despite the ODS stacked against me. So I swallow with pride and love your stigma. Because I am an immigrant. It's part of who I am.
[00:14:52] Speaker E: That's very powerful. Thank you for sharing that. I felt a lot of emotion come from there. Do you want to talk a little bit about what inspired you to write that piece?
[00:15:02] Speaker G: Yeah, I mean, I'm Spanish, so I lived in Spain for two months. I have family there, but me and my family have always lived abroad. So in some type of way, you always feel like the ODS are stacked up against you or that you don't feel part of everyone else, whether it's like you're here in Greece and everyone's Greek and you're kind of always in the outside. And although it's easier for me because I've always lived like that, and I've learned to adapt and all that, and I have really good friends from all over. But I think that it's something that, as an immigrant, will always have to live with. And the feeling of unsafety, especially in the US. Is something that is really common and I feel a lot of people can relate to.
[00:15:53] Speaker E: Okay, thank you so much for sharing that. It was very personal account, and it was very deep. So thank you bringing in, I know Masilia, you've also participated in several writing contests, and you've also won the Cultural Writer of the Month several times. So would you want to talk about okay, one time. Do you want to talk a little bit about your writing piece and what inspired you for that?
[00:16:19] Speaker H: Which one?
[00:16:19] Speaker E: The Hispanic heritage one.
[00:16:22] Speaker H: Not really proud of that one, mainly because it was like my first Heritage Month. It was like, last year in fall, and I was like, I don't know what to write. I don't know what I should expect. What should I write? Should I be more creative, only keep the spirit of it, or should I focus on the part that's more research based, Spanish based, like, talk about the culture? So I went to that direction. So I made a research piece on one of my favorite feminist women inspirations in the world, which is Sir Juana de la Cruz, who lived in Mexico somewhere in the 17th century. And she was a very influential woman because she wanted to focus her life on writing and on feminism. But she didn't want to marry.
She wanted to go to school when she couldn't. She was in Mexico as well, which was like one of the first American feminists to women in history. She's amazing, pretty much. So I want to write on that, and I did and was pretty nice.
But yeah, I think I've come a long way since then. I think I'm focused now on writing more creative pieces for those Cultural Awareness months. I couldn't write one this year because time management issues, but if I could, I would have.
[00:17:35] Speaker E: Well, I'm looking forward to reading more from you.
[00:17:43] Speaker A: You are listening to The Owlcast, the official podcast of ACS Athens.
[00:18:03] Speaker E: We can hear a little bit from you as well. Maybe you can share with us what your experience has been. I guess coming to Greece from Colombia and anything, maybe one meaningful aspect of your Hispanic heritage or a tradition that holds a special significance for you and your family.
[00:18:23] Speaker I: I've been living here for a long time. I've got two children and they are Colombian, Greeks. And something that I try to say to my kids is that we have to keep our roots alive.
That's important because otherwise we will feel outcast.
And my children feel the same as Clara. Sometimes they feel outcast.
So for us, December as Colombians is really important.
And the 7 December is the starting of Christmas. And all over Colombia, airports, police stations, malls, hospitals, everywhere they light up a candle or a lantern. The meaning is hope. And people gather outside the streets and they share food everywhere, cities, small towns. So that's the beginning of Christmas because we are in Greece and my family is Catholic. The 7 December, we light candles outside and we sing some songs with my children or with some of my Hispanic friends that they are Greek, Hispanic, Greek, Mexican. And we try to follow that to do that so my children, especially my children, will feel that they belong somewhere.
[00:19:45] Speaker E: Yeah, that's beautiful. And I just got that vision now, like just holding the candles and all of that. Thank you for sharing that. And I think that's one of the reasons we also do this is to bring people together and to learn and grow from each other when we talk about our cultures like this, from my perspective, because one of the reasons that I'm hosting this is to sort of create a greater sense of belonging and also to help students learn more about their own identity through learning about other cultures. So how do you think that this has helped your sense of belonging here at ACS or created more of a reflection on your own culture?
[00:20:27] Speaker G: I mean, for me, specifically, especially Hispanic heritage, I always try to participate like I did this year. And it's kind of a good way to express things that you didn't know were in you through the writing. Because for me, I've never really touched upon the topic of being Hispanic or those kind of things. My writing normally turns to more creative things, more positive, lightful things. But this way, it's a good way to explore a new topic and also show other people how many Hispanics feel or many, for example, for this month many Jewish feel and learn more about like I think we talked. About when you were doing the cahoot was that a lot of people didn't know that Spain was part of Hispanic and all those types of cultures. So I think it's interesting.
[00:21:21] Speaker E: Yeah. Do you want to say a little bit about that? So what does Hispanic mean?
[00:21:25] Speaker G: It means anyone who speaks Spanish, a country that speaks Spanish. Which is kind of funny because for me, I knew it, but I wasn't aware of it. So until I started doing college, applications and all that, I started to become more aware how that went under the label of Hispanic. And yeah, it was a bit weird, but just because whenever someone asks me, oh, where are you from? I just say Spain. And in America it's very different.
[00:21:58] Speaker E: Yeah. And then Latino is I don't know if ms. Orrego, do you want to explain what the difference is between Hispanic.
[00:22:05] Speaker I: And from Latin America? Basically? So people, because we are neighbors with America, latinos are the people from Central America and South America, except from no and Brazil as well, included, despite the fact, okay, they speak Portuguese. But I want to go back to Clara's answer, and I think here these activities or what you do give us the opportunity as well as recognize ourselves independently. If we are Hispanic Month or Arabic Month or whatever month is recognition, and those activities give you a sense of empathy towards the other and recognition that there are difference. And I think that's really important, and I really thankful for that. It's very important to all these kind of activities because we are all different, but we are all human beings, and that's what it make us, human. It sounds silly, but it would make us human. So we are different, but we are all together, and that enrich our lives. And that's it. Thank you.
[00:23:20] Speaker E: Thank you. You're going to make me cry now, because that's exactly the goal of this, exactly what you just mentioned, to enhance empathy and bring kids together just like that and to increase tolerance among students. Maybe a final question, just asking about their favorite aspect of the Heritage Months.
What do you prefer? Do you like the writing piece, the decorating piece, the music kind of the party, the cahoot game, the snacks? I don't know.
What do you think?
[00:23:52] Speaker H: I love the writing part because it's one more chance, one more chance to write.
I always like getting motivation to write because I feel like sometimes I need to just take a break from what I'm writing in general and write something very specific that will make me feel happy at that moment. I like to participate and to learn. I like to attend the parties. I can't always I couldn't this time, but I like the fun. It's like one more chance to learn things, one more chance to write things, one more chance to talk to people about things. I think it's a very nice way to expand our horizons.
[00:24:27] Speaker B: Well, I think that discussion is very revealing of what we do in the school. And I mean, I can have ten questions for each one of you because this is a very important piece of the activities here in the school, I guess. One question that I had for everything that you've said, how has this activity changed you?
The Hispanic month or the Jewish Heritage Month or the African American month is not just to talk about that particular culture. It's how it relates to every other culture. Correct?
[00:25:05] Speaker E: Exactly.
[00:25:06] Speaker B: So in your perspective, three out of five are not of Hispanic heritage.
How do you see yourselves after this particular set of activities? Do you feel that you have a better understanding even if you are Hispanic? Is this something that enriched you? Is it something that you're going to say, I want to do it again?
[00:25:31] Speaker H: What do you think, actually being Greek and not being related to all those cultures? I like participating because I like learning about others and I like feeling like a part of a larger world, of a larger identity. In the end of the day, it doesn't matter where you're from, as long as you appreciate others. And I like to acknowledge that. I like to participate in that. I really love those heritage months. They're amazing. They're amazing opportunities to write and explore and have fun without the stress of you're in school and everything that provides with it. And especially, I think after the African American Month, where I really delved deep into the creative part of this, I was like, yeah, this is fun, this is a great opportunity.
[00:26:15] Speaker G: Yeah, I think it's a really good, like you said, opportunity to have fun, but also learn about different cultures because I've done it a few times and I always learn something different and it's always like new ideas, whether it's like Hispanic Heritage Month or the next few months that are going to come up. It's a good way. Like, I think everyone said to empathize and to be like, okay, I'm from this culture, you're from this culture, but we're living in a world together and it's a good way to show the internationality that there is.
[00:26:49] Speaker E: Yeah. And I guess as part of sort of creating and hosting, I didn't know what to expect when I first did this. Was it going to only be students from Hispanic culture that are participating or from Arabic culture? And what I realized is that the majority of students that do participate are actually not from that culture. So I don't know. I felt very proud of these students for having that open mind and it makes me so happy for everyone to come together, seeing those smiles, obviously learning, but also having fun. So that's why we have this once a month, little put some music on the library and spice it up.
[00:27:33] Speaker B: Did you have to recruit or did people show up?
[00:27:36] Speaker E: Well, we send out a Google form just letting students know that this is when we will be having the celebration.
And then we also put posters, so we don't necessarily recruit. Kids sign up. So every month we send a sign and cheat.
[00:27:54] Speaker F: I've done every Heritage Month since last year and I think it's really nice to see all the people come together. And also I get to learn a lot about different cultures through my drawings that I make for the Heritage month.
And I think the cahoots are also very helpful to learn more about different cultures and to relate to other people more easily.
[00:28:24] Speaker B: Can you describe your drawing? Because we don't have video here.
What did you draw?
[00:28:32] Speaker F: Well, my drawing had a lot of colors. I made sure that it didn't just sketch it like I drew it in.
[00:28:38] Speaker B: Did that have to do anything with the Hispanic heritage?
[00:28:42] Speaker F: Yeah.
Do you have the drawing?
[00:28:46] Speaker H: Go get it real quick.
[00:28:48] Speaker B: No, it's a matter of you telling us what inspired you. But you said you used colors. Right. And this comes from the Hispanic heritage, which is very colorful. Right.
Okay. Anything else that someone wants to say about their experience?
[00:29:04] Speaker G: I also will say that how someone had related to my piece, and even though it was Hispanic heritage, it was very weird, but a good type of weird, that someone who isn't part of that culture could relate it through their own culture. So I think that's a big part of why I still keep writing for it and why I keep doing it.
[00:29:29] Speaker B: That's great. Well, I think that this is a great experiment in empathy, as you said. And the idea that you come in contact with different cultures is invaluable in an international school with over 60 nationalities. I wish we had 60 months in a year. So we can, in a sense, explore.
[00:29:50] Speaker H: All different cover all bases.
[00:29:51] Speaker B: Exactly. Or we can divide the month in weeks and have week off.
[00:29:57] Speaker E: It'll just be the Heritage Studio then.
[00:29:59] Speaker B: Exactly.
Well, thank you all very much for participating in this, and I'm looking forward to see what you're going to have next month.
[00:30:09] Speaker E: Thank you.
[00:30:10] Speaker B: Thank you, everybody.
[00:30:10] Speaker H: Thank you. Bye.
[00:30:11] Speaker G: Thank you.
[00:30:12] Speaker H: Bye.
[00:30:14] Speaker A: You are listening to The Owlcast, the official podcast of ACS Athens. Make sure you subscribe to the Owlcast on Google Podcasts. Spotify and Apple podcast casts. This has been a production of the ACS Athens Media Studio.
