Ms. Shea Granger & Ms. Melissa Ryan

Experience of a Lifetime

Culture filled, fun times

Every year, the students at GHS get the amazing opportunity to travel to different countries. When they travel, they get to learn about and experience the cultures of these foreign places. However, not only is it an excellent opportunity for the students at the school, but the Spanish teachers are given this chance as well.

“It’s super fun to see students perspective change on the world,” Senorita Granger said. “We get used to our normal everyday life in Gretna and then when we are able to take kids out of that and see how somebody else lives I think it brings what I teach in the classroom to real life.”

Senorita Granger has been teaching at Gretna High for five years and she teaches Spanish one and three. Her first trip was two years ago and she went to Ecuador with her students and some of the other Spanish teachers in the school. One of these teachers is Señorita Ryan who has been teaching at the school for 15 years. She has gone on multiple trips with the students at GHS and has been going on them since 2011.

“My first trip was to Spain and I really love Barcelona, It’s probably the most interesting part of Spain,” Ryan said. “It’s just such an international city and there’s such a mix of cultures. You could never tell based on what a person appears like what language will come out of their mouth.”

The diversity in the cities is what makes them so culture-filled and that’s

why the school sends the students there. It’s a great learning opportunity for them and the teachers get to take part in the experience as well.

“I really like when we get to spend time with indigenous cultures, there’s so much you can learn from indigenous cultures and native people to the land and there’s so much underappreciation of those cultures,” says Ryan. “When you really take time to look and to listen and to experience their way of life I have definitely learned a lot from those experiences.” Indigenous people are people who are most early known to a certain area. When they travel to these parts of the world they get to spend time learning how to live like them. Some of these cultures keep to themselves and it’s scary for them when people try to approach them because they are easily frightened by us. Especially when people go in with phones and are taking pictures or recording them because it makes them look war-like because of how scared they are.

“It’s just very fascinating to walk around there, it’s on top of a mountain and to imagine how hundreds and hundreds of years ago how people were able to build this civilization, it’s pretty incredible.”

This is another highlight that can be experienced. Machu Pichu is one of the 12 wonders of the world. It is located in the mountains of Peru and can be visited on one of the many Spanish trips taken here at GHS.

Senorita Granger

Senora Ryan