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WEEK of October 3, 2005
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Dreaming in Spanish

by Jeffrey Stanley

Senior Leah Thompson didn’t make a typical trip to Spain this summer. Although she traveled with her family, three weeks of her five-week stay was spent away from them as a student in a Spanish language immersion program run by the Council on Overseas Education (COOL Ed), a nonprofit study-abroad program recommended to Thompson by her Brooklyn Friends Spanish teacher Norma Gordon.

The first two weeks of the program were spent in Madrid and its environs, including Toledo. “The director would mostly just take us somewhere on the subway and talk to us a little bit about the history of the place, then just leave us there,” said Leah, a Fort Greene resident. This might be a terrifying prospect for at 16-year-old, especially in a foreign country, but not for Leah. “That was cool,” she said to the contrary. “I would walk around by myself a lot. I liked doing that, speaking Spanish.” But she confided that Madrid was her least favorite city. It was too modern. “I like history and old things.”

The south, however, did not disappoint. The third and final week of the course was spent visiting Cordoba, Granada and Sevilla. “I saw the Mediterranean for the first time; it was so beautiful. Also there’s the famous Mezquita of Cordoba, an ancient mosque from when the Moors were in Spain.”

Thompson has studied Spanish at Brooklyn Friends since the eighth grade. “This is my fifth year,” said the senior. At the beginning though, she admitted that she was merely meeting a foreign language requirement and getting some mild enjoyment from it. “I wasn’t that interested until summer before last when I went to Mexico.”

Senora Gordon has been Leah’s Spanish teacher for the past two years and wasn’t surprised to hear that one of her students was so interested in the history of the places she visited. “We do a lot of culture in class, beyond just studying the language. Students have to do research and give reports on Spanish-speaking countries. We talk a lot about the history of these places.” Senora Gordon describes Leah as a “superb” student. “She’s like a sponge that wants to get everything in. She’s attentive, motivated, determined. She goes the extra mile.”

In fact, Leah did so well in the program this summer that COOL-Ed has offered her a full scholarship to study abroad next year, this time in Argentina. Senora Gordon pointed out that the scholarships are highly competitive. “It’s not only great for Leah, it’s great for Brooklyn Friends; she put us on the map. I’m so proud of her.”

Leah has indeed been bitten by the bug and has developed what just might be a lifetime passion. “I want to work in Latin America. I want to do some kind of civil service. Maybe teaching. Something that will let me travel and write,” said the earnest sixteen-year-old.

She’s also got another goal cooking on the back burner. “I’m planning to move to Barcelona. It’s like a dream of mine.” Why? “It’s being in a place where the history is so laid out for you. The Gothic quarter, the Roman ruins. So much is going on.”

For now, Leah is keeping a level head and remaining patient. After she finishes school this May she’s taking a year off rather than diving immediately into college life. “I’ll only be 17 when I graduate. I want to work awhile and get more financial independence.” Eventually though, she figures she’ll head off to college. “If I get into Smith I’ll go there,” she said casually. Until then she’s content to study, write, and dream of Barcelona.

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