As we approach the end of 2009, we here at Tierra are reflecting back on the significance of the year.
We went from having a desire and vision of helping bridge the language gap between Spanish and English speaking community members, to actually opening a small language and cultural education center that has served over 125 students within the first 8 months of operation. In addition, we have maintained a weekly Spanish Conversation club that has offered additional opportunities for our students to practice their skills, as well as a place for hundreds of community members to meet others interested in Latin American culture and the Spanish language. All of this has been made possible by the commitment and support of you--the students. Thank you for telling your friends about us, for your commitment to learning a new language (we know it's not easy!) and even just for your interest in a culture and language other than your own. It is through people like you that change is possible!
As grateful as we are for our achievements this year, we know we have a long way to go towards reaching our mission. There are thousands more community members to whom we'd like to help reach their Spanish and ESL learning goals . We would like to develop full-immersion programs for our students to experience the language and culture firsthand; we would like to develop on-site programs for staff of landscaping, construction, and service industry businesses; we'd like to develop curriculum specific to the health-care, law, and social service fields. The possibilities are endless! All of this will take time, and continued support from our students and community members.
We'd like to extend a huge "thank you!" to all of you, for your understanding and feedback throughout our learning and growing process. We will continue to strive to improve the quality and quantity of our services in an effort to build community here at Tierra, in Portland, and hopefully throughout the world.
We sincerely hope you have found your experience with us to be welcoming, fun, and of course educational! And, we hope you continue your studies here with us into the new year. Thanks for being part of the Tierra community.
Felices fiestas y muchos deseos para un feliz año nuevo!