Club Spotlight: Spanish Club
By Isabella Zergivon
Connecting cultures and providing a new knowledge of the world around us is the goal of Mel High’s Spanish club, Every Friday morning, students learn all from the traditional food to the unique dances of traditional Spanish culture. Some may love Spanish clubs because they get to learn with friends, while others love to learn about different Spanish foods and connect to their childhood. This is especially true for junior, Maleina Olmscheid, who loved the potluck at the end of the year when students would bring in their favorite Spanish dishes, “I like a ropa vieja and it’s the national dish of Cuba and I grew up eating it and it’s really good”, said Olmscheid.
In addition to making and enjoying foods of Spanish culture, students also love to learn all the unique dances that makes the Spanish culture so distinctive. During the year, the members of Spanish club go on field trips for a tighter grasp of the Spanish dances, such as Flamenco. Olmscheid described her experience when the members got to see Spanish dance in action, “we went on a field trip and learned while watching the Flamenco dance”, Olmsheid said. Not only having studied the special features of Spanish culture, members got to see why the traditional Flamenco is so incredible.
Additionally, students learned more about Spanish coming-of-age parties seeing a quinceanera festival take place. In Latin American cultures, the quinceanera is a celebration of a girl’s fifteenth birthday and is celebrated in a big dress with her friends and family. In the Spanish club, members studied the features that make the culture different from others, “we learned a lot about Spanish culture through the quinceanera as well," said Olmsheid.
The reasons for joining the Spanish club are numerous and longing. The advantages of learning about a new world come with the friends some may make while being in the club. The teachers of Mel High encourage students to join for it might help with classes students may take, “I joined Spanish club freshman year because I thought it sounded cool from my Spanish teacher talking about it," Olmsheid said. Indeed, Spanish club is interesting, especially when one may learn more about the class they are taking.