The Spanish III class at MCHS recently took a field trip to Pacifico in San Francisco’s Jazz district. Submitted photos
Mariposa County High School Spanish III students recently traveled to San Francisco for a field trip to Colombian restaurant, Pacifico, a restaurant with Latin American Cuisine in San Francisco’s Jazz district.
Pacifico is “San Francisco’s Best Colombian Restaurant” according to The San Francisco Standard.
“I wanted to give students an opportunity to use Spanish in a real-world, meaningful context beyond the classroom. Cooking felt like a natural way to connect language and culture, allowing students to interact, follow instructions, and experience,” said Clara Baena, MCHS Spanish teacher, who organized the field trip .
Students arrived at Pacifico to a dining area transformed into a modern cooking classroom.
The owners, chef Daniel Morales and Laura Gelvez, greeted the students in Spanish, giving the students a chance to practice speaking the language throughout their time in the restaurant.
Dining tables for groups of five students had ingredients prepared for the afternoon’s dishes.
Timmy Roberts-McDougall is pictured with Chef Daniel Morales.
Chef Morales gave the students a cooking lesson in Spanish, teaching them the art of making Colombian arepas — a round cornmeal bread as well as ceviche with camorones (shrimp).
A few students chose to make vegetarian ceviche with corozones del palma (hearts of palm).
With ceviche, he taught the students how to present the food. The cooking lesson ended with the students eating what they made.
One MCHS student and cooking enthusiast said, “This is the best field trip ever!”
“Overall, the field trip was an incredibly positive and enriching experience. Students were engaged, excited and eager to communicate in Spanish. The warm and welcoming atmosphere created by the hosts made it even more special and helped students feel comfortable using the language in a real setting, “ said Baena.
“The feedback from students was very positive. They loved the hands-on experience and the chance to practice Spanish in a real-life environment. They especially enjoyed making and eating ‘Arepas’ and learning the process step by step — it was definitely a highlight for many of them. A lot of students mentioned it was one of their favorite activities because it made the language feel real, useful, and fun,” added Baena.
Shown is the vegetarian ceviche with corozones del palma (hearts of palm).
After their cooking lesson and eating at Pacifico, Baena, the students and chaperones went for a walk and found ice cream at San Francisco’s Hometown Creamery.
They later went to the Civic Center where they had a chance to tour San Francisco City Hall.
The San Francisco field trip was funded by the Mariposa County High School Academic Boosters Club and Mariposa Kids First.
Pacifico’s staff transformed a dining area into a cooking classroom.
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