Students Ride with a CNN Hero
	Veronica Lima, US Spanish teacher A Colombian man in Queens, NY, named Jorge Muñoz won the 2009 CNN Hero award. He is a bus driver from a humble background and during his free time...and with his own money...he provides food for day laborers. He and his sister prepare the food in their kitchen and then they go out to the street at 9:30pm on week nights to distribute hot and healthy meals for free. My Spanish 5 class has been working on a thematic unit about Colombia and this activity fits in well with the themes we have been discussing. Many of our talks centered around immigration and Colombians living in New York City. The kids learned some Colombian slang that they might be able to try out. I'm excited to expose this group of seniors to community service work in the Latino community this way. I've been in touch with Jorge and his sister, Luz, and they have invited us to help distribute food with them any time.

	We had dinner together at a Colombian Restaurant. Next, students took a brief walking tour of the area and then met Jorge at his distribution site and helped serve food. Students had small video cameras with them and interviewed Jorge and the people he served. We brought collecting food and clothing with us as a donation to Jorge Muñoz and his organization An Angel in Queens. We enjoyed meeting Jorge and his sister Luz and helping him with such a special mission, serving hot meals to people in need. http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/03/19/cnnheroes.jorge.munoz/index.html My goal for this class was to give them the opportunity to use their Spanish outside of class in an authentic setting. Veronica Lima Spanish teacher