With a difficult subject like math, it really helps to have a friendly, likeable teacher to help you through all the mental gymnastics required, and to give you a boost of confidence when needed. Andrés Valencia is just such a guy! Luckily for us, he agreed to chat!

Enjoy the video for popular Dominican-American artist, Prince Royce's hit, "Darte un beso" [To Give You a Kiss], from his third album Soy el mismo [I'm the Same Guy].

Maria Lionza is said to have been born in 1502 to an Indian Chief in the Yaracuy region of Venezuela. Today she is revered throughout the Caribbean by followers of the syncretic cult which is named after her, but artists too find her an irresistably mystical symbol alluding to history, race, and sex. Her painting hangs on the wall of Francisco’s taller in Adícora.

Francisco sees potential for creation and innovation in a wide range of materials: drift wood, shells, seeds, goat skin, even plastic debris. He is speaking with the governor about creating a tallerr, or workshop, that can be used to teach artistic skills to the young people of the area, as well as to showcase the work of other local artisans.

A little spot to build, to create, to listen to the sea, what more do any of us really need? Francisco takes a beautiful public space and makes it his own through conservation, beautification, and an open invitation to all to come, enjoy and treat nature’s work with care and respect.

A fishing village like Adícora can be a place of work and industry for locals, but also one of rest and relaxation for travelers. Chober comes from a fishing family and knows the trade, but he recognizes the growing importance of tourism. His generation realizes that the survival of both ways of life necessitates better care of the environment and increased ecological awareness.

Chober and his buddies are building a little club on the beach that is aiming to provide services to beach goers and visitors, while at the same time providing events and opportunites for community members, particularly young people. Like his friend Francisco, Chober is concerned with the environment, and finding uses for discarded materials.

Martin, Eduardo, and Karla take a trip around the Chubut province of Argentina, learning about and filming each cities’ fauna. On this leg of the trip, they are in the Valdes Peninsula to see the elephant seals and their breeding grounds.

Martin, Eduardo and Karla travel around Chubut province in Argentina, learning about and filming each area’s fauna. Here, they are on the Valdes Peninsula to learn about this precious protected area. The Patagonian peninsula is a breeding ground for elephant seals and penguins. It’s like a big maternity ward each spring!

What to do when the plane is late? Luckily for us, our guides decided to make a short video about the Trelew airport in Patagonia. There is a lot of very useful vocabulary in this video!

Félix, a barber from the town of Sosúa in the Dominican Republic, tells us a bit about the tools of his trade, his family and his pastimes.

Medical student Patricia Martí tells us about the study she is conducting in the village of Adícora. The study is a look at the incidence of skin problems caused by sun exposure in this town where many people work outdoors, including quite a few fishermen.

Patricia will soon be a full-fledged doctor of medicine, but first she must complete the internship she is doing in the rural Venezuelan community of Charaima, on the Peninsula de Paraguaná. She tells us a little bit about the road she’s travelled to get to this point in her academic career.

Patricia talks about ways to stay active in Coro, Venezuela, patrimonio cultural de la humanidad. She enjoys the gym and classes in Tae Bo, an exercise phenomenon that seems to know no political boundaries. She also enjoys going out on Friday nights with friends to the local disco. As far as boys go, it seems a young man named Leopaldo is winning the race to her heart…

Karen gives us a quick tour of the Museum of Mexican History in Monterrey, Mexico, including exhibits spanning from the Pre-Hispanic Era to more modern times.