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Spanish teacher leads travelers around the world, learning new languages and cultures “I was a little hesitant, wondering if I wanted to be responsible for taking teenagers out of the country,” said Langenbacher, who is a Spanish teacher at Lee-Davis High School. “But it was absolutely wonderful, and I’ve been doing it ever since!”
When Mary Langenbacher first considered guiding a group of teenagers through Spain, she worried that the trip might end up being more of a misadventure than an adventure.
“I was a little hesitant, wondering if I wanted to be responsible for taking teenagers out of the country,” said Langenbacher, who is a Spanish teacher at Lee-Davis High School. “But it was absolutely wonderful, and I’ve been doing it ever since!”
She says that seeing her student communicate with native speakers, using the language she had taught them, was a wonderful experience.
“They come to me, excited, saying, ‘They understood what I said!’” said Lagenbacher. “The kids realized that yes, they could do it, they really can use it. And this is valuable, especially nowadays, the way our culture is. You have to learn another language, and here in the U.S., Spanish is the one to have.”
Before moving to Mechanicsville last year, Langenbacher taught in Maryland. She and another language teacher there started planning trips to places such as Spain and Mexico, where their students could practice their skills.
Soon, they expanded their itineraries to include countries such as France, Italy, the Czech Republic, England and Ireland. These biennial treks became so popular that other teachers started to ask if they could come along.
“They’d say, ‘I’d really like to go on a trip where somebody handles everything,’” said Langenbacher, “so we started doing adult trips on the off years. From that, other teachers would ask if their sister could come, or their sister-in-law—now it’s open to anyone who wants to travel.”
When Langenbacher speaks of the places she has explored, she is opinionated and passionate.
“Obviously, I love Spain,” said the Spanish teacher. “Barcelona is probably my favorite—I really like the work of Antoni Gaudi, an architect who believed that form should be almost organic in shape… he designed a church that has been under construction for 100 years—it’s beautiful.”
Langenbacher enjoys taking people to places they may otherwise never go, like Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia, a church that, according to the newspaper El Periodico de Catalunya, receives 2.26 million visitors each year.
But many of us have never heard of it, which, to Langenbacher, is part of the thrill.
“This is what I try to get through to the kids—what you see, you won’t forget,” she said. “And that’s true for adults, too.”
How many people can claim that they have ventured into the cheese caves in Roquefort, or the wineries of France’s Champagne region? How many have visited a Spanish ranch where fighting bulls are raised, or the dungeons of Switzerland’s Chillon Castle?
Langenbacher has arranged visits to all of the above. She revels in the role of travel guide, which she has assumed for about 24 years. She starts planning each trip two years in advance to ensure that the journey will go smoothly, handling details such as air tickets, hotels, meals and itineraries.
She’ll be heading out on another excursion next year, to France, Germany and Switzerland.
Langenbacher’s background as a teacher proves useful when she’s handling the 20 – 30 people who choose to accompany her, she says. Being a tour guide? “It’s like managing a classroom!”
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