The TRUTH and COMPLETE story of the ONLY macaw on the Garbanzo team
Our resident Guacamayo bird, Bonzo, has been part of the Garbanzo team ever since we launched in 2018, but with the exception of a few facts here and there (plus a lesson plan: click here for our English language lesson on Bonzo and his family) we haven’t gone into much detail about his story.
It’s time to share how we met Bonzo and vice versa.
The Amazon
It's Bonzo! I grew up in the Amazon rainforest of Peru, where I had a blast flying through the jungle with my many siblings. One day, I heard a young human voice through the trees.
I flew towards it to find a young girl sitting outside with a book in her lap, reading a story out loud. She seemed to be enjoying herself, but she’d pause every now and then. I wondered if she had any friends to share it with.
Later, I learned she was the daughter of a researcher. They were living in the Amazon for the summer trying to figure out why macaw numbers were decreasing.
I decided we should be friends, so day after day, I joined her in her daily reading sessions.
At first, I couldn’t understand a single word she read, but I tried to imitate the sounds. Once I did that, she noticed me! My new friend started acting out each thing she read, and asked me questions. I began to comprehend!
When she and her family left after the summer ended, I was sad. I missed my friend and the stories we shared.
I decided to find her.
The search
I flew all over the country and the world looking for her, asking humans and birds alike. To my surprise, the stories we’d read together helped humans understand me.
The more I traveled, the more language I acquired by listening to people telling each other stories, watching movies, listening to music (there’s SO much GREAT music in the world!), and reading everything from books to billboards to signs and more!
In my search, I peeked into every school I could find. I saw so many students and teachers in language classrooms, looking either bored or frustrated. I couldn’t wrap my beak around it – I LOVED acquiring human language. It was so much fun!
What was missing in their classrooms?!
Joining the team
One blustery November day, I flew into a conference building to get out of the wind. There were so many people gathered in the lobby – all language teachers!
I “borrowed” someone’s lanyard and followed the crowd into the workshop. The presenter started talking about interactive storytelling. I didn’t know it at the time, but I’d stumbled right into the national ACTFL conference and a Garbanzo presentation.
Long story short, I knew I’d found the missing piece for language instruction. I decided to pause the search for my friend and help the team get the word out about the power of interactive storytelling and comprehensible input.
One day, I was at a conference when I heard a familiar voice talking about the Spanish lesson she wanted to create on macaw conservation projects in Central and South America!
It was her!
She’d loved teaching me so much that she’d decided to become a Spanish language teacher! These days, we see each other regularly at workshops and conferences and she often stops by the Garbanzo booth to say hi.
Now that you know my story, I hope you’ll do the same.
Xo, Bonzo and the Garbanzo team
