Our final weekend in Spain

The ECI Leaders, Nuria & Jen, jumping for joy over this great group!

Hola familias,

We are so enjoying our time in San Sebastian!  I have talked to all of your kids and they are having a great cultural experience with their immersion families.  They have been taking it all in…everything from enjoying the beautiful beaches of  San Sebastian, making new Basque friends, trying the amazing tapas, to visiting the Guggeheim Museum in Bilbao!

Early Sunday morning we will all meet up in the center of the city and board the bus for our final day in Madrid.  Once checked into our hotel we will head to the Royal Palace for a visit and then have time for last minute shopping before a Farewell-to-Spain dinner. 

As the photo above illustrates, Nuria and I have so enjoyed our time with your brave, curious, independent, and very fun kids!  Many new friendships have been formed and the memories of this trip will truly last a lifetime.

We look forward to seeing you Monday!

-Jennifer

San Sebastian with our immersion families!

Prepping for gazpacho

Tortilla de Patatas Chefs

The Paella (we devoured it!)

Segovia- under the Alcazar Castillo

Flamenco Dance Class- everyone got involved!

Hola familias,

We are now in San Sebatian after a busy last week wrapping things up in Salamanca.  Above in the photos you can see the group enjoying the cooking class where we made tortilla de patatas, gazpacho, and paella! Everyone got into the cooking process- chopping, sauteing, and of course, enjoying the delicious result! It was all so good- I think most of us had seconds, if not thirds! 

Also, there is a photo of us under the Alcazar castle we visited in the lovely city of Segovia.  We also had a guided tour that explained the history of the city which includes a famous roman acqueduct that is still standing today!

Everyone had a great time at the flamenco dance class- although the dance steps were very challenging, the whole gang gave it a whirl!  The dance teacher was so impressed with the group that we got a  private performance from her and her students!  ¡Bravo!

As I write this we are now in San Sebastian in the Basque region of  Spain (along the French border.) The  group has now moved in with their Spanish families amd is getting to know them, enjoying  local culture and practicing their Spanish.

I can’t believe we will be already heading home on Monday! I can’t tell you how much I have enjoyed this trip along with your kids- they are fantásticos! We have really had a great time!

¡Hasta Pronto!

-Jennifer

A Wonderful First Week in Salamanca

Plaza Mayor in Salamanca

Learning about Spanish Culture!

Learning how to hold the capePlaza Mayor in Salamanca

Hola Familias,

We’ve had another few activity-filled days here in Salamanca!  Getting to know the city has been great, we are now into a routine of  taking Spanish classes daily, living in a dormitory/host family just nearby the city center and participating in many cultural activities.

This week we have toured the city and learned about the history of Salamanca, had a salsa dance class, learned about the world of bullfighting, taken an art class, and had a flamenco dance class.  This weekend included a day trip to the city of Segovia to visit the original Roman Acqueduct and to tour this historic city,  a soccer lesson, and Spanish practice with our Language Partners on the most famous street in Salamanca for tapas where we will try some local specialties!

Above are two recent photos of  your wonderful kids at the theoretical bullfight lesson…they all gave holding the cape a try. There is also one of the Plaza Mayor where we get to enjoy the outdoor cafes, stores and fantastic ice  cream.  I hope you all get to visit this picturesque city one day!

 ¡Hasta Pronto!

-Jennifer

Photos!

The medieval city of Avila!

Sightseeing in Madrid!

Beautiful Salamanca!

We’ve arrived to Salamanca!

Hola,

Madrid was a whirlwind!  While fighting a bit of jetlag, we were able to get in some fantastic sightseeing in the sprawling capital of Spain. Our first afternoon we went to the Real Madrid soccer stadium and got to check out the behind-the-scenes of this world famous team!  We even went down onto the field and took pictures.

The following morning, feeling a little fresher, we headed to El Prado museum and enjoyed a guided tour from our wonderful guide Federico (he works with Rick Steves groups, t00!) Highlights included Goya’s works, as well as Diego Velazquez’s work Las Meninas! We then spent a couple of hours strolling through Retiro Park (Spain’s Central Park) and sitting out in the open air cafe overlooking the lake.  Once we recharged our batteries, we then continued our Spanish art exploration at the Reina Sofia Museum where Federico taught us  about Miro, Dali, and Picasso.  Our tour wrapped up with famous work La Guernika by Picasso. Wow!

We packed up Sunday afternoon and said goodbye to Madrid and started our journey to Salamanca.  We enjoyed a stopover for a late lunch in the medieval walled city of Avila. Just two more hours and we pulled into our host town of the next two weeks…Salamanca!  We moved into the dorms/host family and capped off the evening with a stroll through the illuminated Plaza Mayor over ice cream.  We sat out and people watched and listened to Spanish musicians, La Tuna (local university students playing traditional Spanish music in costume…complete with capes!)

Classes started today, Monday morning, and as I write this the students are in the grammar portion of their classes!  |The schedule runs like this…classes daily from 9.30-1.00 followed by a group meeting, lunch, a siesta (if they like), and then an afternoon activity, dinner, and a nightime group activity.  We have so much to see and do in the next couple of weeks…everything from dance classes,  to horseback riding and cooking!  Imagine your student coming home and making paella for you !!

Lastly, students are settling in quite well- it looks like jet lag is starting to wear off.  This is a wonderfully cohesive group and they are having a lot of fun getting to know Spain! Nuria, our  Spanish local leader and I are really enjoying getting to know them!

That’s it for now!  I’ll check in again soon…adios!

Just over a week away!

Salamanca 3 participants,

¡Hola! I just wanted to write a quick note to let  you know how excited I am as our trip to Spain is just over a week away!  This summer has been a lot of fun watching as Spain has made it into the World Cup Soccer Semi-finals!  I was lucky enough to be in Spain as they became the the European Cup champions in 2008. The celebration was incredible with everyone dancing in the streets! Keep your fingers crossed as it would be amazing to arrive on the heels of another major victory!

Good luck packing for the hot weather (while keeping your suitcases as light as possible!) If anyone has any questions, please feel free to email me at: jlaelbrown@yahoo.com.

¡Hasta pronto!

Jennifer