Saturday, July 26, 2014
Friday, July 25, 2014
Back in Dallas!
Our flight back home left Madrid at 2:30pm and we got to Texas soil around 6:00pm on the same day after a 10 hour flight!
Sabado 19 de Julio en la visita al Palacio Real, Madrid
El escudo de la Casa Real de Los Reyes Felipe VI y Letizia en el Palacio Real
Oyendo la explicaxion en el Museo del Prado en Madrid.
The families we're waiting at the airport and we were very happy to have accomplished so many things in just two weeks: Spanish language fluency, university of Salamca college credits, new Salmamtine families, UA sisterhood bonding, international traveling experience, touring Spain, global experiential learning in the real world, and most of all, an immense personal growth! The girls were very involved and appreciative of the whole experience and greatful to their parents and teachers!
Sra. Casco and I are very happy to have witnesses a real-life learning Spanish summer class in Salamanca!
Sabado 19 de Julio en la visita al Palacio Real, Madrid
El escudo de la Casa Real de Los Reyes Felipe VI y Letizia en el Palacio Real
Oyendo la explicaxion en el Museo del Prado en Madrid.
Sra. Casco y Sra. Escamilla, Julio 2014
Monday, July 21, 2014
July 16- Kayaking!
Today we started off the day with taking final exams. They
weren't that hard, but I am glad that I got them over with. Then, we had lunch
and our daily siesta. For lunch, I had paella, and then I took a short nap.
Later, we met in the plaza so we could leave to go kayaking. We started off our
kayaking trip by taking a bus ride to the Rio Tormes. When we arrived at the
Rio Tormes, we got off the bus and made
sure to put on plenty of sunscreen.
Next, we got a short tutorial from the people who ran the group taking
us kayaking, called "Outdoor Activo". Then, we chose partners and set
off on our kayaking trip down the river. At first it was extremely easy, but
not for long! A few minutes into the trip, we hit a shallow part of the river,
and I had to get out and pull the kayak back into deeper water. After that, we
ran into some trees and proceeded to get stuck in them. When we were almost out
of the hard part, the current took our kayak and turned it around backwards!
Fortunately, we were able to turn it back around, and after that the trip got
much easier. With the exception of a few shallow patches where I had to get out
and tow the kayak again, it was smooth sailing. We finally reached the shore,
and we walked back to where we left our stuff. We took our group photo and we
left on our bus! Although kayaking was very difficult, it was also very fun.
Plus, what a great upper body workout!
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Día en Madrid- July 19
We woke up from our first night in Madrid and met up at the hotel restaurant downstairs for breakfast. We enjoyed a wonderful buffet with many options from toast, sausage, croissants, and churros.
Next, we met upstairs in the lounge to fill out survey forms for the trip and to discuss the plan for today's activities. Our first activity of the day was visiting the beautiful Palacio Real. This palace is the official residence of the Spanish royal family and has 2800 rooms. We had a tour of many different rooms and learned about each room's unique architecture, art, style, and purpose. Friday, July 18, 2014
Día de Compras: 17 de Julio
Día de Compras
17 de Julio
We started of Thursday just like any other day, by heading to our classes at the university. During our first class which happens to be grammar, we received our final exam grades back. The university's grading system is a bit different than ours back in the United States. Instead of receiving a numerical grade we are given a letter grade based on our overall achievement on the exam. Our final grade for the class though, is composed of the average of our participation, homework and exam grades. After we received our grades, we participated in a debate (in Spanish of course). The class was divided and the two sides argued about whether it is better to live in a city (un ciudad) or a small town (un pueblo). Both sides had valid points and it was an overall fun experience. In our conversation class, we finished presenting our final exam oral presentations and began some new activities. In our final class of the day, culture, we learned about festivals that take place in Spain. Some of them include, Fiesta de la Tomatina and La Semana Santa. La Tomatina takes place in Buñol, a town in Valencia, annually. People line up on the streets and wait for the trucks with the smooshed tomatoes to come by, and when the trucks finally come, those waiting are bombarded with tomatoes! There are many legends about the origin of the fiesta, but people say that it began when a crowd threw tomatoes at a bad singer. From then on youth have continued the tradition. La Semana Santa is a festival that takes place during Holy Week throughout Spain, but the main ones take place in Málaga and Seville. A "brotherhood" from each church traditionally carries "pasos" or floats around the city, while wearing the traditional costumes for as much as 10-16 hours! After our classes we had a free afternoon to shop for souvenirs and explore Salamanca, before we left for Madrid on Fiday.
July 18th: Goodbye Salamanca and Hello Madrid
As our two weeks here in Spain slowly come to an end, we have learned from our teachers, bonded with our host families, and made life long friendships with our Ursuline sisters. Being our last day of classes, we received our certificates from the University of Salamanca showing our hard work and determination to advancing our knowledge of the spanish language and culture. After our last class, we all went for hot chocolate with churros as a final goodbye to Salamanca and as a happy birthday to Rachel. After an approximately three hour bus ride to Madrid, we checked into Hotel Regina and then walked around the central of Madrid including the Plaza Mayor and the Puerto Del Sol. Afterwards, we walked to Sidreria for a traditional tapas group dinner and then retreated back to the hotel to get some rest for the busy day ahead!
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
¡Horseback Riding! July 15, 2014
We had classes again this morning. In grammar we reviewed for our exam, in conversation we talked about where and when we like to eat, and then in culture class we talked about Flamenco. Then it was time to head home for lunch and siesta. Unfortunately, Victoria and I spent most of siesta studying for exams.
Then Victoria and I went to the plaza a little early and got some yummy ice cream!
Once everyone got to the Plaza, we were off to horse back riding. It was a little hot, but it was so much fun. The horses were beautiful and there were other animals on the ranch as well. We all rode in three different groups. Some of the other girls and I shared a fear of horse back riding, but we were all able to conquer it! There were some horses who decided not to listen (thank goodness it wasn't mine), but there were plenty of helpful experts to get the horses back in its place. Overall it was a good day with an adventurous afternoon. Wish us luck on our exams!
Group shot after school!
Then Victoria and I went to the plaza a little early and got some yummy ice cream!
Once everyone got to the Plaza, we were off to horse back riding. It was a little hot, but it was so much fun. The horses were beautiful and there were other animals on the ranch as well. We all rode in three different groups. Some of the other girls and I shared a fear of horse back riding, but we were all able to conquer it! There were some horses who decided not to listen (thank goodness it wasn't mine), but there were plenty of helpful experts to get the horses back in its place. Overall it was a good day with an adventurous afternoon. Wish us luck on our exams!
Horses lined up and ready!
Baby horse!
Daniella showed off a bit...turns out she actually rides horses.
Meghan and her horse!
There was the cutest kitten!
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