Things are getting underway!
After making it to their host families' homes on our first day (Wednesday, the 6th), students had a relatively easy (if long) week. Thursday was all about orientation -- what would the classes be like, what a regular day was like, what some of the general rules and guidelines were, and then (late in the afternoon) meeting with host families and students to talk about the program as a group.
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First, everyone gathered to get into the classroom we were using for orientation, and where one of the groups would meet daily once classes began in earnest.
Outside one window is an open courtyard, outside the other is an enclosed one:
First we went around, introducing everyone formally to each other for the first time:
Then we had the Spanish language test, which students take once at the start of the program and once at the end to measure their development over the course of the six weeks.
There was a fun listening section, where the instructors got to act out dialogues, and students responded to questions about what they'd heard.
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After the test, we took a break to play some sports (basketball, volleyball and soccer) in the playground area, headed to the lunchroom around 2p (where we ate an early (for Spain) meal with some of the younger students who attend the school), and finally wandered into the center of town to get some ice cream and see some of Ciudad Real as a group.
Soon enough, it was time to head back to the classroom for the rest of the scheduled orientation activities.
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Back in the classroom, we divided ourselves into three groups based on after-class activities (music, dance and theater). These groups will up with their assigned instructor every day to practice for the farewell show, which we'll be performing for the host families during our final Friday in Ciudad Real.
Then we moved on to orientation activities, which had games interspersed to help pass the time until the Host Family orientation that evening.
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On Friday the 8th, we had a normal day's class, starting a little later than normal because we were scheduled to go on a city tour in the evening. After classes and lunch, students went home with host families for a few hours, then met back up in the town square at 8:45pm to wait for the tour to begin:
Students were given their dumb-phones in class on Thursday, and many had just gotten SIM cards that afternoon, so Friday evening's festivities began with the exchanging of new numbers to allow students to stay in touch and coordinate with each other.
Also with spirited games of hacky-sack, which Spanish host family siblings joined in on:
Some local color (pardon the pun). Friday evening was Noche Blanca, a town celebration for adolescents -- most stores in the center of town were offering sales and discounts, and many government-run buildings (such as museums) were open for free.
And they're off. The tour guide set off toward one of the cathedrals, chatting about the town's history, details about specific buildings, and famous people who had left their mark over the centuries.
We stepped into one of the three cathedrals for a few minutes, sitting and listening to the guide talk about the history of the structure, as well as its connection to Ferdinand and Isabella, known as the Catholic Monarchs, who funded Christopher Columbus!
Time for one last photo before moving on to the next sight!
No pictures were permitted in the museum, but it dated back to the fifteenth century, and had a number of paintings within by Lopez-Villaseñor, a modern painter native to Ciudad Real.
Students gathered for a group photo before parting ways for the weekend. They would finally get the chance to spend time with their host families and sleep, allowing them to overcome the remnants of jetlag many were still feeling and be ready for class on Monday! Students should also be making their one program-permitted call home soon (if they haven't already), now that they've gotten settled into their new lodgings here in Spain!
We'll be back next week with more updates. On the agenda: a visit to the movie theater on Wednesday for a film (most likely an American film dubbed in Spanish), meeting local students from the professional development center on Thursday, and watching the World Cup soccer game between Spain and Portugal together on Friday!
(Side note: The temperature has been surprisingly mild these last few days. Afternoon highs have been mostly in the mid-70s, with lows reaching into the 50s at night. Spanish weather forecasters and host parents are all a bit confused by this -- by this time last year, it was in the high 80s and low 90s. Hopefully the weather holds until early July, as some have predicted, but we will doubtless return to typical summer temperatures before long. More on that next week!)