After beginning the day with volleyball and soccer on the sports grounds, we headed off to classes, then met up with English students from the vocational school across the street in the auditorium. These students, mostly in their late teens, were curious to know about the Americans studying in Ciudad Real...
After a brief introduction from us (the instructors for IUHPFL) and another from the English teacher from Ciudad Real, we began the fun. Our students stood up, introduced themselves with a few facts about their hometown and their interests, and then were asked pressing questions by the Spanish students to help demystify America.
Both groups got very engaged, describing the general American High School experience (including everything from how long classes are and types of extracurricular activities, to how Spanish is taught in America and what job prospects await students with various interests).
We instructors were on hand to provide advice, help explain the rapidly-spoken Spanish questions of some of the Ciudad Real students, and moderate the discussion, in case conversations got too far off topic. We also made sure that everyone that wanted it had the chance to speak.
Once our students had answered questions, we turned the tables, asking questions about Spanish schools, culture, and what the Ciudad Real group knew about America.
The location, the "salón de actos," is the spot where we'll have our farewell show in four weeks for host families, before we pack up our things and head back to America. (Planning for the show has already begun, and I hope to give you a glimpse of the preparation in the next couple weeks!)
After everyone had grilled everyone else on everything they could think of, and we had a lengthy conversation on the differences between the Spanish and American university experience (key point: the cost of an average university education in Spain is around a thousand euros, but in America it can sometimes exceed twenty thousand dollars a semester -- both groups were shocked when they head the difference!) it was time to file outside and wait a couple minutes to head over to the comedor, or lunch room, where we have our meals (our school is here, near the center of Ciudad Real).
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Out came the hacky sack, and a group gathered to pass it around. Others chatted about what we'd learned from the Ciudad Real group. (This is the pedestrian street out in front of the high school where we have classes.)
Some students enjoy having their pictures taken more than others. Despite my protests that I need pictures "for the good of the blog," others try to hide from me, or are downright exasperated at my picture taking (as is the case with Sofia, below). But alas, I must continue my valiant duty, like don Quijote before me, to provide my readers with visual evidence of our adventures. Also, students do tend to get into the spirit of things before long anyhow.
Sometimes, students also get dragged unwillingly into a photo by peers. :-)
Another attempted picture-avoidance tactic!
There are also instructors who try to avoid the camera! Can you believe it?!
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As I mentioned earlier, a big group had gathered with a hack-sack to play while we waited.
From their looks of concern, I take it that at this moment, someone lost control of a hack-sack, and there was a near miss with a passerby. Luckily, no one was harmed in the making of this shot.
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Then it was finally time to head off to the comedor for lunch, as 1:50 rolled around (since lunch is normally at 2p).
The lovely Juan and Jessica, hard at work guiding everyone to the lunchroom. It's not part of the school itself, which takes up most of a city block and doesn't have spare space for sports equipment or kitchens -- instead, we have a shady block and a half walk to help build up our appetites.
Turning down this little side street, you can see the gates up ahead, beyond which lie two soccer "fields" (on concrete), basketball and volleyball courts, and the comedor (lunch room).
Jacobo and Manuel had a little energy left after hack-sack, so they broke off for a moment to play a quick game of... hack-soccer?... while we waited in line to get our food.
Now, it's probably just me, but I sometimes get the feeling that people don't want me wandering around taking their pictures. I don't know if it's just some sixth sense, or... Oh, here's a picture of Aline, thrilled with my photography!
Waiting in line for food! Almost there, guys.
We instructors wait at the end, just as eager as the students to get some food into us. The heat it finally starting to build up (although it was only in the 60s and 70s our first week here, that has begun to change), and with the days reaching the low 80s now, we are all ready to fill up our stomachs and get some water into us by 2pm. (You'll note that Aline is again thrilled to be part of this magnificent picture! :-) )
A brief peek inside the cafeteria. A group of elementary schoolers have the same lunch hour as us, which means it's very loud in here, and will continue to be for another week or so, until school lets out for summer break.
I'm afraid I'm not much of a snap-chatter (Snapchat-er? Snap Chat Ter?) myself, so I don't do food shots very often or very well, but Juan recommended I take a picture of the day's meal to pass along to the families at home. We had a thick bean soup, chicken drumsticks, green beans/peas, and watermelon. There's usually always two large entrees to fill the big slots on the tray, a side of vegetables, and occasionally yogurt or fruits as desert.
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After spending a final hour working on our farewell show, coming up with ideas for the theatrical aspect of it, everyone went home for the afternoon. That evening, we met up again at 9:45 (Yes, these first images are what 10pm in Spain looks like -- still quite bright and blue-skied, although twilight is coming on quickly) to see the stars. Astronomers from the local university had set up telescopes to show students from the vocational school and us what Jupiter and a series of other stars looked like.
These are the (high-tech) telescopes. They were quite professional looking, and I imagine a bit of work to deal with. It took the astronomer who brought them almost fifteen minutes to set each one up and calibrate it after it got dark!
While we waited in the dying twilight, everyone decided it was time for photos. And when I say that, I truly mean everyone. There was one point when I had four cameras hanging from one arm while I took group shots. Here are some of the images I took in the background, when everyone was busy posing. :-)
Selfie time!
Maddison with her host sisters! We invited host siblings along with the students to come enjoy the stars, so they are scattered in among these shots.
Meanwhile, the sky slowly darkens. There doesn't seem to be much rain on the forecast for us for the next few weeks (if not the entire summer) -- which makes sense if these are all the clouds we're seeing!
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The night finally drew to a close -- too dark for me to take any pictures, since we couldn't have any external lighting lest we make it hard to see through the telescope. The astronomer chatted for a while about what we would see, then everyone crowded forward to take a look at Jupiter and its moons. By 11:15, all the students had been picked up by their host parents (and were hopefully off to bed shortly thereafter).
The final three, just before their parents picked them up that evening, waiting beneath a streetlight on the pedestrian path in front of our high school.
Thus ends another week's adventures. All things considered, this was probably our calmest week (at least in terms of travel), as we had a chance to get more acquainted with Ciudad Real and the school routine. From this point on, we will be traveling every Friday except the very last one, when we have our farewell show! That means that, in addition to regular weekly class updates, you can expect additional posts every weekend to show where we've gone, what things we've seen, and anything noteworthy that happens to us while we're there!
Our first and longest adventure is Granada and Torremolinos. We leave next Thursday (6/21) by bus to see Granada, then head to Torremolinos (a small southern town near Málaga on the Mediterranean), where we will spend Friday evening and most of Saturday at the beach (being sure to remind everyone about the importance of sunscreen!). See you soon!