Gijon

Friday we went to Gijon on the commuter train! The day started out beautiful, but the fog eventually rolled in bringing cool air. First, we went to a museum about the history of trains. Then we ate a picnic snack by the beach. We climbed up to a park that overlooks the ocean (but couldn't see anything!). The fog made for some fun pictures, though. Next, we went to a museum with the remains of a Roman bath. We ate lunch in a park and some of the kids took a dip in the cold ocean! We left early because of the weather.

Thursday and Friday we are headed to Santiago de Compostela. Santiago de Compostela is about five hours west of Oviedo. It is the end of the Camino de Santiago pilgrim route. For more on this place see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santiago_de_Compostela

Robert's pictures from Gijon: http://robertpbaxter.smugmug.com/IUHPFL-Oviedo-2010/Gij%C3%B3n/12701187_MiQxP#914002555_9xzt6

Santa Maria de Narranco y San Juan de Lillo

We took an afternoon excursion to two churches near Oviedo on Wednesday. These churches date back to the 9th century! The kids had fun playing frisbee and soccer near the churches and taking silly pictures!





























Ethan, Grant, Julia and Erica are at the Festival of San Juan celebrating the longest day of the year and the beginning of summer!



Friday we are off to Gijón to see the ancient city and maybe take a dip in the Atlantic Ocean!
More about Gijón:
http://www.asturiasguide.com/Gijon-history.html

Robert's Photos

We have our own personal photographer for this trip. Robert brought a lot of camera equipment with him and has been taking some fabulous pictures. Here is the website to see what he has uploaded so far. He will continue uploading throughout the summer. (P.S. - 'Paisaje' means landscape).

http://robertpbaxter.smugmug.com/IUHPFL-Oviedo-2010

Fútbol & León

Last week, we watched Spain play in its first soccer game during the World Cup!












Friday, we went to León for the day. We saw the cathedral with its beautiful stained glass windows. We ate a picnic in a park and the students had a couple of free hours in the afternoon to explore the city.

End of first week

We finished our first week of classes this week! We started planning the farewell show that we present to the host parents. We have decided to adapt Grease (Brillantina in Spanish). We even found all the songs in Spanish on iTunes!

Wednesday night we had a meeting with the host families. The meeting went very well! They are thrilled with this group of students! Only a few we worried about the timidity of some of the students. Sometimes this can be just a cultural difference but we will keep in touch with the host families about anything that arises.

Tomorrow we had an excursion planned to Covadonga and Los Lagos (The Lakes), but because of all the rain, the highway is blocked from fallen rock. It would take a lot more time to get there and if the weather wasn't good, we wouldn't get to see much. We are postponing that excursion and we are going to the city of Leon instead. This is an optional excursion but all the students decided to go! We leave bright and early tomorrow morning.

The group is waiting to eat lunch in a rest stop on the way from the airport to Oviedo. Everyone had 'bocadillos' - sandwiches and they were gigantic!!


Students in the shuttle in Barajas Airport, Madrid!

We are on the stairs leading from the city up to the school during the tour around the city after orientation!

Our first excursion around Oviedo

Here we are in front of the Cathedral in Oviedo. We had our orientation today. We ate lunch together (chicken, fries, noodle soup, salad). Then we took a tour of the city. The students returned home with their host families around 2:30. Giselle is the only instructor who was here last year and she said the students last year did not speak during the first lunch. This year they were talkative and loud!!! They are a fun group to teach!

The trip over went well. We 'lost' one piece of luggage (it has already arrived) and one suitcase lost a wheel.

We made it!

All students are spending their first night with their families! I will update you again soon!