We can´t believe that our trip is already nearing its end! As we talk with the group, many of them say they wish they could stay a little longer. Their time in Salamanca has been very memorable- I´m sure you will notice when you see the hundreds of photos they´ve taken & listen to their stories!
Due to some special circumstances & a great opportunity that no one wanted to pass up, this is our final full day in Salamanca. The group is currently in their final day of classes &, later this afternoon, they will receive their diplomas. This evening we will celebrate with tapas & tuna! ´Tuna´ refers to university singing groups that date as far back as 1215. They will be there to serenade us as we celebrate our final evening in Spain.

The group decided to change the schedule a bit due to another excellent opportunity we were able to find. We will be spending our final day abroad in the town of Aveiro, Portugal! (Please see attached photos.) The group, including our guide Olga & one of our Spanish professors, will be traveling together by bus to this small town on the western coast of the country. Aveiro is a small beach town known as Portugal´s ¨Venice.¨ It gets its nickname from the canals that run throughout the town. We will spend the day in Aveiro, seeing the sites, playing on the beach & sampling some of Portugal´s cuisine. We will be back Saturday evening with just enough time to have dinner, finish packing, take a last minute shower & then…off to the airport!

Provided our flights are not delayed, we hope to land at O´hare at 1:55pm on Sunday. We will meet all of you in front of HPHS at 3:30pm. After nearly 21 hours of traveling, everyone is sure to be exhausted!

¡Hola! It´s our tenth day in Salamanca! Time has flown & we can´t believe that the end of our trip is already near. A lot has been going on- here´s a snippet of what´s been going on & what´s to come. Yesterday we took an excursion to la Alberca. (http://www.euroresidentes.com/euroresiuk/Spanish_villages/alberca.htm) When we returned to Salamanca, we had some free time for shopping, ice cream, people watching, etc.

Today, the classes will be taking a field trip to one of Salamanca´s markets.  By engaging in a scavenger hunt, students will have the opportunity to use their Spanish and find out what kinds of items are sold. Tonight, we´re headed to the movies! We will be going to see the new Indiana Jones movie- in Spanish, of course!

Tomorrow will be a full day excursion to the towns of Segovia & Avila. Avila is Spain´s famous ¨walled city¨and Segovia is best known for its ´acueducto.´

Everything is great in Salamanca. The group has been speaking lots of Spanish with their families and learning lots in their classes. Although we´re having a wonderful time, we look forward to seeing all of you on Sunday at HPHS!

Last Thursday we found out about a really great opportunity- a concert in Salamanca! Juanes, one of Latin music´s top artists (http://www.juanes.net/), would be performing on Saturday night. After lots of investigating & (Sr. Acosta) running around, we were able to get tickets! This was not something we knew about beforehand so we were fortunate to get tickets the day of the concert.

The Juanes concert will probably be one of the favorite activities for many of the students. There were no assigned seats so we were able to get right up in front of the stage! Jorie even caught Juanes´towel after the concert! Today, the group is wearing their Juanes World Tour t-shirts. I will try to put some of the new pictures up on the blog this evening as we don´t have any access to a USB cord from school.

Yesterday was our only ¨free day¨in Salamanca and the students spent the day with their host families. Many of them went to El Rastro, an open air market, to buy jewelry and clothes. Some went to the pool- it is very hot in Salamanca these days! Another group of students went to the movies.

Today is Maggie´s birthday so, of course, we will be celebrating! We have plans to go to the pool with the entire group this afternoon. Later this evening, we will have a picnic dinner & cake & ice cream in the Plaza Mayor. It should be another great day in Salamanca!

Yesterday we visited Alba de Tormes, a small town just outside of Salamanca. Alba de Tormes is well known for its beautiful handmade cerámica and alfarería, which we were able to see firsthand. We watched as Felipe Pérez used a pottery wheel to effortlessly create water pitchers, plates and vases. Many of us purchased items- the favorite yesterday was the ´canario,´a small whistle that produces a bird call-like sound when you fill the whistle with water. Among other things, we also saw the Castillo Duque de Alba and climbed to the top of one of the towers. There were many STEEP steps but the view at the top was well worth the climb.

Please feel free to follow the link if you would like to read more about Alba de Tormes: http://www.villaalbadetormes.com/

Today is Saturday and class is in session! This evening we will go to visit el Convento de San Esteban & Ieronimus. Tomorrow will be a free day with the host families so that the students can get to know them a little better & see some of their favorite hot spots.

Buenos días, everyone!

It´s day 4 of our trip. As I write this, the students are in classes with their professors Amaya & Elena. They take three classes per day- culture/civilization, grammar & conversation. Everyone´s Spanish is improving already and many students have commented that they´re having difficulty thinking in English! They are learning lots of new words, including some Spanish slang. ¨¡Vale, venga!¨is a new favorite expression.

Yesterday we met bright & early to get on the bus for our first excursion. Our first stop was El Escorial. Here is some information about this site-

El Escorial, the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo El Real (also known as the Monasterio de El Escorial or simply El Escorial) is located about 45 km (28 mi) northwest of the Spanish capital, Madrid. El Escorial comprises two architectural complexes of great historical and cultural significance: El Real Monasterio de El Escorial itself and La Granjilla de La Fresneda, a royal hunting lodge and monastic retreat about five km away. These sites have a dual nature; that is to say, during the 16th and 17th centuries, they were places in which the temporal power of the Spanish monarchy and the ecclesiastical predominance of the Roman Catholic religion in Spain found a common architectural manifestation. El Escorial was, at once, a monastery and a Spanish royal palace. Originally a property of the Hieronymite monks, it is now an Augustinian monastery.

Our next stop was El Valle de los Caídos (The Valley of the Fallen). El Valle de los Caídos is a memorial, conceived by former dictator Francisco Franco, to remember those whose lives were lost during the Spanish Civil War. It consists of a Basilica and a cross. In particular its Basilica (one of the world´s largest) remains controversial, especially due to the manner and circumstances of its construction. After touring the Basilica, where we saw Franco´s tomb, we traveled up the mountain to get a closer look at the cross itself. Half the group took the funicular up the side of the mountain while the other half hiked. While the hike was fairly long & tiring, it provided a beautiful view of the surrounding area.

Both sites are in the mountains and surrounded 360 degrees by trees, lakes- a GORGEOUS site! We took some beautiful pictures of the group.

We´ve also spent quite a bit of free time in the Plaza Mayor, people watching, shopping &, of course, sampling local cuisine! As I´m sure all of you are aware, the students love to eat dessert! We have tried some interesting flavors of ice cream & gofres (a warm waffle like pastry covered in chocolate, whipped cream, etc.)

Tonight we will be visiting the Casa Lys, one of Salamanca´s art museums. From there we will go for churros & chocolate! The students have been asking about this since we arrived in Madrid. We think they will be surprised to find that the churros from Spain are quite different from the churros they have eaten in the United States.

Please keep your comments coming! We are glad you are enjoying the blog & enjoy reading your hellos! ¡Hasta luego!

¡Aquí estamos!  It´s our first full day in Salamanca.  The trip was smooth but long & tiring.  Our flight from Chicago to London went very well.  There were 200 movies to choose from on British Airways, so many of the students slept very little!  We had a short layover in London &, after roughly 16 hours of traveling, we were in Madrid!

Our ´guía´, Olga, met us at the airport.  Everyone was hungry so we caught a quick bite at the airport.  Right away, many of the students were ready to try ´comida española.´ Bocadillos de tortilla  (a sandwich made from traditional Spanish omelette) & paella were favorites.  After lunch, we took a bus tour of Madrid!  We saw many of the famous sites- el Parque de Buen Retiro, Gran Vía, el Palacio Real and more.

After our tour and some time to stretch our legs, we boarded the bus to Salamanca.  The drive from Madrid to Salamanca took about 2.5 hours- enough time for a siesta!  Once in Salamanca, each student was introduced to his/her families.   We parted ways for the evening.

This morning we met as a group & walked over to school.  As I am writing this, the students are taking their placement tests for the language classes that they will take almost every day.  Later this afternoon, we will have a tour of Salamanca´s city center.  It´s a beautiful, albeit chilly, day in Salamanca & we are already having an amazing time!  I´ll have some pictures posted soon so check back for upates!  Also, feel free to leave comments for your sons & daughters to read or if you would like us to  answer any questions about what we´ve seen or done!

¡Hasta luego!

In just under a week, we’ll be on our way! Today, I looked up the weather forecast for our first few days in Salamanca.  As you can see, it will get progressively warmer.  Be sure to pack clothes for cooler temps in the evenings! 

Sun Jun 15		Partly Cloudy	68°/51°	10 %
Mon Jun 16		Partly Cloudy	70°/49°	10 %
Tue Jun 17		Partly Cloudy	72°/48°	0 %
Wed Jun 18		Partly Cloudy	73°/48°	0 %

Sr.  Acosta & I are looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow night for our final Spain meeting!  Hasta pronto…

Bienvenidos a nuestro “blog”!  We promise not to write all of the entries in Spanish.  Check back here for updates on what the group did, saw, ate, etc. during our two week trip to Salamanca, Spain!  Below you’ll see a picture of Salamanca’s Plaza Mayor.  It is known as one of Europe’s most beautiful squares.  Our group is sure to spend plenty of time people-watching while sipping a ‘cafe con leche’ here!