Study Abroad Spain Blog from 7/20/07

July 23rd, 2007 by: Pete

From Kendra, Manager of iD Tech Camps’ Documentary Filmmaking and Cultural Immersion Study Abroad Program in Spain:

Reminder:  All photos of the Spain Program can be accessed by:

Students:  Via the Student Corner

Parents:  Logging in Via My Camp Account

¡Hola!

It is now Friday and our first full week in Spain is coming to a close.  We have had an extremely busy week learning Spanish, participating in cultural activities and tours, collecting lots of footage, and having fun in Cadiz with new friends from around the world.

Spanish classes have been going well, and the students are beginning to gain more confidence in their speaking abilities.  In video class the students have learned the basics of Final Cut Pro and have been busy logging and capturing all their footage.  By the end of today they will all have completed their story boards and scripts to help them focus on their documentaries.  Then they will begin to put it all together in the timeline, and see if there is any additional footage or interviews they need to collect over the weekend.  Next week they will delve more deeply into editing by adding in music and voiceovers, transitions, titles, and just putting their own personal touches to make each of the movies distinctly individual.

As I said before, we have had a very busy week this past week with our many cultural activities. On Tuesday afternoon we all participated in a dance class to learn the Sevillanas, a typical Flamenco dance that is performed at the Feria in Sevilla.

It is a beautiful dance, and although the steps are not difficult to learn it is very hard to incorporate the intricate arm movements that really make the dance beautiful.  There are 4 stages to the dance and we learned the first one.  The students did well, all in all – we have some pretty good dancers.

Later that night after film class the group went to a traditional Flamenco bar to watch a professional performance.  One element that is persistent in the Flamenco art form is the serious and passionate expressions on the dancers’ faces.  Everyone had fun watching the dancers perform and listening to the live Flamenco music.

Wednesday afternoon instead of going home for lunch we stayed at the Colegio to cook some typical Spanish food.  Everyone helped to prepare a huge pan of Paella, the most famous Spanish dish made with rice, saffron, meat, fish, and vegetables.

It takes some time and attention to prepare, but the finished dish was delicious.  Hopefully the students will remember the recipe so they can cook for their families when they get back home to the US.

On Wednesday night we had quite a party at the school!  It was a fiesta de disfraces, or a costume party.  Carnaval is huge here in Cadiz, so the students were able to put together some great costumes with some help from their host families and some cheap purchases at local shops.  Costumes included Flamenco dancers, Sevillanas dresses, gypsies, belly dancers, pirates, rock stars and more.  Kevin, our director, has been know as “Abuelo” this trip, so he appropriately came dressed like an old grandpa.

I dressed in a traditional Greek Toga.  Some of the other teachers here at Mundo Lengua had some hysterical costumes as well.   It was so much fun with everyone dancing the night away in costume.

At the end of the night they crowned the king and queen of the party and one of our students, Chad, who wore a scary mask and a silly hat was named the king!  You can laugh at our outfits by looking at the rest of the pictures online at My Camp Account.

Thursday afternoon we toured the Cathedral in Cadiz and learned a little bit more about the history of the city.

The Cathedral was constructed over the course of more than 100 years and therefore includes multiple styles of architecture, including baroque and neo-classical.  The highlight of the tour is visiting the crypt below the cathedral – it is a little creepy, but very cool.

That brings us to today.  This afternoon we have just video class, then the students get some much deserved free time this weekend.  Tomorrow we will be going out to tapas together for lunch, and then will have some free time to go to the beach and do some shopping.  On Sunday we will be taking a boat to the nearby city of El Puerto de Santa Maria and will attend a bullfight.  It should be a great weekend!

To wrap-up this edition of my blog, I have asked each of the students to give me a brief reflection about their first week here in Spain, whether it be what they like or difference they have noticed, or just random observations.  Here are their serious and comical thoughts!

Aaron: “Being in Cadiz, Spain is very exciting for me.  Not only is it a wonderful cultural experience, but I can also further my knowledge in Digital Film editing – a combination not often seen.”
Alex:  “Sweet!”
Andrea: “The people here are so nice and willing to help with whatever you need.”
Anders: “It’s AWESOME! The people here have nice mullets.”
Chad: “Um… I’m not in Ar-Kansas anymore!”
Chris: “This trip is all I expected and more; there’s nothing else like it!”
Erin: “The people here walk a ton and eat rarely.  Haha… but seriously.  The culture is so amazing, full of vibrancy and color.  It is as if things at home are in black & white and I’ve just entered the Technicolor Land of Oz for the first time.”
Hector:  “It’s super hot, and it’s funny that huge water bottles cost less than small water bottles.  But everything is so wonderful here.”
Jessica: “In Spain the people are lively, beautiful and tan….”
Natalie:  “Mom, I am moving to Spain!”
Noelle: “I’ve already learned so much in Cadiz.  Particularly how to explain being late in Spanish.”

Thanks for reading!  Please do look at the wonderful photos online, and feel free to email me anytime with comments or questions.

Ciao,

Kendra

July 23rd, 2007

Posted in: Summer Camps

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