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July 5th, 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
Buenos Dias!
What a weekend we had here in Spain. We had time to try some delicious Spanish food, relax and enjoy the laid back Spanish lifestyle, go to the beautiful beaches, do some shopping at the many shops that just started their summer “rebajas” (sales), and experience the unique Spanish culture.
Saturday afternoon the group met at 1pm to go to a typical Spanish tapas restaurant called La Perola. At this restaurant they specialize in over 70 varieties of different tapas. With our big group we were able to sit and relax for a few hours at an outdoor table and try tons of delicious Spanish food. We have a fantastic group of students who are willing to try new things, so we sampled lots of different small plates. These included (lets see if I can remember them all): Garbanzos con camarones (garbanzo beans with shrimp), Lasagna, Patatas Bravas (spicy potatoes), Tortilla con Atun (Spanish omelet with tuna), Musaka (meat and potato pie), Huevos en Bechemel (eggs in a white sauce), Berenjena con queso (eggplant with cheese), Croquetas (fried croquettes), Champinones con ajillo (garlic mushrooms) and of course paella. Although, we all decided that the paella we cooked was better!
After we stuffed ourselves at lunch, the rest of the afternoon on Saturday was free to explore and enjoy the quaint costal town of Cadiz. I know many of us went to partake in a siesta since we were so full after our big meal. Then there was time to get some sun at la playa (the beach).
Sunday morning was also free to sleep in and relax. Later in the afternoon we met to take a boat ride across the bay to the neighboring town of El Puerto de Santa Maria.
It is an interesting fact to note that when Christopher Columbus set sail for the Americas, he left from the ports of Cadiz. The ship, Santa Maria, was named after the town that we visited.
This region is the oldest inhabited area in Western Europe, dating as far back as 1600 BC. It has a long history of battles being conquered by the Phoenicians, Romans, Moors, and Christians. We are lucky to be able to tour and learn about this ancient history, and live amongst the old historic buildings. In Puerto we toured the main Castillo (castle) and walked through town to view some of the important streets and churches.
Our main purpose for the visit to El Puerto was to attend La Corrida de Toros, an authentic Spanish Bullfight. Before we went into the bullring, our tour guide, Yaye from Mundo Lengua, gave us an introduction to the sport and the different stages.
At each corrida there are 3 toreros (matadors) who each fight and kill 2 bulls. The fight should last a total of 20 to 30 minutes, and a trumpet player signals the different stages. The fight begins when the bull in released into the ring. The toreros and their team run the bull around the ring to test its speed, agility, and ferociousness. They do some intricate passes with their pink and yellow capes, and if the bull gets too close, they can hide behind a barrier. After this stage, the picadors ride out on armored horses to weaken the bull so it keeps its head and horns down. Then, the 3 banderillas will each approach the bull to further weaken and enrage the animal so its attack for the final torero will be fiercer. The final stage with the torero and the traditional red cape can be viewed as a dance between the man and beast. He demonstrates his control over the animal and his bravado getting as close as possible to the bull’s sharp horns. Finally, the fight concludes with the matador stabbing the bull through the neck into the heart to cause instant death. Although bullfighting generates much controversy today in Spain, it maintains deep cultural significance. It is often a once in a lifetime experience for our students to see, and they are able to form their own opinions about the sport as a form of art, culture, and animal cruelty. We always give everyone the option to leave if they need to, but our students were all very interested and stayed to watch and film all of the fights.
All week this week is dedicated to finalizing the documentaries. Over the past week and a half the students have all filmed tons of great footage in Spain including our visit to Sevilla, tours in Cadiz, cultural activities, interviews with their host families and classmates, and much more. In class this week they have finished logging and capturing their many hours of tape, and learned how to edit everything together on the timeline with audio, transitions, and titles. Before they started editing we had everyone create a storyboard, or outline for their movie. They also all wrote and recorded their voiceover commentaries. The voiceovers and music play a very important role in the documentaries and really serve to set the tone. We have a lot of great Spanish music, both traditional and modern, to help create an authentic Spanish mood. Of course, they can also incorporate some of their favorite music from home as well. These movies are each very personal reflections about their experiences in Spain and we can’t wait to see the finished products.
Today is the 4th of July, and in honor of the holiday, Mundo Lengua is hosting a fiesta at the school tonight for all the students. There will be music, dancing and fun! Our group is working very diligently on their movies and everyone even brought a picnic to class so they can work until the party starts, instead of going home for dinner. Tomorrow they will wrap up the movies and on Friday we will have the debut screening on a big screen in the theatre. The time has flown by, and I hope that you have enjoyed following along through my blog and the many photos. I know that everyone will soak up every last minute that we have here in Spain.
As always, thanks for reading and email anytime with questions or comments.
Gracias por su tiempo (thanks for your time),
-Kendra
Reminder: All photos of the Spain Program can be accessed by:
Students: Via the Student Corner
Parents: Logging in Via My Camp Account
July 5th, 2007
Posted in: Locations
July 4th, 2007 by: Pete
One of the incredible things about my job is the wonderful, inspirational and creative people I get to work alongside daily. You may expect that with thousands of kids and computers scattered across 20 states and two continents, we may run into some technical issues with computers, networks, software, internet connectivity–and you’d be right. But aside from the technical troubleshooting at camp, we rely on our staff to go above and beyond when they deem it necessary–with issues that may be seemingly “outside the job description.” We give them the tools to make good decisions and think creatively–but the follow-through and creativity is not something that can be handed down from a “corporate office.”
Take iD Tech Camps at the University of Washington, for example. Today is the 4th of July. The labs–with all the computers and hardware and bodies were getting hot this week. We brought in air conditioning units–but how do you get the hot exhaust out of the labs when the hose is only 3 feet long? This is a tale, my friends, of two problem-solvers: Amy and Karlene!
Here is an email I received this morning, and pictures to go along with it:
“Like you don’t get enough emails in one day… we thought you would enjoy this one…
We are HOT here at UW… especially that little lab across the hall, so, being the problem solvers we are (thanks Pete!)… we hooked up the AC units, made a trip to the Depot and “piped” out the hot air and now it is a cool, refreshing 69 degrees…
We just followed these simple steps…
Step 1- We took the hose out of the box
Step 2- We plugged the hoses into the AC box
Step 3- We turned on that cooling box…
… and that’s the way you do it…. we have AC in a box!”
Happy 4th of July!
Amy & iD Team UW”
Amy and Karlene, you guys are pure problem-solvers! Thanks for keeping our labs cool and comfortable up at UW!
Happy 4th to you and the crew!
-Pete
July 4th, 2007
Posted in: Summer Camps
July 2nd, 2007 by: Pete
Here’s the next edition! Hola otra vez de Espana! (Hello once again from Spain!),
It is now Friday afternoon here in Spain, and the weather is starting to get hotter and feel like the typical Cadiz summer weather. Our first week has flown by, as everyday has been full of classes and cultural activities. Bienvenidos a mi “blog” numero tres! This is truly one of the coolest teen study abroad programs out there. I think the pictures speak for themselves.
Since last I wrote on Monday our students have been busy in Spanish classes in the morning. The first half of class is focused on grammar and conversation, while the second half of class is focused on Spanish culture. Every weekday morning classes last from 10am until 1:30pm. By now most of our students are settled into the proper level of instruction, but we continue to check in with them daily to see if they need to move to a different Spanish class. We want them to be comfortable, but also want each of them to be challenged so they learn as much as possible during the two weeks.
After Spanish class, the students take the bus back to the old part of town to have lunch with their Spanish host families. Lunch is the largest meal of the day in Spain, and a time when all shops close so people can go home to spend some time with their family and relax. After a big meal it is typical to take a brief siesta, or nap.
After siesta time we reconvene for our video class and an afternoon cultural activity. As I mentioned in my previous blog when last I wrote, Monday afternoon we met at the Cathedral for a tour of the oldest neighborhood in Cadiz, the Barrio del Populo, then went for our first film class. Later that night the school hosted a welcome party for all the new students.
Tuesday afternoon we participated in a Flamenco dance class.
We learned a typical Andalucian dance called the Sevillanas, which is a more graceful form of flamenco with smooth movements as opposed to the typical stomping and clapping. Our students all participated and had a good time, but the quickly learned that it was more difficult to learn that it appeared! Lucky for us, one of our students, Laura, has studied Sevillanas before and she was able to assist our instructor to help everyone learn. It was fun to watch. There are lots of photos available online to help paint the picture and we got lots of film during the class as well.
Later on Tuesday night Mundo Lengua organized a private party at a disco for all the students. It was fun dancing, and then afterwards our students went and walked home along the beach and enjoyed the lovely cool night air.
Wednesday afternoon instead of going home for lunch, we stayed at school for a Spanish cooking class. We all learned how to make Paella.
Ours turned out very delicious. The ingredients included red and green bell peppers, garlic, olive oil, tomatoes, chicken, squid, shrimp, and of course rice. At the end we decorated our Paella with some roasted red bell peppers and made a tribute to Espana. Muy bien! I was very impressed that everyone tried some of the paella–even with all of the seafood.
Normally we have many more picky eaters, and I am glad that everyone enjoyed the food we cooked. We have a great group of students who are all willing to try and experience the new Spanish culture.
Thursday night we attended an authentic Flamenco show at a local tavern. The show starts with a signer, a guitar player and a box drummer. After the musicians warm up, the dancers come out and perform their passionate dances. The always maintain very serious “flamenca” facial expressions and the way they move their bodies and arms to the music tells a beautiful story. It is also interesting how the musicians clap along with the music and can make so many different sounds by clapping and stomping their feet. Ole!
That brings us to today, which is Friday. This afternoon we took a tour of the Campo del Sur, or the Southern Coastline. We visited the two Castillos or forts at the tip of the city that were built hundreds of years ago to protect the city. It was a hot day today so we got lots of great footage of people out at the beach with the historic castillos in the background.
All week in our digital video and filmmaking camp our students have been working very diligently logging and capturing the many hours of footage. They have all written a storyboard of their documentaries and have begun to edit them, creating their timeline. Now that they know the basics of editing, next week we will be teaching more about video transitions, the use of music and voiceovers, titles, and how to finalize the project. We have many different personalities and styles, so Kevin and I know that each documentary will be a personal reflection on their trip to Spain. It is exciting to see them come together.
This weekend is going to be very fun and relaxing. Tomorrow we meet for a big tapas lunch to try many different types of Spanish cuisine. Then the rest of the afternoon will be free to enjoy the wonderful weather and go to the beach. Sunday morning is free, and then in the afternoon we will take a boat to the nearby city of Puerto de Santa Maria to see an authentic bullfight. This weekend is a good chance for the students to collect any additional footage they need for their movies, so that next week we can focus on finalizing the editing.
That’s all for now! Again, I want to take an opportunity to say what a pleasure it has been to get to know each one of the students. They have truly bonded together as a group in only a week. They are all doing great in Spanish and Video classes and we look forward to spending another week in Spain together.
As always, email me anytime if you have any questions. Also be sure to check out the hundreds of photos we have posted online.
Reminder: You can find all of the Spanish camp pics (there are a lot of great ones) by logging in through your Camp Account, and students can get there via the Student Corner. Also, some additional pictures have been updated in the previous blog entry, found in >> Spain Study Abroad.
Ciao,
Kendra
July 2nd, 2007
Posted in: Locations
July 2nd, 2007 by: Pete
William McClure Stout is now home! I am not going to dilute these pictures with text. They speak for themselves. Suffice to say that Alexa and baby Will are now in the comfort of their home. Alexa is doing great. Strong and smiling. Will is “mellow” according to Alexa (at least I think she said mellow–it was tough to hear over the crying baby in the background).
Congratulations to Gabriella on your baby Brother! Let mommy and daddy hold him once in a while!
July 2nd, 2007
Posted in: CEO's Blog
July 1st, 2007 by: Ryan
Web camps
By Beth Velliquette
July 1st, 2007
Posted in: iD In The News, UNC Chapel Hill
