Locations

Spain Teen Study Abroad, Final Blog of the Season for Spain

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

Estimados Padres,

Today is Thursday here in Spain, the sun is shining, there is a nice breeze in the air, and the second and final Spain session for the summer is coming to a close. Since last I wrote we had a wonderful weekend here in Cadiz. On Saturday we met for a delicious tapas lunch.

Tapas are small plates of traditional Spanish food that are passed and shared amongst friends. We ate at a restaurant called La Perola that specializes in over 70 varieties of tapas. We sampled some paella, pollo, croquetas, huevos en béchamel, pescado, berenjena, musaka, patatas bravas, verduras, and more. After tasting a few bites of each one of the tapas we were all stuffed. Lucky for us, the rest of the afternoon on Saturday was free to take a siesta, relax, do some shopping, and go the beach. It was a wonderful afternoon and evening after a very busy and jam-packed week.

On Sunday after a free morning to sleep in, we took and excursion to the nearby city of El Puerto de Santa Maria. We rode the ferry across the bay to the neighboring city.

When we arrived, we took a brief tour through the historic town where we saw many of the old castillos and bodegas that have made the city famous.

The real reason for our trip, however, was to see an authentic Spanish bullfight. Andalucia is the province in Spain where bullfighting originated, and some of the best toreadors still remain in Southern Spain. The Corrida de Toros that we watched actually had three professional and famous bullfighters, and they put on quite the show. Although bullfighting today creates much debate here in Spain, it still is remains culturally significant.

It is viewed as a dance between the matador and the bull. The toreador demonstrates his control over the animal by doing very close and intricate passes with his cape. You often find yourself gasping as the matador gets so close to the bull’s sharp horns. After a series of passes the crowd will all yell “ole” to support the matador and then will burst into applause. After the final kill of the bull, if the matador did an exceptional performance he will be award a prize by the president of the corrida. If he does well he gets one bull ear, if he does an extraordinary performance he will get two ears, and if he is absolutely perfect and stunning he wins two ears and the tail. All three of the matadors we saw were spectacular and two of them each won two ears in one of their fights. It was one of the best corridas I have seen and all of the students enjoyed the experience.

The rest of this week we have been focusing on our Spanish and film classes. After with speaking with many of the students, they are all surprised about how much fun they are having in class while learning at the same time. In only two weeks their Spanish has improved tremendously – most importantly they are gaining the confidence to use their language skills.

The Spanish people are very friendly and accepting so this is the perfect environment to practice speaking. They are never judgmental if you happen to use the wrong word or verb tense, but rather they will help you learn.

Last night we had another fiesta at the school, but this time it was salsa dancing.

Everyone wore white and learned some great salsa moves from a professional dance instructor. They had a “musical chairs” style dance competition where the students paired up with a partner from another country (we have Spanish, Germans, French, Swiss, Austrian, and American students all studying at Mundo Lengua). Then they passed around a bottle while dancing. When the music stopped, if you had the bottle you were out. One of our students, Anders, and his Spanish dance partner were the winners and were crowned the salsa king and queen.

We were excited to see our students stay until the very last song of the party, dancing with all the international students.

In film and editing class the students have been working extremely diligently to polish and finalize their movies.

Each one of them has incorporated their own distinct personality and point of view in their final movie. They have set the tone with music and use voiceovers to tell their story. Mostly, the beautiful images from here in Spain create the ideal backdrop for the films. Kevin and I are proud of each one of them and look forward to our big screen debut tomorrow.

For me, this blog is has many bittersweet emotions. This will be my final blog from Spain with iD Tech Camps, as I am starting a new chapter in my life and moving to Europe. Over the past five years I have learned and grown so much through my work. I have been extraordinarily blessed to have the opportunity to combine my many passions, including travel and film, each summer season here in Spain. My Spanish accent is fantastic now! We have had over 100 students come through this program, and Kevin and I pride ourselves on not only teaching them Spanish and film, but also inspiring them to world cultures and travel. I love to hear from students one or more years after the program to learn about what they have gone onto accomplish in college and their lives. Many continue their studies in both Spanish and film, or just develop the spark and passion for learning more about the world through travel. I feel honored to have helped play a role in their personal growth and discovery.

What more can I say? This has been a fantastic summer – friendly Spanish people, beautiful sunny weather, delicious Spanish cuisine, and some amazing teens who have learned so much in such a short amount of time: the perfect teen study abroad program in Spain. As we spend our last weekend here in Spain before heading back to the hustle and bustle of American life, I know that we will all soak in every last minute.

If you need to reach us you can continue to email me, or call us on our Spanish mobile. We arrive back in New York at 3pm on Monday and once we clear customs you can reach us on Kevin’s toll free cell phone number. If you are picking up your student in New York you should wait for us downstairs in terminal 7. We will help all the students make their connecting flights as well.

Thank you all for reading and adios,

-Kendra

A quick note from Pete, CEO of iD Tech Camps:

Kendra, thank you for all you and Kevin have done over the summer in Spain, and I thank you and acknowledge your outstanding career at iD. We look forward to seeing you back in California shortly. We are, of course, happy that you and Jay will be traveling and living in Europe–but glad that we won’t be going with you. I am glad you noted, and understand, the impact you have had on our students and their families. The students will, no doubt, have memories to last a lifetime. The Spain program is unique and inspiring–and I am sure the students’ documentaries will say it all. But, it couldn’t have been done without you.

Safe travels!

-Pete

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

Students: Via the Student Corner

Parents: Logging in Via My Camp Account

2 Responses to “Spain Teen Study Abroad, Final Blog of the Season for Spain”

1. Spain Teen Study Abroad, Final Blog of the Season for Spain, on August 19th, 2007 at 7:01 am Said:

   Spain Teen Study Abroad, Final Blog of the Season for Spain…

   Excellent!…

2. Jack, on September 21st, 2007 at 4:21 pm Said:

   Jack…

   Loved your blog. I am definitely bookmarking it….

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