Colonias en La Granja - Barcelona

Monday was the start to my third week here at La Granja, the summer camp I've been working at in Catalunya, Spain. I've had my ups and downs, but I prefer focusing on the ups...
Here is an update of the last month or so....

My first week was easier than the second week but still quite an adjustment. I forgot that I would be in Catalunya where the first language spoken is Catalan. It is a mix of French and Spanish so I am able to understand some of it, but I can't speak it. The other monitors were helpful but always speak in Catalan and have had a difficult time getting used to changing the language for us. My first group of kids was very rowdy and fun. They had a natural interest in learning English and each day was full of fun activities. In the past two weeks, we have gone horseback riding, archery, swimming, water fights, red toboggan, English class (of course ;)), animals, volleyball, secret routes, fiestas in the disco, dance show, chocolate with churros...etc...

Let me back up and explain a little about the camp...

I work at a camp about an hour by train outside of Barcelona called La Granja. It has various types of camps throughout the summer but the biggest are Colonias and Esplaii. Colonias is the sleepover camp for a week. Groups of students can come for horseback riding camp or horseback riding with an English component. There are typically 3-6 monitors each week and each monitor gets an assistant. The groups of kids are between 10-18. Esplaii is the day camp, so from 8am-6:30pm, the children are dropped off everyday M-FR for 4 or 5 weeks. There are 28 monitors for this type of camp plus assistants for each. I work in Colonias which entails working from 9am-11pm everyday without any days off. I sleep at the camp and must be available in case anything happens but there is a night monitor that stays with my kids. Each day I am responsible for teaching 1 hr and 1/2 of English. Aside from that, I am supposed to do every activity in English although it is extremely difficult depending on their levels of English.

Working with these kids has been at times stressful, entertaining, crazy, hectic, fun and rewarding. Every Saturday, my weekly group of kids and I say goodbye as their parents come. We prepare a dance and horse show exhibition for the parents. I have to speak to the parents and answer any questions as well as give them a written report on their child. This day is definately my least favorite because it puts my Spanish to the test. I can see the parents are pleased to have their children attend a camp with a native English speaker, therefore they are understanding if my Spanish isn't 100% correct. This day is also rewarding when the parents tell me how pleased their child was because it ensures they are learning a lot.

I've made great friends here and intend to keep in touch with many of them. I hope to head to the beach to relax this Saturday after the kids leave with my friends, Albert and Adriana. After a long week in the hot sun doing many activities, a relaxing afternoon feels awesome :)

Already, in less than a month I will be back in the US and I look forward to seeing my family and friends. I miss them and wish I could share this experience with them other than just a blog. Until then, VIVA EsPaNa...Miss and love you all

XOXO,

Heather

Waka Waka ehhh ahhh ehhh

These past couple of weeks have been absolutely fabulous. I am currently in a pueblo 30 minutes outside of Leon. Despite what our program told us, we are not in Leon but rather in the middle of nowhere. I wake up to the bells around the mountain goats necks. The views are phenomenal and it is difficult to concentrate in class with such pretty views. The past week, we had a busy schedule working with 105 ten-year old kids from Madrid. They had an excellent level of English which made our job easy. They came on Monday afternoon and we played games with them. On Tuesday, we did a triple excursion day which was fun despite the horrible rainy weather. We went splunking in the caves, rock climbing (indoors), and played games in a gym.
One night was Night of Terror and we dressed up and turned the electricity off in the camp. The kids played Clue and had to find clues around camp while the teachers were dressed up, scaring them and giving them challenges and hints. The last night, Thursday, we had a disco party and danced with the kids in the game room. On Friday, we went for a hike to the Refugio and went swimming. They left at 2pm and we had class afterwards. I've found that Spanish children are much different than American children. They are extremely affectionate and in Spain, there is no red tape. The teachers can touch the kids without facing lawsuits. The Spanish kids, although they stay with their families through their 20's, are often very independent. It's hard to explain, but I see so many differences between American and Spanish kids.
On Saturday, Sarah, Valerie, Brittni and I went to Gijon. It took us a little more than 2 hours by train to reach Gijon which is in the north of Spain. We spent the day walking around the city, going to the beach, the boat marina, and stopped in at a Sidreria. Sidra is a famous drink that Asturias is known for. It is a cold cider and served in a special way. The waiter pours the cider from above his head into a glass he holds down by his waist. When he gave me the glass, he told me I had to drink it all right away. I hadn't expected it at all. Later in the evening, we went for churros con chocolate. Overall, we had a great weekend away from camp. I leave for Barcelona on Tuesday morning. The train is 8 hours so I hope to get some lesson plans done in that time. Until then, I am enjoying my last few days with my friends in my program.

Madrid, How I've miss you...

Back again!

So it is currently about 6:45pm in Madrid, Spain and I'm writing from my hostel that I will be staying at for the next 18 days...

This was the first flight internationally that I've ever taken alone so I was a bit nervous. It started with my sister, Melissa, dropping me off at the airport at the wrong terminal...ooops, (no one's fault). I hoped on a tram to take me to the right terminal and was estatic to see two of my besties, Bridget and Christina sending me off on my way to Espana. I got VIP treatment the whole way...went through the quick security for 1st Class and Priority Seating VIP people :) and my luggage was also overweight but they let me through.

Anyways, quick flight to Washington, then a loooong flight to Spain. It seemed like the majority of the people were studying abroad, it definately brought back memories. I realized that I left Spain exactly on this day, one year ago!

So once I got to Spain I was a lost puppy. I successfully made it through the metro to the train....Then I met this German guy that noticed we were both trying to go to the same hostel. He thought he knew where he was going, and I was trying to go the opposite way (I was right, he was wrong...:)) Long story short, we made it to the hostel but couldn't check in because it was 8:30am and check in was at 12. I went for a run and never ended up running because I got lost. Silly me, wore short shorts and forgot how much of a tourist I looked like...kiss noises and whistles only made me walk quicker to finally stumble accross my hostel! So after a shower and getting settled in, I'm ready for some comida. I'm heading out for some food with people in my hostel and then meeting up with some others. Wish me luck :)