THE CREAM OF THE CROP HIT THE VALENCIA NEWS!

Hola familia  :)

June 26th, time flies, huh? Three exciting weeks in Valencia left behind and three more to come with a lot of  learning and fun. Besides our spanish classes in the mornings and choir and theater in the afternoons we had fascinating optional activities you kids could enjoy during the last week. The week started with the screening of a famous spanish movie "El Laberinto Fauno" (Pan's Labyrinth) for free at school. On Tuesday some students went to Park Gulliver where they ran, played hide-and-seek and had fun on different slides.

Last Thursday was time for ties, dresses and elegant suits. Reason: Visit to Valencia City Hall. A representative from the local government received the group in the main room where politicians agree on different laws for Valencia citizens. Mrs Ana Albert´s speech highlighted the high academic and spanish level of our students and stated it was an honor to have such brilliant kids from Indiana in Valencia. This event was so relevant  that we made the news with the headline: Valencia IU Honors Program: THE CREAM OF THE CROP.

Link: http://www.elperiodic.com/valencia/noticias/126580_nueva-concejala-educacion-recibe-ayuntamiento-alumnos-brillantes-estado-norteamericano-indiana.html

To close the week(end) we decided to move our 206 bones with the Dance day on Friday and Flamenco classes on Sunday. So you should demand your kids to teach you all the latin and spanish dances they learned with us and dance those with the whole family in the living room. I will suggest to dance with them Chu-chu-uaa and Waka-waka (link to the videos). After those dances you will probably have to change the floor.

Links:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soCXbH2t-lI
         
On Saturday we went green. We visited a Natural Park called La Albufera with a group of 18 students (optional activity). We took a ride on a small boat around a beautiful lake with plenty of flora and fauna. There were a lot of mom ducks with their cute ducklings, seagulls, great white herons and crocodiles. It was a day to hear and feel Mother Nature and smell fresh air! By the way, the thing about the crocodiles didnt happen if you are still thinking about that line. That was the first thing we asked the guide since we wanted a saved ride for all of us.

Your kids asked me to thank you for giving them this opportunity to enjoy Valencia. They said you were the greatest parents and family on earth. And I personally agree on that since by allowing them to live and learn about a different culture you are doing an excellent job. Not too many parents do this nor think about the great value it is to give their kids a chance to travel to another country. On behalf of them: 
GRACIAS POR SER LA MEJOR FAMILIA DEL PLANETA (dictionary time! You wont skip homework this week).

Isra
        

ONE MORE WEEK IN VALENCIA!

Hot in the city! Hot in the city.... !

Hola familias! Hope this new entry finds you great.

Second week in Valencia has just finished and a lot of activies took place during this lapse. Last Tuesday we visited Old Valencia and New Valencia in the downtown area. The kids had the chance to know a little bit about Valencia during the Muslim and Christian period and see beautiful architectural pearls such as Las Torres de Serrano, La Lonja, La Catedral, El Miguelete and La Plaza de la Reina.

Last Wednesday was for sweating.Your kids played soccer, volleyball, ultimate frisbee and some others ran on the track field. It was fun! Many goals were scored during the soccer match by the way. And our first excursion also took place during this second week . Our destination: Cuenca! This is a pretty
mountainous spanish town with amazing sights that include the Hanging Houses (they are cling impossibly to the sides of sheer cliffs 200 metres above the junction of two river canyons), the Saint Paul bridge, The Gothic Cathedral (was the second one built in this style in Spain). We also visited the Enchanted City that is few miles aways from Cuenca. The students were amazed by the great number of big rocks with different shapes. They just said:  They rock! (in spanish would be Que' guay!). 

And to close a magnificent week full of history,sports, classes, happiness, walking and ice-cream we went with 30 students to the largest aquarium in Europe and second largest one in the world called the Oceanografico (an optional activity so in the group picture you wont see the whole group) .We saw a show with dolphins and a lot of sea animals such as sea lions, seals, walruses, belugas,sharks,sea horses and many
more. We also went to the Science Museum where we played to be Einstein and tried to invent a transportation machine that could allow you to travel from Indiana to Valencia in just 10 seconds. We are still
working on that and for sure you will be the first ones using it.

Please use the dictionary to translate this phrase from spanish that your sons and daughters keep repeating all the time : YO AMO A MI PAPA, A MI MAMA Y FAMILIA EN ESTADOS UNIDOS MUCHO!!!!!
I will check if you did your homework to see how your spanish is improving.

Buen di'a, tarde, noche :)

LLegamos a sunny Valencia!

Dear families in USA,

It is great to let you know that our arrival to Madrid and Valencia was great! The flight to Madrid arrived a little bit late but it was understandable due to weather conditions in Spain. We arrived in Valencia around 3:09 pm and host families were anxious waiting to meet their american kids close to the school. Day one and two were for the Orientacion with host families and the first program exam. For some others those two days were also for recovering from the jet lag. Guess what? Tomorrow and the weekend is for the beach, sea and sun (with sunblock and a big bottle of water!).

Greeting for the city of the sweet oranges!

Isra