Today turned out to be one of the best days I've had since I arrived in Spain 10 days ago, as I was able to spend the morning and afternoon with my student, her classmates and their teachers.
It was raining when I got up this morning, and it was just cool enough that you needed a jacket in Oviedo today. I walked to Lucia's school and met up with everyone at 10 a.m. (The students told me they liked starting classes at 10 a.m. and ending at 5 p.m. as opposed to our way of beginning at 7:50 a.m. and ending at 2:35 p.m.). My plan today was to tag along and attend classes with the students. Lucia had spoken with her professors last week and they were so kind to welcome me to spend the day with them.
The students take a variety of classes each day to help them with all aspects of Spanish, from reading to writing to speaking to listening. Today, however, was a little different because they started at 10 a.m. with entrevistas (interviews). Each student (there are about 30 in the Oviedo program) met with one of the four professors for about 5 minutes, one on one, to talk about their experiences here so far, how everything is going, what they have learned, what they still need to work on, etc. Lucia went first and after her interview we went down to the cafeteria to chat for about 30 minutes while the other students were finishing. I am so impressed with how her conversation skills have grown since she arrived her. We talked about a variety of things, all in Spanish, and not once was there a break down in communication. This program really is superb.
At 11 a.m., we went back upstairs and attended the first of four classes before the 2 p.m. lunch. Even though there are about 30 students here, the classes are divided into smaller groups and each section only has about 10 students. We began in her communication class, where the students and teacher were talking about Spain's health care system. Their homework over the weekend had been to talk with their host families and ask them about how the health care system works here. The conversation was great as the class discussed the pros and cons of Spain's system with the U.S. system. In Spain, from what I learned today during their discussion, the residents pay federal taxes and local taxes, just like we do in the United States. While our local taxes range from 2 percent to 7 percent, the local taxes here are closer to 21 percent, which help fund the health care system for each of the country's regions. The students had a great discussion in small groups and then as a class. It was wonderful to hear them discussing such a complex subject in Spanish. Afterward, the class worked on prepositions.
Around 11:45 a.m., we switched to culture class, where students were giving presentations on different topics. I listened to three presentations, one about food, one about the political system in Spain and the last about the rosary. Again, the students did a fantastic job teaching their peers about Spain culture.
Our next class was literature, where the students were watching a video today called "El laberintorio de fauno." I haven't seen it before but after seeing the clip we saw today it is on my to watch list when I return home next month. Part of the plot revolves around the Spanish Civil War, a time when Spain produced some of its finest literature.
Our final class of the day was grammar, where students were working on the imperfect subjunctive! The class first reviewed how to form it and then began to discuss its uses. This is one of the more difficult concepts to grasp in Spanish but the students did a good job and will be ready to move into more depth tomorrow. I love teaching the subjunctive and after sitting through a class about it today am excited to begin teaching my students about it this fall! (And I hope they'll be as excited to learn about it!)
After our last class, at 2 p.m., we walked downstairs to the cafeteria, where I joined the students and their teachers for lunch. We had little ham sandwiches as an appetizer, followed by fish and a dessert. It was a good lunch, especially the pudding dessert.
From there, we all returned upstairs to recap and prepare for the afternoon session. The students sang a couple of songs and then continued to make progress on the final project they have been working on for weeks now. They will present a play that they have written to their host families. Everyone has a role, and they have written the script, worked on costumes and choreographed everything. I watched as they practiced today and was amazed at how great of a job they have done. They will have their lines memorized by Thursday, and I think the presentation is next week. I would love to see it but unfortunately I'm leaving tomorrow for southern Spain.
After classes ended around 5 p.m., we walked around the city center for a bit before saying goodbye. The students were planning to visit the mall but I decided to return to my hostel so I could write today's blog, eat dinner and return to the McDonalds to post this update before calling it a night. It was great to spend all day with these students and their professors, and I really admire what they're doing. It takes a lot of courage for a high school student to leave her country for almost seven weeks to embark on such a language adventure, and I could not be more proud or excited at being able to see just how much Lucia and her friends have grown since they arrived here. It seems to me that they have moved beyond the point where they think in English, translate their thoughts to Spanish, and then speak. Getting over that hurdle is such a big step in the move toward proficiency and quite an accomplishment. I also really admire the four teachers from Indiana who are here with the students. They are giving these high school students such a unique experience that they will forever treasure. It's a lot of work, but they sure have done an amazing job. It was such a pleasure to share a class with them today. I told Lucia and her friends goodbye and wished them well. I'll look forward to hearing about their final project when we get back to school next month.
Tomorrow (Wednesday) I'm off to southern Spain for the next five days. I am leaving Oviedo at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow for a 12-hour bus trip to Seville. I'll spend Thursday and Friday there and then head to Cordoba to spend Saturday and Sunday. Monday afternoon, I'll return to Madrid for a couple of days to meet up with a friend from Indiana and attend a concert. Just which concert ... stay tuned!!!!!
Hasta manana,
--Justin
With Lucia outside the San Francisco park Tuesday afternoon following a day of classes. It was chilly in Oviedo this afternoon.
El Laberinto es brutal, Justin!
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