Top 5
Spanish schools
and places to study Spanish: We know many people are looking to learn
Spanish abroad. You're out of school, you're generally bored with life,
you feel like there's a lot you could be doing and that there are a lot
of places you could be exploring. And maybe you want to study Spanish
because you started learning a few years ago, or you'd like to better
communicate with those who speak the second most widely spoken in the
United States AND in the world. Whatever the case, you're looking for
excitement, adventure, and accessibility, and you want to go right to
the capital of a country when you're taking it by storm and conquering
its language! Here are our favorite Spanish-speaking destinations, in
no particular order.
Continue reading "Spanish Schools: Top 5 Places to Study Spanish" »
Part 2 - By Beth Klemick
In the story of the nativity the three kings; Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar travel Bethlehem bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the baby Jesus. As we find Santa Claus in every mall and public place imaginable in the United States, the Three Kings or Three Wise Men are very present in Spain. They can be seen visiting apartment buildings, hospitals, orphanages, and Christmas markets throughout Spain.
Most of us are familiar with the twelve days of Christmas, instead of a partridge in a pear tree; Spanish children are treated to gifts and goodies by the Three Kings when they place their shoes on the doorstep (usually filled with hay to properly receive them) on the eve of the Epiphany. And when they awake on the Epiphany, January 6th find their shoes filled with presents and celebrate the day with parades.
Part 1 - By Beth Klemick
Feliz Navidad!
In many ways Christmas traditions in Spain closely resemble those celebrated and cherished in the United States. Many families take part in the usual festivities of decorating the Christmas tree and signing carols, but there are some traditions that are different and unique during this holiday season in Spain.
A different, and certainly mentionable tradition in Spain to celebrate the winter solstice is fire jumping. Spaniards will jump over fires in hope that this will protect them from illness, these bonfires (Hogueras) can been seen mainly in the cities of Granada and Jaen.
In the United States and many other parts of the world, Santa Claus, otherwise known as: Father Christmas (England), Pere Noel (France) and Shengdan Laoren (China) is the bearer of gifts and good cheer. But in Spain it is the Three Kings (Los Reyes Magos) who come bearing gifts on January 6th as the Spanish Christmas, which continues on way after December 25th.
To be continued...
By Patrick - Guest blogger traveling in Japan. Continuing from "Studying in Japan"
As I learned from Linda, Osaka is essentially Japan's cultural and historic capital, and is becoming quite international but still holds true to their traditions. She experienced first hand the Japanese bath tradition with her host mother and daughters. An experience she said was bit uncomfortable and one she will never try again. Although most Japanese homes have their own bathrooms, natural Hot Springs (onsen) and bathhouses (ofuroya) are still very popular in Japan. There are rules and guidelines to taking a Japanese bath here's the shortened version:
Step one: get undressed. Then you walk naked, Linda likes to put stress on the word "naked", to the bathroom with your washcloth and shower essentials (shampoo, conditions, shower gel, etc) with everyone, again there is lots of stress on the work "everyone".
Step two: wash. The washing part takes place in the actual bathroom before getting in to the bathtub. You sit on a low stool in front of taps and showers set in the wall of the washing area. This is an essential part of the ritual.
Last step: is getting into the bath of very deep hot water.
More to come....
By Anne-Marie Dingemans - Part 4
Lawrence couldn't bear the thought of sending the children home, and decided to run the project herself for the remainder of the school year! We found her some volunteers who were willing to help, and they ran the project by themselves: teaching 40 Guatemalan kids, organizing games and activities and preparing a mid-day meal for all of them. They found sponsors in their home countries that helped contribute towards meal costs and learning material, they negotiated food donations from local restaurants, they brushed teeth, taught math, cuddled the toddlers, made tortillas and a whole range of other tasks. They kept the home-away-from-home open for these underprivileged children. And even better; thanks to their continued efforts back in their home countries, the project received more donations and could re-open again for the next school year. I can only deeply admire Lawrence for the resolve, courage and strength that it took to undertake a challenge like this in a strange country, culture and language.
By Anne-Marie Dingemans - Part 3
The project has a great cause, but it's also very disorganized. There were no learning materials, children ages 2-14 were taught in just 3 groups (as there were just 3 teachers), their concentration span was virtually non-existent and there was no such a thing as a lesson plan. Lawrence had many difficulties working at this project, and even thought about giving up at some point. Luckily she stuck with it and after a couple of weeks managed to find her place, and having earned the confidence and respect of the staff, made a few suggestions to bring a bit of structure in the program. Things were going well for everyone involved, but as the end of the school year neared, a disaster happened. As little funding the school received, half of it was pulled as a big sponsor backed out! With more than a month to go to finish the school year, there was no money left for the 3 teachers' salaries nor for food. And here is where the wonder started.
