Thanksgiving in Spain

My class after making our Turkeys!

First off, Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends and family back home!!!! We are realizing today just how thankful we are for this opportunity to study and teach here in Spain! I am back writing another post because I love Thanksgiving and was so excited about what Emilie and I were able to do today at school. We were lucky enough to be able and host an assembly for the entire P2 (first grade), P1 (Kindergarten) and EC 2 (Early Childhood/Preschool) classes. In this assembly the teachers asked us to talk a little bit about the holiday and the tradition seeing as it is not celebrated here in Spain. We were able to talk about our individual family traditions, such as my family starts the Christmas music on Thanksgiving day (don't worry mom and dad the tradition was carried on in my classroom today) and Emilie's family enjoys watching the parade together, along with the common Thanksgiving foods! The kids loved it and thought it was cool that we eat for a holiday and spend time with our family. They're favorite part, of course, was the idea of us eating pumpkin and apple pie after dinner! Fun Fact: Dessert for us is called Pudding in the UK!

The final Turkeys!

Continuing with the Thanksgiving celebration Emilie and I did a craft with our kids that involved them thinking of 5 things that they are grateful for and writing them on the feathers of the Turkey they were making. They enjoyed thinking of the 5 things and were very excited to go home and tell mum and dad all about the American Holiday of Thanksgiving. Finally to top it all off, I made the students and teachers mini apple pies to start off the day of feasting and they all loved them!

Emilie's class working on their Turkey crafts!

Finally, we were lucky enough that we had a couple of guests come visit and cook all day while we at school so we were all able to feast! A few of Emilie's friends from college are backpacking through Europe and they stopped in Spain. We invited them over so we could have a classic and lovely Thanksgiving meal together! It was amazing and there was so much food! We had 2 whole chickens, beans and bacon, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, bread, salad, wine and finally cake AND ice cream. That's a pretty good Spanish Thanksgiving if I do say so myself!

The crew and our Thanksgiving feast!

We hope you are all taking this time to remember all of the beautiful things you have in your lives and enjoying time with family! Happy Thanksgiving!!!! 

Taking Advantage of Spain

La Alhambra from afar with some beautiful colors

During our time here, we are taking full advantage of our time which means exploring the cities that surround us. This past weekend we headed to Granada for 2 days and had an AMAZING time. This city was gorgeous and it was a blast for our whole group. From visiting La Alhambra to just wandering the streets and admiring the street graffiti, it was just a wonderful weekend. There was a lot to see here and a lot of shops to explore. Much to Lars' dismay we spent  a lot of time exploring these and found a lot of great souvenirs for friends and family. La Alhambra is a palace that is huge and beautiful from the outside as well as the inside and full of history. Finally we went to a classic Spanish Flamenco Show and were blown away by the speed of their feet! Overall, we were all sad to leave and as Emilie promised, Granada would be a great experience and we would fall in love with it.

The Lions from within

Heading back to school means being in our full time teaching for Emilie and myself, back to hard work with his English course for Lars, and working hard with shapes for Jess. Emilie and I are looking forward to continuing to work with the inquiry unit, which is Values, Beliefs and Traditions. This Thursday we are lucky enough to be able to share our very special American tradition of Thanksgiving. We will be sharing a the story of Thanksgiving with our students, as well as doing a couple of crafts, and hoping to bring them some food. We were hoping to bring them Sweet Potato Casserole as well as Pumpkin Pie... but those ingredients are proving hard to find in Spain! Weird the little things you don't realize what are so special yet always present from back home! We are all blown away that we only have 3 weeks left in this amazing country, stay tuned for the rest of our adventures both inside the classroom and out!

Panoramic of Granada

Trip to Tarifa!

This past week we said goodbye to Michele Koomen, who was our supervisor from Gustavus for our time in Spain! It was lovely having another Gustie in the country, and we enjoyed having her in the classrooms seeing our lives at Sotogrande International School! We ended our time with her sharing a Mediterranean meal along the water! We hope Michele can bring back some great stories about her short but meaningful time in Spain!
My cooperating teacher, Clare Cooper, was so wonderful enough to take us on a trip to Tarifa this past weekend! She has a car and lives in the area (not to mention that she has a deep love for Tarifa as well), so she offered to drive the four of us about an hour south to where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean! It was a lovely drive on the way, and we stopped at a viewpoint where we could see the coast of Morocco. It seems that many people in the south of Spain or those who visit the south of Spain are obsessed with seeing Africa from Europe. It is a common quote you hear along the southern border. "Look there's Africa!"

The beach along Tarifa is known for being quite windy, and we were fortunate enough to see a large amount of kite surfers from this wind! It was so lovely seeing another beach outside of Estepona as well as seeing the coast of the Atlantic versus the Mediterranean. We had lunch along the beach where Lars and I went beast mode on seafood paella, a very common dish in Spain. The seafood paella was phenomenal, especially being so close to the sea where the food comes from! My hands got a little messy, which my close friends and family already know happens whenever I eat "hand food." Here are some photos that Clare took throughout our time in Tarifa!

As for updates in the school, it is the time of year where all the kids are getting sick (even though it is still about 60 degrees)! In my P2 class, we had 4 different students sick within the past week! It becomes a challenge when students leave for days at a time. We have found this long-term leave a type of occurrence for students who travel to their home countries. Sometimes they miss a few extra days or up to a week on top of holiday time. It has been interesting to see how the teachers still maintain their expectations for students despite their time away from reading, writing, and doing maths.

     

 
 

A few words from Mr. E

Gustavus hooked us up with a sensational school in Sotogrande International. I have already felt myself grow and develop as a teacher, both in confidence and practice, through my four weeks here. The nature of the IB school system is vastly different from anything I’ve experienced. The IB framework has helped me to expand and experiment, offering the chance to integrate my passions for social justice into my classroom. Teaching a period on science fiction and another on To Kill a Mockingbird, I have the unique opportunity to work with two very different genres, yet similarly apply them to issues of environmental and racial justice.

In sci-fi, I am preparing to lead an introduction to climate change. I plan to let students explore how they personally connect to nature, then choose a sub-topic of climate change to individually research. They will take this a step further by creating an actual proposal or creative invention that directly addresses the problem they explore. I want my students to feel empowered and driven to be agents of change not in 4 years when they graduate, but every time they step foot in my classroom, carrying that feeling and attitude along with them in backpacks to open in their worlds. Plus, we’re out here; it’s sunny and next to the beach… how can we not celebrate and preserve the environment that is spoiling us with a snow-free holiday?

My older, To Kill a Mockingbird class is similarly focusing on the concept of using literature and learning as a lens for social change. The trial and injustice of Tom Robinson in the novel is not an isolated fiction from America’s forgotten past. Rather, it maintains a tragic commentary that extends into our world today, both in the US and internationally. Tom Robinson is Emmett Till, he is Trayvon Martin and he is Michael Brown. I hope to present and discuss the reoccurring thread of injustice and racially fueled violence that unravels at the corners of America’s waving flag. After doing this, I hope to allow students the freedom to connect the injustice of the trial with issues and problems that speak to them and where they come from.     

Honestly, I have no clue how any of this will go. But I understand that I’m lucky to be in an environment that affords me the chance to take a shot and address some issues that are so difficult to discuss, but imperative that we address, especially in a school of such privilege and power. Hoping some powerful conversation and ideas come from the next few weeks. Enjoy the snow, MN!

--Mr. E

Aventuras!

We have had an adventurous second week here at SIS. I got used to working with my P6 class on my own in Maths. I taught about percentages this whole week. I was able to set up a mini store to have the students practice using percentages with sales, I set up a Google form for the students to practice on, and I found an activity where the students could write their initials and find the percentages! So many fun things to do this week! The students had a blast and expressed their ideas about other activities to try coming up. I am so glad that I am able to start building such positive experiences already during my time here!

Emilie and McKenna worked with P2 on solving a maze using directions as well as take-away problems. The students are starting a new unit on Beliefs and Traditions in this next week. Everyone is very excited to learn more about different cultures. Lars continued teaching 2 periods of English. He will be working with one class on a Sci-Fi unit.

We were able to explore some more of Estepona and have found our way around the city a number of times. We saw some murals painted throughout town and even found gluten free options at a different grocery store! We thoroughly enjoyed having time to explore and see the city when everyone is out and about.

Michele arrived this weekend! We were able to travel with her to go see Gibraltar! We took a taxi tour and wandered through caves and tunnels and we made many friends among the local monkeys. It was a fun time to catch up and chat over some cuisine from many different cultures. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining the whole trip.

And we're back...

Back at it again after we each arrived, safely, back from our Holiday trips! Later in the post, you'll get a little recap from each of us on how we spent our week.

Getting back into the swing of things was a bit crazy, but I think we are finally starting to readjust and get settled back into our routine. This week we have all started taking on my responsibility in the classroom, with each of us teaching a portion of the day. So far we are all loving teaching and getting to know our students! Emilie and I have started working on Subtraction and math with our students, while Jess has been teaching Percentages in math and Lars started working on his Science Fiction unit. The next unit of Inquiry begins sometime in the next few weeks for each of us and we are excited to see the progression the students make with these concepts! Stayed tuned!

McKenna & Jess: We spent a week in Greece and it was a FANTASTIC experience. We spent a few day in Athens, which was a blast to meet the people and get to know the city and of course see all of the amazing historic sites that comes with Athens. The weather was not fantastic while we were there, but the day we took to visit the Parthenon and Acropolis greeted us with beautiful weather and lots of sun! We then headed off to the island of Santorini and had an amazing time! The towns there are beautiful and the sunsets are breathtaking. We took a day to do a sailboat trip which allowed us to hike up to the mouth of the active volcano, swim in hot springs (that were more like warm springs by the time we got to them), and an amazing sunset in Oia. The next day was both of our favorite parts, but we rented an ATV and had the opportunity to drive around Santorini and discover some amazing sights! The best places we stopped were the red sand beach, the black sand beach and of course some wine tasting of the wines of Santorini. Trying to pick only a few pictures was difficult but below are a few! Overall if you get the chance to go to Greece, GO!!! (And eat all the Tzatziki you can, it's unlike anything you've ever had!!!!!)

One of the breathtaking sunsets of Oia, Santorini

The ATV we rented and explored with!

The Sunny day at the Acropolis! 

Lars: Wait, in Spain we get to each 5 days then have a 9 day vacation? Is that like an every week sort of thing or....? Having a 9 day break to travel and see Europe was an incredible opportunity. I was lucky enough to "Gustie Hop" across the world, staying with Gustavus friends studying in Barcelona, Florence and Rome. Each city amazed me. For 9 days I got up at sunrise and was out late into the night, energized by the new people, cultures, foods and surroundings dancing around me. I wore holes into my shoes walking the cobblestone streets and wore the same outfit more times than I'm ready to admit to the 8 people out there reading this blog. However, travelling reaffirmed my passion for the world and for new personal and cultural encounters and exchanges. Travelling teaches you a lot, both about yourself and the places you embrace. I figured out how to sneak onto the last train going to Rome when you accidentally buy your ticket for the wrong month. I learned that the Barcelona 6 am bedtime on the weekend is something I will never be able to handle. I was reminded of the gracious nature of strangers willing to go out of their way to help the ignorant American tourist lost on the street. Mainly, I was reminded over and over again how cool the really world is, and how exciting being outside of your comfort zone can be. I hope to bring the energy and excitement I found travelling to the classroom.

...,Can't figure out how to add pictures to this blog post so if you don't believe I went to these places, ask my mom or track me down on Facebook or Instagram!

Emilie: I went to Germany to visit a friend in Berlin and also a friend in Hannover. I flew into Berlin and met a fellow Gustie, Pa Moua, at the airport! We spent the evening cooking and hanging out, and we went into the city of Berlin the following day to sight see as well as to meet up with an exchange student I had in high school, Olga! The three of us walked all around Berlin and saw historical and modern locations throughout the city. Then, I took a bus back with Olga to spend a day in Hannover and tour the city! It was great seeing the city and making comparisons to Berlin! We hadn't seen each other for about 3 years, so it was lovely catching up and meeting her family as well! I ended my trip going to Granada, Spain, and found a wonderful hostel where I met a lot of amazing travelers! We went on a hike in the mountains near Granada by day and ate tapas (a cheap meal with a drink!) while chatting about our travels and lives by night. I definitely left my heart there and was very sad to leave. I hope to return with Lars, McKenna, and Jessica, since I can't stop talking about it! :)

(Left) A photo on one of the bridges from the hike outside of Granada! It was about 20 of us from the hostel who were on the hike. We became like a small family! 
(Above) A photo from the city of Berlin, which reminded us of Florence, Italy

Off to more adventures!

As we finish our first week teaching at Sotogrande International School and living in Estepona, we feel we have been here for much longer than one week. Not in a way that we feel is dragging on but rather a feeling of familiarity. Yet we also feel as though we have so much explore and learn! It is a great feeling of balance between the two.

Today at the school, the students were allowed to wear "home clothes" rather than their uniform if they payed 1 euro, and they were given the choice to wear their Halloween clothes! The school has reached its half term, and the school will be out for the next week! Therefore, the students celebrated Halloween today since school will be out of session when it is the actual holiday. We were surprised that so many children celebrated Halloween with costumes and sweets, but Ms Clare explained that things from the US are spreading and being more commercialized. The picture below is a picture of the P2 (first grade) students in their Halloween clothes and with Ms Emilie and Ms McKenna! (We were able to wear jeans but did not have access to a costume with 24 hours notice)

As the students have a week off, so do we! McKenna and Jessica are heading off to Greece and Italy while Lars is going to Barcelona, Florence, and Rome; and Emilie is going to Berlin, Hanover, and Granada to visit friends! Wish us luck on our adventures to other places around Europe! We won't be blogging until we return from our travels. Happy Halloween to all & have a wonderful week!