On July 8th the students went beyond the borders of Spain and into Gibraltar. This territory had been a source of discussions and international disagreements between Spain and the United Kingdom. However, nowadays it is tremendous source of economic benefits for both countries, to the delight of the citizens who find jobs in both sides of what is called “La línea”, and when you visit, you are welcome by everyone. This welcoming atmosphere was what Abbey Road’s students experienced during their visit. The warmest welcome came from the most important inhabitants of the rock: the friendly Barbaric apes, Europe’s only wild primates that have lived there for centuries. The students were fortunate to have visited the rock when a couple of primates had had babies and they were able to observe the whole family behavior. The students were impressed with the beauty of the rock. After climbing to the rock in the cable car, which was really exciting for them, and spending some time oohing over the baby monkeys, the students enjoy the local food and stores. While shopping for food and souvenirs they had a chance to understand how the currency exchange from dollars to euros and euros to pounds work.
1 Comment
Today was another gorgeous day in the beautiful city of Cádiz, and we were able to enjoy it all. The students began their day celebrating the birthday of their friend Sebastian. They enjoyed a good breakfast with the group and then sang the birthday song in Spanish to Sebastian. In the afternoon, we visited the Catedral de Cádiz. The cathedral, built from 1722 to 1838, represented the golden age of Cádiz, when the trade between Spain and the Americas was flourishing. It is said that this church was called the Church of the Americas for that reason. Because of the lengthy construction period and the variety of architects involved in the construction, the visitors can see many elements of the Baroque and also the Rococo period. The students visited all of the areas of the cathedral, from the crypt to the bell tower. Their favorite place was the Levante Tower, which our students were allowed to climb up and up until the area of the bells at the top of the tower. They were in awe of the views of the city below, the different styles of the church domes, even one that looks Moroccan, and the spectacular background of it all, the Mediterranean! While placidly taking pictures of the scenes and of course several selfies, the students were surprised by the tolling of the bells. Some of them were right under one of the bells when this happened. Needless to say they were startled, and a few of them momentarily frightened. However, some of them figured out that the bells will ring again after 15 minutes and stayed at the top to wait for that deafening but beautiful sound.
Today, our students took a trip to Bolonia and then to Vejer. The museum in Bolonia, took the students in a photographic journey, en español, of the Roman ruins and then our students were able to walk around the ruins and learned from them. They were fascinated by the magnificence of the ruins, especially the Roman arena. After visiting the ruins the students were able to enjoy the beautiful beach in Bolonia. The weather was perfect, not too hot, not too sunny but no rain either, just perfect. On our way out of Bolonia and towards Cádiz, the students visited Vejer, one of the oldest “Ciudad blanca” white cities, in Spain. The students loved the beauty of the city and the intricate details on the carved iron windows, adorned with potted flower plants. They also did quite a bit of shopping, which required them very good communication skills in Spanish to be able to bargain with the vendors who spoke “muy rápido” according to the students. Today, the participants have started finding their "Spanish voice". They began their day with their Spanish teachers, who have already placed them in the appropriate level of the language. After a short in-classroom session, they went in a quest to the Mercado de las flores, a community market and the Oficina de correos (central Cádiz post office). They went on a sort of a scavenger's hunt with directions to find answers to questions on schedules, events that are on this week, etc. This afternoon they will have their photography class and their conversation and culture activity. Plans for the evening are beach sports. More to come…
Bienvenidos a Cádiz
On our first full day in the program, after a well-deserved good night sleep and a good breakfast, the absolutely awesome group of participants in the Cádiz group took a tour of the center of the town. Here they are at the Plaza de la Constitución. Cádiz is the oldest city in Western Europe, and its constitution was signed in 1812. |