Getting situated

Hi all!

We just finished up our first full day of classes and afternoon activities. In the few days that we've been here we've already done quite a bit, but today was the first take on what will be our "normal" schedule throughout the program. I've got a bunch of photos below from some of the various activities we've done as a group, but first a few words about what we've been up to.

When we arrived on Friday, all the host families were waiting for us and we quickly got each student matched up with their Spanish families. At this point we were all pretty exhausted, so I suspect that many of the students went to sleep rather early Friday evening, although I know that by Saturday they were out and about exploring with their families. On Saturday Juan, Aline, Jessica and I crossed paths with a few students walking around Oviedo's downtown area with their families, and I also know that some families took a short day trip either Saturday or Sunday to various places outside the city. Your students can tell you more about their individual experiences when they decide to use their hour of internet time!

Yesterday (Monday) we got a tour of the Facultad Padre Ossó where we hold our classes (photos below), had our first meal in the cafeteria here, and took a guided walking tour of the city. After all of this, the students had just shy of two hours of free time before we had a meeting with all the host families to go over a few important details of the program. During this free time, I think some of the students went for ice cream, a couple bought some souvenirs, etc. We made sure to stress that they need to stay in groups of at least three, and all made it back safely to the school by 7pm for our meeting with the families. The Dean of the Facultad Padre Ossó received us warmly and greeted everyone, and they expressed some real generosity by giving each student a gift — a nice tote bag with the name of the school. It was a nice detail and the students seemed to appreciate it :) The school also ordered some food for a small reception afterwards and we all milled about chatting with one another and learning more about what we have in store for the duration of the program. The students got to try some typical Spanish foods like tortilla española, jamón ibérico, and more.

Today's classes went well also. Everyone arrived on time and we instructors had the chance to introduce some of what we plan for the program and our expectations for the academic work we'll be doing. We're finishing up plans for a local excursion this Friday and have a couple of optional activities in the works as well...so we expect to be busy! Enjoy the photos below and be on the lookout for another update towards the end of the week (or maybe this weekend after our Friday excursion). 

¡Hasta pronto!

Tour of some of the spaces at the Facultad Padre Ossó

Tour of downtown Oviedo, with our guide Urbano - he was very knowledgable and shared a lot of great info

During the tour, we learned that Urbano is a foodie! He kept stopping in front of various shops and market stands to point out interesting local foods. To be honest, I'm not sure if this was planned or just a spontaneous thing, but as he was telling us about some local cheeses, this woman walked out of the store and offered samples to all the students. A nice surprise!

Having our first meal in the school cafeteria

Linguistics class, day 1!

Culture class, day 1!

Grammar class, day 1!

I forgot to take pictures of my own classes, but we learned some literature as well :)

Some pictures from our meeting with the host families. Here is the Dean of Facultad Padre Ossó welcoming us and opening the meeting. 

Some of the food they prepared for our small reception

Aline giving some instructions about preparations for our final performances

Brainstorming in groups