April, 2010

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A feast to say goodbye!

Friday, April 30th, 2010

It was popular Swiss student Kurt Bichsel’s last day at the Mester Spanish Academy in Salamanca today – and we saw him off in style with an international lunch for himself and the group he’s been studying with.

The farewell party!

The class, lead by teacher Maria, is made up of a wide selection of nationalities, making for a varied and enjoyable lunch and a great way to get to know other cultures!  The students, who hailed as far as from China, South Africa, Sweden and Holland, each brought a typical food of their country.  And all this was washed down with a glass of cava and a orange refreshment (the colour of Holland!) to celebrate the day of the Dutch Queen! In fact, the Dutch girls even put on their orange face paint, taking the day very seriously indeed!

At work making the lunch!

The food was a great success and all cooked in class. There were Chinese style ribs, Spanish tortilla, pannekoeken and drop stroopwafels from Holland and the star plate, cooked by the party’s host Kurt,fideua de sepia (a squid noodle dish). Dessert was taken care of by teacher Maria, who had made “leche frita” (fried milk) and arroz con leche (rice pudding) for the event.

The day  was a great way to show how doing things such as a Spanish course in Spain is a great way to make international friendships and open your eyes to things you could never do should you stay in your own country.  Everyone’s in the same boat – in a new country, away from home and wanting to meet new people, try new experiences, widen their horizons and better their Spanish.  The activities organised by Mester (see our Salamanca activity programme!) are a great way to aid this bonding as well as consolidate the Spanish learnt in the classroom, trying it out in a social atmosphere.

Kurt, teacher Maria and students

In fact, food is often a major part of the social activities we organise – from Spanish cookery classes to typical Spanish meals to tapas tours through the city to chocolate and churros for breakfast in class, the Spanish culture of social eating is always a popular hit with the students!

Keeping up to date with all these activities is easy if you make Mester your “Facebook friend“. It is here you can also see photos and reviews of all the events, contact your classmates and keep up to date with all the local news in Spain.

All that’s left for us is to bid farewell and a safe journey home to Kurt, to thank him for his enthusiasm in making this day a special one and to wish all Mester students, including Kurt, a very happy weekend!

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Bringing Spanish teaching into the age of technology!

Friday, April 16th, 2010

Taking a Spanish course in Spain can never be a bad thing – it’s a chance to open your eyes to a different culture, meet new and interesting people, see a bit of the world, gain independence and, above all else, learn a second language, something which will make it so much easier for you to do all these other things in the future!

Digital Board in class!

However, how you learn Spanish matters a lot.  Sometimes it’s a hard road – grammar, accent, word patterns… It takes perserverance and though for the good majority of the time you’ll be having fun picking up your second language (talking with new friends over coffee, enjoying foreign film, reading local newspapers…), as with all skills, to be successful, an element of graft is necessary. And this graft is made so much easier with new dynamic teaching methods, with the use of technology for example.

Spanish teaching with digital board!

At Mester Spanish Academy we’ve taken this on board and as a result, improved our classrooms with the additions of digital boards – allowing teachers to bring in new teaching resources and materials and impart their classes in a much more flexible, interactive way.

Spanish class using technology

The digital boards allow much more class participation, meaning the students have plenty of opportunity to involve themselves in the class, speak Spanish and contribute towards the class.

Digital boards have many uses – they are projected onto a wall and can be “written upon”, have a tactile screen and can present a variety of documents and programmes.

And it’s not just the students who see a direct benefit.  Having an interested class makes so much difference to a teacher, seeing results and how the students are keen to participate.  Furthermore, as a side-benefit, the fact that not so much paper has to be used in class – for handouts, question sheets, etc – means the environment sees benefits too!  It really is the way forward for teaching.

Using digital board

So, even though any Spanish course in Spain is a great decision both personally and professionally, to really see your money’s worth and to take 100% advantage of the opportunity, pick a course which uses the most up to date teaching methods, what actively encourages student participation and what is leading the way and pushing boundaries in its field.

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Planning a week in Salamanca?

Friday, April 9th, 2010

Are you studying Spanish in Salamanca and looking for ways in which to enrich your experience here, meet new people and practise your Spanish?  Then take a look at the activity programme offered throughout April in Salamanca!  Not matter what your idea of well-spent leisure time is – all night party, exploring the countryside, seeing a play, visiting an exhibition – there’ll definitely be something for you.

Salamanca's especiality - hornazo!

We start with the Lunes de Aguas festival which will be taking place on Monday!  It’s a typical Salamanca celebration which marks the XVI decision of King Felipe II who ordered the prostitutes of the city out, to cross the river and stay away from Salamanca during the period of Lent, for citizens to avoid temptation.  Later, the Monday after Easter, Lunes de Aguas, the prostitues would be allowed back to the city which was celebrated by the residents with picnics, drinking and dancing alongside the river – where they would eat the typical dish of hornazo. So, get your friends together and go enjoy the sun!

Moving indoors, why not take a look at the latest exhibition in DA2, one of Salamanca’s prominent art galleries? At the moment they have two exhibitions running: Merrie Melodies and Arctic Hysteria. There’s plenty of time to see them, given they don’t finish until May and June respectively, but make sure you do, they really are worth it and it’s a great way to open your eyes to what other cultures have to bring to Salamanca (Arctic Hysteria is an exhibition of several Finnish artists’ work, whilst Merrie Melodies brings together over 14 influential artists, all with their own unique offering).

However, if it’s nightlife which you prefer, then why not check out  the latest concerts in Salamanca?  Whilst in CAEM they are expecting the return of Salamanca’s very own Naïf, a stunning indie-pop band who’ll play on Saturday 17th April at 21:00, in the Multiusos venue you’ll have the chance to see chart-hit Antonio Orozco on the Saturday before, 10th April, at 22:00.

Antonio Orozco comes to Salamanca!

For more quieter activity, don’t forget there’s also the cinema cycle a the moment, “Películas que burlaron la censura en España“, which, thanks to the Filmoteca Regional and Instituto de la cinematografía y las artes audiovisuales, gives viewers the chance to see emblematic films which were still able to be produced, despite the censorship in Spain.  A different film is shown every week in the Liceo Theatre, an example being “Mi Querida Señorita“, a 1971 film from Jaime Armiñán which will be shown on 27th April.  It’s an exhibition which has already been shown by the MoMA of New York and the British Film Institute- and so certainly worth seeing!

Get out and see nature - La Alberca

Bear in mind you always have the events and excursions organised by Mester!  Including salsa club, cookery class, guitar lessons, guided trips around the city, excursions to nearby cities (Segovia, Madrid, Leon, Avila…) and film clubs.

So take advantage of your time at the school – it’s the best way to learn Spanish and to take 100% advantage of your time here in Salamanca!

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Semana Santa ends but Lunes de Aguas arrives…

Friday, April 9th, 2010

Last Sunday saw the end of Semana Santa (Holy Week)- a festival in Spain which brings family and friends together to celebrate Easter, catch up, relax and enjoy the break.

Procession in Plaza Mayor

The processions are the highlight of the week – famed throughout the world for the work which goes into the magnificent floats which tell the Easter story.  The main processions start on Thursday (Jueves Santo, Saint’s Thursday) and finish on Sunday, the day of the Resurrection, with some even taking place in the middle of the night and at dawn!

A typical procession could have hundreds of people in it, carrying several heavy floats.  Some people choose to do the walks (which can be about two hours long) in bare feet whilst others have certain specific responsibilities (guiding the floats, for example).

The members of the parade dress in various ways, according to the day of the procession, the cathedral they come from, their role there, etc. This typical dress comprises a cloak and, normally, a large pointed hat which covers the face, meaning those walking can only see through small eye holes.  Other participants include nazarenos who carry processional candles or heavy wooden crosses and in some places wear shackles and chains on their feet as penance.

Celebrations such as these are unique to Spain, a great experience for tourists and students studying Spanish here.  For Spanish people too, it’s an opportunity to reunite with family who may live far away, to relax and to enjoy something very close to home.

Typical dress in Seville processions

We were in Seville and Salamanca (where Mester have their Spanish schools in Spain), takinbg photos and reporting on the processions.  You can see the results by making us your friend on Facebook!

And now it’s over, Lunes de Aguas arriving!  This typical Salamanca festival is held every year, giving most people at least half a day off!  The weather’s good at the moment, meaning there’ll be the chance for picnic with the typical meat-pasty like dish of hornazo, a Salamanca speciality.  The tradition, the reason for celebration is said to be that in the XVI century the King Felipe II ordered all prostitutes from the Casa de Mancebía to go away from the city for the Lent period, so residents of the city could avoid temptation easier.  Later, on Lunes de Aguas when they would return, people would go to the river banks to drink and celebrate.

Salamanca's famous hornazo

So, what will you be doing to celebrate?  Let us know your plans and, of course, see our Facebook page to know ours!

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