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The different activities going on in Salamanca school as part of our cultural program like tapas tour, guided visits of the city, sports, films, trips and lectures…

Festivals 2010 arrive to Salamanca!

Friday, August 27th, 2010

From 7th to 15th September, Salamanca’s streets will be full to bursting with residents, Spanish students and tourists here to celebrate the city’s festival in honour of Virgen de la Vega, the patron of Salamanca.

Click the image to download the 2010 Salamanca festival programme!

There’s an incredible amount planned for the week – from pop concerts in the Plaza Mayor (including Marta Sanchez, a Spanish hit), jazz recitals in Patio de las Escuelas (where the “lucky frog” is) and theatre (top broadway muscial “Chicago” in the Liceo Theatre) to the casetas (little huts belonging to the bars which sell tapas, typical Spanish food, drinks…) and street art (an international festival with acts roaming the city having arrived from a multitude of European countries…).

In the Mester reception you can pick up the programme (you can also download from the bottom of this page); here we pick out a selection of highlights for you:

Starting with music, the biggest act coming to the city is probably that of Marta Sanchez, a pop singer who’s hit “Colgando en tus Manos”, with Carlos Baute, stayed at number one for many weeks in Spain not so long ago! She’ll be playing in the Plaza Mayor at 10pm on Saturday 11th September, promising a great turn out and some ballads you’ll surely recognise!

Next up on the music scene is British group The OysterBand, who’ll play at 9pm in the Plaza Mayor as part of the Celtic Night organised on Wednesday 8th September. The night will also feature Castilla la Mancha’s Judith Mateo.

Something a little bit different and unique to this festival is the presentation of an award to Vicente del Bosque, the manager of the Spanish football team which won the World Cup this year. He’ll be presented with the title of “Hijo Predilecto de la Ciudad de Salamanca” in the Plaza Mayor on Saturday 11th at 12.30pm, an event which will bring together all the football fans of the city and will provide yet another excuse for the Spanish people to celebrate their win.

If you enjoy theatre you won’t be disappointed. One of the hottest shows of today, the musical Chicago, is at the Liceo Theatre – a must see!

Staying with theatre, the ferias will be including a mini-festival in the programme: Festival Internacional de Artes de Calle (an international street theatre festival!). The actors and performers will be doing their unique shows throughout the city. By downloading the programme you’ll be able to find out the exact timetable of when and where to find them. Highlights include Spasmo Teatro and the Little Band, who have been here before and have even made it to television – be sure not to miss it!

The festival is a great chance to enjoy a wonderful week in Salamanca, with a great atmosphere and plenty to do!

So enjoy the festival (which will start with a bang thanks to the stunning firework display planned for Tuesday 7th at 10pm on the Roman Bridge!), take lots of pictures and make the most of this special week in Salamanca!

Click here to download the 2010 Festival programme and plan your week!

Posted in Activities, News, about Salamanca, in Salamanca | No Responses »
Tags: Activities in Salamanca, ferias salamanca, festivals salamanca

A new side to Salamanca!

Monday, July 12th, 2010

Salamanca is an incredibly popular choice for students wanting to study Spanish in Spain – the thriving university atmosphere (Salamanca is home to Spain’s oldest university), the beautiful architecture (two cathedrals, a Roman bridge, the stunning Casa de Las Conchas), the buzzing life 24/7 (Spain’s party doesn’t start until at least midnight!)…Furthermore, now the weather’s hot, students here are able to take advantage of the outdoor swimming pools, of which there are several throughout the city, and spend the day there.

A brave jump!

However, what is less known about Salamanca is the wonderful opportunities available to enjoy nature along the small towns running along the River as it leaves the city, examples being La Alberca (a favourite with Mester students and Salmantinos alike), San Martín del Castañar (where American teacher Smokey enjoyed a trip with his group just recently) and Las Batuecas.

Enjoying the water

In these zones, given the good summer Spain’s enjoying (as always!), students can take advantage to have a dip in the water, sunbathe, relax, picnic and take some great photos (those which Smokey took of his group in San Martín del Castañar are especially impressive, check them out on our Facebook group!).

It’s a nice chance to escape the city, see something different and pass a slow afternoon. None of the villages or towns being far away, they are easily reachable with a hire care on on a Mester trip, organised as part of the popular activity programme which the school runs to complement its Spanish classes.

Fun on the river

These trips and excursion are great way to see a side of Spain which isn’t as known as the famous Costa del Sol and islands. It’s also a great way for groups to bond, make contacts for the future and consolidate the Spanish they’ve learn on their course in a relaxed, social atmosphere.

The Mester activity really is a complete one, with trips to the surrounding villages throughout summer, as well as visits to the Portuguese beach of Aveiro.

Enjoying the Spanish sun

Consider a trip to Salamanca, you won’t have a chance to be bored and you’ll keep the Spanish you learn for life! A perfect holiday!

Posted in Activities, in Salamanca | No Responses »
Tags: activity programme, excursions Salamanca, La Alberca

Teaching Spanish as a foreign language – conference in Salamanca!

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

Through the Comunidad ELE, a very special event is coming to Salamanca from 30 June to 2 July, continuing from the conference about the Value of Language which was celebrated in 2008. The event will bring together Spanish as a foreign language teachers from all over the world.

The programme for Spanish teachers

It’s a push to promote the teaching of Spanish from the Junta de Castilla y Leon and they’ve taken on many important people from the world of teaching to help them out.

The Spanish teachers coming to the event, which will take place in Palacio de Congresos, will not only get the chance to hear some great speeches and learn about what’s new in their professional world, but will also have the chance to explore and get to know Salamanca, a beautiful, historic city of Castilla y Leon, famous for it’s Spanish courses thanks to the lively student atmosphere, elegantly accented spoken Spanish and an impressive cultural history.

Spanish Academy Mester have a stand and are present at the conference, promoting Spanish in the USA as well as the new technologies in education, something in which the school has made great investment, putting digital boards in the class rooms and installing computer labs for their students.

An example of the day's plans

Details started falling into place on 28th April when the organisers met to discuss how to make the event a successful as it is set to be. Amongst others, at this meeting representatives of the Instituto Cervantes, SOTUR, the University of Salamanca, Travel and Education and Mester were present.

Taking complete advantage of the advanced resources of the Palacio de Congresos in Salamanca, the conference will comprise 32 stands of editorials, universities, Spanish schools and Spanish institutions. Ready to attend the event, over 600 Spanish as a foreign language teachers will be present, making it the biggest European meeting of its kind.

Speakers include Robert J Blake, an American university professor from Texas who has worked with Mester and the online Spanish course Tesoros and currently works as an organiser for the Universities of California. Furthermore, he’s just published the book “Brave New Digital Classroom”, showing that he, too, appreciates the value of technology when teaching.

Other prominent speakers will be Prof. Alfredo Miguel from Colegio Unamuno, Patrizia D’Adamo Roldan from Travel and Education and Emilio Prieto de los Mozos, from the University of Salamanca.

So on seeing just how important Spanish is becoming, why not look into a course today?

Posted in Activities, News, about Salamanca, in Salamanca | No Responses »
Tags: spanish courses. learn spanish, teaching spanish as a foreign language

Salamanca welcomes another group trip from San Diego California!

Friday, June 25th, 2010

This week Mester Salamanca has been playing host to yet another successful group trip from San Diego, California, led by teacher Smokey.

Smokey's group in Mester

Seventeen students from Coronodo High School, situated on Coronado Island, have made the trip across the Atlantic to boost their Spanish and immerse themselves in a new culture. And this immersion in culture is complete: All living with families, the students are in class for the morning, after having a Spanish breakfast with their host family, return from the school to have lunch with the family – the biggest, most important meal of the day in Spain – and, after an afternoon of activities, return home to have dinner and discuss their day, a great way to practise Spanish and gain insight into how other cultures live.

Enjoying the Segovia excursion!

Leading his seventh visit to Salamanca since 1995, Smokey has taken his class, along with other teacher Megan, on several excursions during this year’s visit, one of the most memorable surely being that of the trip to San Martín del Castañar, a small salmantino village. Surrounded by stunning scenery, and with excellent weather, the students took the opportunity to swim in the pools, relax and catch some sun on the riverbank, ideal preparation for the more active excursion sight-seeing round the two neighbouring cities of Avila and Segovia.

Enjoying the sun in Avila

In these historic cities, both favourites of groups learning Spanish in Spain, the students really took advantage: taking photos, enjoying the typical Spanish food and exploring the famous monuments. Whilst Avila is a small, beautifully kept, walled city approximately an hour from Salamanca, Segovia is larger, with a gigantic aqua-duct dominating the city centre, two brilliant photo opportunities which the students eagerly embraced (see the results in our Facebook album!).

Choosing an ideal time to visit Spain, the students have also been able to enjoy a few of the World Cup fixtures – getting an idea of the passion with which the people of Spain follow their national team! And not only this, during the afternoons they’ve had a whole host of activities to choose from: dance classes, cookery classes, language exchanges, film nights…Plenty to keep even the most demanding of students entertained!

Supporting "La Roja"!

Group trips are a wonderful way to better your foreign language skills, have fun and enjoy a break from the routine. With an activity programme as full as Mester’s, we strive to relieve the pressure on the teachers to fill days, organise trips and ensure their class is entertained 24/7. Working together with schools and colleges to cater to specific requests, Mester offers trips which are an effective way of not only improving the Spanish level of a class, but are perfect for giving students enthusiasm for the subject too.

Should you be interested in a group trip to Mester, don’t hesitate in contacting us through the school’s website.

Posted in Activities, Group programs, News, Salamanca Program, about Salamanca, in Salamanca | 1 Response »
Tags: group activities spain, group trips spain, Learn Spanish in Spain

Flamenco festival coming to Salamanca!

Friday, June 18th, 2010

Flamenco is an important part of Spanish culture and one which visitors to the country thoroughly enjoy. With the Flamenco Pa Tós festival coming to Salamanca, the Spanish students here at Mester will have a great chance to embrace and learn about this aspect of Spanish heritage.

GomaEspuma presenting duo

In it’s 11th anniversary and presented by popular Spanish celebrity duo GomaEspuma, the festival will offer everything from workshops, classes, guitar concerts and dance shows. In fact, so important is the festival that it has been recognised with the “Premio Nacional de Flamenco” in both 2004 and 2005 – a great achievement!

Its success is also noted by the amount of stars who have played a part in the festival: Pepe Habichuela, María Pagés, Carmen Linares, Enrique de Melchor, Alicia Gil, Serranito, Niño Josele, Farruquito, Mayte Martín, José Mercé y Moraíto to name just a few! Juan Verdú has also taken part in the artistic direction – a greap coup!

Flamenco at its best!

What is more, this festival is all for a good cause, helping children in Managua. In fact, after the fourth edition of the festival, it was lengthened to 3-4 days – showing it’s popularity and success.

Check out the canal they have on YouTube, get a group of friends together and go enjoy the show! You may know not much about flamenco music but you’ll be surprised how much you recognise and enjoy the ambiance for sure. Furthermore, a festival such as this one is a great initiation to such a celebrated world of culture, don’t miss it!

Posted in Activities, News, about Salamanca, in Salamanca | No Responses »
Tags: festivals salamanca, flamenco festival salamanca, flamenco pa tós

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Blog with information, news, activities, events from Spain and about Spanish Courses