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.
