Celebrando el 4 de julio

As yesterday was the 4th of July, students were able to go to a local ice cream shop in the center of the city to enjoy some delicious flavors after lunch! Later in the evening, students and their host families were invited to El Jaleo to enjoy some great food, awesome conversations, and some American decor. Unfortunately, there were no fireworks, but the students didn't seem to miss them!

VIDEO: Un día de bailes

Check out the video compilation of this past Thursday's events where we had dance classes in the morning and then a community event in the evening!

¡A bailar!

Today, the students spent a lot of time dancing. We started the morning off with rehearsal for the group dance that will be taking place during the farewell show in two weeks, followed by more dance rehearsal in the afternoon. The students were able to go home for a few hours after classes to relax before coming back to the school for our community event. We met with la Asociación Iguales de Discapacitados Intelectuales to learn a dance to 'The Lion King' (in Spanish, of course) and also play a game in which players were eliminated by having balloons popped. The students thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone, and it was a very special evening!

VIDEO: Medina Azahara y la Mezquita

Enjoy the sights from our excursion yesterday!

¡Vamos a Andalucía!

Yesterday, we took a bus to Andalucía to visit the ruins of Medina Azahara and to learn about the la Mezquita in Córdoba. When we arrived at our first destination, students were greeted by a pack of herding goats! You would have thought they were watching a very important parade by how interested they were in the passing goats. We soon entered a small theater to watch a video that taught the history of Medina Azahara. This was important so that the students would have a good understanding of the purpose of these ruins and the history behind them before getting to walk through them. We then took a short bus ride up the side of the mountain to begin the guided tour. The sun was a little brutal at times, but the temperature was great! 

Our next destination was the city of Córdoba. Students were able to have some free time to explore the city and grab some lunch before our 4:00 guided tour of la Mezquita. We were all in awe at the beautiful architecture of la Mezquita, and students were able to learn a lot about the history of this incredible structure. Afterwards, we had about an hour to grab some water, ice cream, coffee, or do a little bit of shopping before getting onto the bus to head back to Ciudad Real. They were exhausted by the end, but there were lots of smiles throughout the day! 

VIDEO: Campo de Criptana y Toledo

Enjoy the sights from our excursion yesterday!