I have learned to say hello in Basque - Kaixo (ki-sho)! My time in Basque country has been a blast so far! We had all of Monday to explore the town. We went around to some of the supermarkets to find food for snacks and lunch. We found a little cafe for lunch called Beritz.
My traveling group (Andrea, Jillian, Camila, Victor, Me)
Their garbage cans line the street and are huge!!
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| The Bertiz cafe |
This place had great food and even better coffee!
On Tuesday morning, we met up with Tane, one of our contacts. She took us to the offices for the faculty of Mondragon University. Everyone was very excited to meet us. Tane taught us all about the Basque school systems.
Spain group at Mondragon University
Tane at Mondragon University
We went to visit each of our schools on Tuesday. The school I am at is a public school in the small Basque town of Antzoula (Ant-swo-la). The little town is so beautiful! The streets are lined with colorful homes and quaint cafes.
Church in Antzoula
Just walking down the street is so beautiful!
The school is in the middle of the homes with a playground out front. Inside, the walls are lined with work from their projects. All of the walls are used to display the children's work. We went on a tour of the school and I met several of the students. The students were trying to guess where I was from. They guessed Ireland, Germany, Britain... When they found out that I was from America, they said "Oh, US? USA?" and one girl started singing "Surfin' USA!" We all laughed that this is what they knew about America. We left the school, and I would return tomorrow at 9 for my first day.
The playground in front of the school. Also these crazy trees are all over the place!
We went to see several other schools that day, but the best part was the tour of the town after. One of Tane's friends, Amaya, drove us around to see the beautiful country side. We went up the mountain, and the view was unbelievable. Pictures definitely do not do this place justice. It is the most beautiful place I have ever seen.
Such a beautiful place!
Jillian and I with the beautiful view
Arrasate is gorgeous!
Vino y Patatas
Bonbas
On Wednesday, I went in for my first day in Antzoula. I got on the bus in Arrasate and rode 40 minutes to Antzoula. I got to Antzoula too early (we were told that being early is considered rude in most places of Basque country). I decided to stop for a coffee. Have I mentioned how AMAZING the coffee is over here? It is way better than any coffee in America.
Coffee and a chocolate croissant with a wonderful view!
When I got to the school, I met with one of the directors, Ainitze. She helped place me with my class. My mentor teacher, Laura, is one of the English teachers at their school. There are 2 other English teachers that I will get to work with later on. One big difference from American schools was that they call us by our first names!! So no more Ms. Peachy... Laura has many classes that come visit her in the English classroom. This is where they practice writing and speaking in English. After one class, school was over. On Wednesdays, they take half days so they have time to play and spend time with family.
Welcome to my school!
On Thursday, I saw a few more English classes with Laura. For the rest of the day, the students work on projects based on their current theme. For one of the primary 4 classes, their last theme was bicycles. They interviewed a man who biked all around the world for more than 15,000 kilometers. They presented this information to me in English as a class. The class also did research on AC/DC and Queen. Finally, as a class, they sang "Bicycle Race" by Queen for me. It was a very cool project.
One of my English classes
Some of their bicycle display
Our group took Fridays off to travel, so I am finished at school for this week. I will return on Monday morning for my next week in the Basque schools. This weekend we plan to travel locally.
Agur Agur, (that means bye bye in Basque)
Ms. Peachy
