¡A la playa! Day One at the Beach

To start off the day, we met the students at Plaza de España (Plaça d'Espanya in Catalan) a place we will meet them almost every morning of the program. Once everyone (todo el mundo) had arrived we took off for Platja de Can Pere Antoni (Father Peter Anthony Beach) where we spent the morning and early afternoon relaxing and having a good time (pasándolo bien) on the hot Spanish sands.

Passing through the city on our way to the beach:

Passing through the city we stopped at Plaza de Cort to see a transplanted olive tree that has been pruned and kept alive for over 600 years. We also passed through the Plaza Mayor to soak up the bright yellow walls that contrast starkly with the bright blue, cloudless, Mallorcan sky. Finally, we stopped at la Gran Catedral de Mallorca (Cathedral of Mallorca) for a photo.

En la playa:

Betty Kate spent some time searching for sea glass, one of her favorite activities at the beach. She told me she hopes to make some jewelry from the glass that she finds for her family and friends and that she hopes to find some truly orange sea glass some day, not just the brown stuff that washes out to an orange-ish with time. Pictured you will see her holding in her hands a grand haul of Spanish beach treasure (no pieces of eight unfortunately). Blue glass, green glass, teal glass, brown grass, but yet not one blue fish. There is a piece of weathered down ceramic as well and she even gifted me a few pieces (one in the shape of my home state of Vermont!).

Additionally, we had: sunbathers, swimmers, and sombrillas (beach umbrellas) a plenty. You will find group photos of the group wading in the turquoise Mediterranean waters, A photo of them breaking the metaphorical ice (as it's a taaad too hot here for the physical variety) with a round of speed dating replete with conversational prompts. Others were content to catch some alone time with a new book to catch a break from the socializing and stimulation. Relaxing in the sun and also in the refuge of the shade provided by the sombrillas (umbrellas) we brought from the institute.

Orientation:

I won't linger too much here on the administrative functions, but we did most all of their orientation activities in the afternoon.  After a day setting the standards and the tone of the program doing the following, they finally went home for a long night's rest:

• Discussing standards of behavior and respect
• Expectations inside of the home stay, in the streets, nature, and within the center
• Explaining a few of the many nuances of Spanish culture
• Introducing themselves to their Spanish language instructors
• Installing Spanish SIM Cards
• DEI training and awareness
   

And today we are finishing up their orientation with bystander intervention training and practice before heading off to the center of the Old City (el Casco Antiguo) to do a scavenger hunt to get them acquainted with their new home for the coming four weeks.

Es un placer acoger a todos los alumnos y enseñarles esta isla bonita, la joya del Mediterráneo. I look forward to sharing more goings-on and adventures with all who care for our students back home.

Hasta la próxima,

Alex