Photos from the past week

Some of our students singing in the choir at a local Baptist church.


Most of us at a reception in the city hall with the mayoress.



A great view of Denia.

News from the United States

Of course every member of our groups is always recieving lots of new from friends and family back home in the U.S. , but this week we've received some extra special news. Our professor Maria Elena and her husband Neal (who is also here in Denia with us) have been blessed with a new granddaugter. Natalia Shalom was born last Friday. We are very thankful that despite lots of family events back home Maria Elena and Neal are willing to spend their time here with us.

7 going on 8

Week 7 is complete! I cannot even believe we have been here for 7 weeks already. As many people have mentioned already, Denia is starting to feel more and more like home. We're finally starting to get involved with activities in the community or with people from Denia that we're realizing that we are going to have a hard time saying goodbye in May...

But let's not talk about that now! Let's talk about this week...This week was quite eventful. To kick it off, Sunday was a holiday--Valentine's Day. Different people did various things, but the majority of the group stayed after church (the Baptist church) for a Valentine's Day potluck. It was also supposed to go along with the sermon series on love that they have been doing since we've arrived. There was lots of good food, including food made by our very own, and lots of good friends. We are truly blessed to have found such caring people and such a wonderful place to receive spiritual support.

A lot of us had yet another test, this time in history. I think after two tests, we might finally know what to expect from the Spanish professors. We're still adjusting to the difference in education styles here in Spain (well Europe in general)...

On a more fun note, this weekend was our second long weekend. Some ventured to Marruecos, Africa and others to Sevilla. A lot of us just chose to stay in Denia however, and have a relaxing weekend. For those who stayed in Denia, Friday night consisted of the usual--going to cafes or restaurants in Denia. On Saturday, a group of us went to Calpe, a town about 40 minutes south of Denia, for the day to climb the mountain (rock) there, enjoy the beach, and walk around the old town. I'm pretty sure everyone who went said they would love to return, especially when the weather is warm enough to lay out on the beach. However, even though it is February, most of the group has sunburned faces, thanks to the strong Mediterranean sun! Saturday evening was capped off by watching the movie 17 Again at our professor (Maria Elena)'s house, while eating some homemade salsa (with chips of course) and brownies.



Week 7? CHECK. Week 8 here we come!



--Written by Carissa Ten Hoeve



Group of girls on the beach in Calpe with some German friends from the Alpha y Omega church.

Carnaval

We had heard stories from other students, and we were all excited. We were going to Carnival: an all-night party which is the Spanish equivalent of Mardi Gras. We all had costumes and masks to become an army of pirates, hippies, gypsies, ninjas, and traditional Andalusians. Prof. Bierling had reserved a bus to get us to Pego (the city with the biggest celebration in the area) at just before midnight, the time when the parade was supposed to start. We knew it was going to be cold, but we hadn’t counted on the rain. All day Saturday it poured, and a few hours before we were going to leave, Prof. Bierling called the city of Pego and confirmed that the festival had been canceled. So, instead of having some crazy pictures and even crazier stories, we have water-logged shoes, cold fingers, well-used umbrellas, and rested bodies. We are still waiting to find out if the celebration will be rescheduled for this coming Saturday.

But this makes it sound like the week was terrible, which is far from the truth. Over the past week, most of our small groups (studying either Acts or Cold Tangerines) have started up. The Spanish 308 class had their first literature exam (two essays, one short answer, two hours: go!). We have continued meeting with our conversation partners from the local high school. A group of students visited Denia’s cemetery to learn about how the Spanish Civil War affected this community. Friday night, the group went out to celebrate Kyria’s birthday, and Sunday afternoon, the Baptist church had a potluck in honor of Valentine’s Day and their current sermon series about being a community of love. Despite the abnormally chilly and wet weather, this past week fit the normal rhythm of life in Spain: laid back and full of people.

-Written by Cheri Ackermen

"SIS 2010"--can you read it?!

Transition

If I had to sum this past week up in one word it would be transition. We are now in the regular semester and not in interim. Last week was our first week of real classes and the start to a new semester. Most of us were trying this week to get used to a new rhythm and schedule. All students are being taught by two Native Spanards, G and Alfonzo. Everyone is finished before the main meal of the day by 1:30.

And we are all starting to find the things outside of class to become involved in. Several students are in small Bible studies through the Baptist church. Others are in the choir at the same church. Also some students are starting their ethno -graphic studies in different organizations around Denia. Some students will be keeping up their new friendships with the Chavas students (who went to Barcelona with us) and be conversation partners with them. Some students are even learning how to dance true spanish dances.

The best part of our week for almost everyone was probably our weekend. We had our first long weekend of the semester this weekend as well! So some students took advantage to explore around Spain, Europe, and even Denia. Some brave students went on a long trek of the mountain here for the entire day. Some stayed and hung out with the locals here in Denia. We even had one of our students, Sarah, run in a 10k. Others explored the providence in the south of us, Murcia, and experienced the nature of the country in the mountains. I had the opportunity to travel across the country to Seville and I was able to get a taste of the south of the country. Others students traveled to London and were able to see all the famous landmarks that London has to offer.


I think in the past month I have learned far more about Spain and culture than I ever imagined I would. The Spanish culture is so rich and diverse and the history is so old and interesting.
And after being in Barcelona and Seville, to me Denia is starting to feel more like home. It has definitely been comforting to come back to something familiar after being away (even just for 3 days), and get some good Mediterranean cooking from our mamás : )

-Written by Annie Nicholson

Busy week with new friends

This last week we wrapped up our interim class studying the regions of Spain and literature from certain regions as well. On Wednesday morning we finished our exams for both parts of the class – regions/history and literature – and left for Barcelona for a group excursion in the afternoon. This was somewhat of a stressful time for us students because they were our first exams in Spain! Despite some nervousness we got through it and set off for Barcelona excited for our first weekend excursion with the group and our last weekend with Professor Diana Zandstra. We got the chance to go with a group of about 25 seniors from the local high school here in Denia. Some Calvin students got to meet and get to know their partners for conversation groups for the semester. Others of us just got to make some new Spanish friends! Getting to know the students and learning what life is like for high school students in Spain was quite the experience. We found we had much in common with many of them and got along well. Also, meeting the students challenged our speaking skills as they were the fastest and most colloquial speakers most of us had encountered! Also, we became more aware of cultural differences like volume of speech and even the hours Spanish teenagers usually stay out!

Overall getting to know the Chabas students was extremely helpful for pushing our language skills and our abilities to adapt culturally. It was tough when our Spanish friends were used to staying up until 5 in the morning and then we had to get up around 7:30 or 8:00am to make it to breakfast and out to museums and sites all day! I personally got to spend a lot of time with a lot of different students from Chabas and got the chance to learn lots of new things from colloquial phrases to how to say bobby-pin in Spanish! Overall, spending time with the Spanish students really opened our eyes to Spanish culture from the point of view of people that are closer in age than our Spanish parents or professors. I know that because I spent time with Spanish students I got the chance to see Barcelona through a different set of eyes than my own. When you’re with Spaniards you don’t seem as much like a tourist and people DO treat you differently when they know that you can speak their language suddenly, we were able to appear more like Spaniards than like American tourists! Experiencing Spain and Barcelona in particular with the Chabas students was a window into a whole different cultural world. We are so grateful we got to know them and we had a blast in Barcelona seeing everything from Gaudi’s works, art museums, to the well know tourist street of Las Ramblas!

-Written by Rebecca Larson