What Went Wrong June 2018

It's no mistake there hasn't been a blog entry in recent days. Over the years my blog has become a fun thing to share the moment, look back on, and a bit of a reference guide for future travels. I try to write stuff that's not a just check list but instead a spot where I can take myself back to the places, tastes and all the feels. But as Remi has started to go to school and I've added various people on Facebook, I've had to become more thoughtful of what goes out there. Yes, I still swear (we are all adults and word "shit" won't kill anyone) and a glass of wine is delicious (we are all adults and I can drink if I want to) but instead of writing my travel blog and an email to parents about the days' happenings during school trips, I started copying and pasting the text. When all goes well, it's easy.  I can write fun stuff here and there and keep it as a memory. As seemingly everything on this trip was going wrong, I found myself sugar coating to the point of no recognition and decided to abandon blog and focus on pictures (parents still got a quick summary via email). So what happened?

1. I didn't fly with the students. Since Remi and I are not coming back for another month, my itinerary wasn't just different coming back to CA but also going to Europe. The Group Director didn't haven't me there to corral the troops, the students didn't have anyone encouraging them to explore or making suggestions for lunch places and by the time I got to Madrid 6 hours later than the group, I walked into a ring of fire and utter dysfunction. 

2. Some of my students never had me as a teacher. While usually that hasn't been a problem, this particular bunch wasn't particularly interested in getting to know me. Upon reflection towards the end of the trip, I realized no one actually wanted to hang out with me. We were a group of 8yo to 67yo and I spent my entire time with the 20-21 contingent. They've traveled with me before, presumably like me (since they came back for more) and weren't scared of engaging with me. 

3. Some students had me as a teacher two years ago. In my attempt to make this accessible to as many people as possible, I advertised this trip 27 months ago for smallest monthly payments since they would be spread out over 2 plus years. As a result, I haven't seen some students in 2 years and they didn't know me (read reason #2 above).

4. Neverending gossip and cliques within my group. I'll just leave it at that. 

5. Phones, phones, phones. I guarantee you, some students aren't capable of telling you the names of cities we've visited, let alone any info about what we saw. As we got on the bus, earbuds would go in. In museums, noses in phones. Tour guides would talk to us, the students' backs towards them.

So this begs the question "Why did they go?" Did they want to visit Spain? Did they just happen to have money and it was a reason to get out of Union City for 10 days? Were their friends going? Did they go to get that Instagram shot? I'm honestly not sure. 

And while no one likes a martyr, I do these trips for the students. As someone who travels a lot, I seek out something I can show my kids and encourage speaking Spanish and overall travel. If my students haven't learned a thing on this trip then it was a complete waste of my time.

Of course, I'm generalizing and there are
those who loved every minute of it and soaked up the experience. Most of those were in college or older with a few minor exceptions. I did get to take a 20yo on their first flight!

Three parting things that I enjoyed:

-Teaching kids who were willing to try how to eat mussels

-One student noticing how interactive the guides are

-One student saying leaving is bittersweet. They are excited to go home and see their loved ones yet enjoyed being in Spain. 

As a teacher, I know our rewards come with time and patience but I won't sit on my thumbs awaiting them from this trip. With such minor victories, I am left to decide if I ever want to do this again.  For now I just focus on the adult trip to Thailand in 2019 and my personal travel. Adelante!

Segovia/Burgos/San Sebastian/Surprise 2018: Día 4-6

Día 4

Segovia? Burgos? I'm pretty sure we've found our favorites of the trip (for now :))! Sure Madrid is lovely but it's a big financial, metropolitan city. True Spain lies in narrow cobblestone streets, tapas, hilly paths full of history, cathedrals, castles and these two towns delivered.

Segovia's acuaduct is an impressive 15 kilometer structure that delivered the water from the mountains into the city. Today it is full of remnants of the 8 centuries that Arabs spent in Spain,  gorgeous Alcazar castle and an impressive cathedral. Some of us ate the traditional suckling pig,  while others had some tapas or stuck to pizza.  I think I speak for everyone when I say we could have walked around more and taken in the views but we had to continue on North to the city of Burgos.

Burgos is a small charming town where we met Luis, an awesome guide so full of energy and engagement it caused one student to say "I wish teachers were that interactive." And with that, please know how special it is that you are able to give your kids this opportunity. While I can try to recreate presentations, show images and talk about my love of Spain, there is absolutely no comparison between hearing about it vs standing in a 13th century cathedral, Segway-ing your way through Madrid, tasting the entire tapas menu and having local guides make you be kings and queens of Spain to explain European monarchy. I truly hope that each and every person is making the most of these 12 days because everyone here is so very lucky to experience this.  

At this point of the trip, students are figuring out their relationship with the journals. Some are journaling their way through the day,  writing down their impressions and feelings before I ask while others have questioned the need.  I do believe that the journal is some of the best way to internalize the experience and those who get into the journals are giving themselves a souvenir of a lifetime. 

After dinner, it was our second trivia eve. The students who answered questions from the day (culture, Spanish or history related)  got to choose a bookmark from Madrid, post card from Segovia and Burgos or coaster with images of the acuaduct. 

Two walking tours in two different towns in one day made for a lot of happy, tired people, most of whom retired in our swanky modern hotel (which did not include quality Wi-Fi, making this a very late email). Others went into town for dessert, laughs and great company.

 

When we wake up, we are off to Basque Country, Northern Spain where we will learn new words, see the world famous Guggenheim museum and see something completely different from the last four days.

Day 5

Bilbao's Guggenheim and Jeff Koons' Puppy are known all over the world. Today we got to explore Bilbao, one of the most industrial cities of Spain. Host to hundreds of conventions per year, it is a city that had revitalized itself in the last 30 years. Building a convention center, fixing up the harbor, investing in infrastructure, the city has become a hot spot for all things industry. DC and Hong Kong metro, buses, locomotives all over the world come from Bilbao. 

We had a couple of hours to explore the Guggenheim (China Olympics exhibit was the favorite for most), catch the local Pride Parade on the river and shop.

And then there were the pintxos. Variety of food in small bites or on a skewer is a fun way to share lunch with your friends while trying many different things. 

San Juan Eve is tonight! Take a piece of paper, write down all the things you want to "burn" away in your life and throw the paper in a huge fire. Out with the negative, in with the positive. After dinner at the hotel we took a walk to the San Juan gathering, saw the huge bonfire and listened to music. It's always great to participate in a local event and San Juan fit the bill and wrapped up a great day.

Day 6

Because EF doesn't ever stay in one spot for too long, today we went to explore San Sebastian, coastal town on the Atlantic an hour north of Bilbao. The modern architecture, bridges and of course, the beach were all there for our enjoyment. Being that it's Sunday and gorgeous weather to boot, the beach was packed. Some people went to the beach, others ate, shopped or went on a boat. When we gathered at our meeting spot at the appointed time, our Tour Director,  Kolja had a surprise for us. 

What's one to do when you have a couple of free hours? Go to France, of course! 45 mins later we arrived in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, a small Basque fishing village with a beach and crepes. Saint Jean is the same holiday we celebrated the night before (San Juan in French!) and there were many people who wore their local red handkerchief to celebrate the city's namesake day.  We had two hours that were spent swimming, tanning, trying out our French and overall relaxing. This relaxing afternoon came at a perfect time as we are all quite tired and about to embark on a long bus day to Barcelona tomorrow. And there you have it, Spain and France in one day! 

Tomorrow we move into our last hotel where we will spend four nights. Our schedule is packed and we are excited! 

Madrid / Toledo 2018: Día 3

Toledo  and a day full of choices are on the menu for today.

We started visiting the old Spanish capital, Toledo.  You know, the Holy Toledo one. The one that has one cathedral and 79 churches for its population of 10 thousand. Toledo never disappoints and it's narrow streets, cobblestone pathways took us to one of the largest gothic structures in the world, the Jewish quarter, sword factory and the famous El Orgaz of El Greco.  Our guide Carlos was hilarious, kept us on our toes and made the day educational yet fun.

Yes, some of your kids are coming home from swords and daggers. You've been warned.

Lunch of veggies and rice got us enough energy for the second portion of the day, one where the kids had to make a lot of choices.

Número Uno: Reina Sofia to see the famous works of Dali and Picasso's Guernica or the Royal Botanical Gardens. The gardens ended up being relaxing and pretty, the Reina Sofia informative but rushed.

Número Dos: Segway or a walk to the Royal Cathedral of Almudena.  Both groups seemed to enjoy their choices and then...

Número Tres: Cooking class, Rodilla  or Tapas for dinner. Cooking class was a hands on experience where we got to prepare a cold summer tomato gazpacho soup, tortilla española omelet, vegetable and seafood paella and an almond tart. Yum! Rodilla was a cheaper sandwich option (think chain restaurant with tasty tea sandwiches) and Tapas was a selection of small traditional dishes off the menu.

By the time the day ended we found ourselves journaling at almost 11 o'clock at night and having our first trivia night. As the week goes on, I hope the students are listening. Those who answered my questions basee on the last couple of days got to choose a bookmark of an image of Madrid that we have visited. There is more trivia to come, so you have to stay awake!

The night ended with some of us staying in, while others venturing out for the last late eve of Madrid. Baby octopus (not your usual choice), padron peppers and leche frita (I surely haven't heard if fried milk before!) and great conversation made for a delightful eve.

Tomorrow we are starting out trek North, with the first stop of Segovia.

Madrid 2018: Día 2

Day 2 started with a typical Spanish breakfast, some delicious pan with cheese and a selection of meat, excellent coffee, juices and croissants.

Everyone was on time  (yay!) and we were off on a driving tour of Madrid with our local city guide, Berta. We drove by Las Ventas bull ring, saw the most affluent neighborhood of Salamanca and made our way to the Palacio Real. King Felipe is currently visiting the US, making it possible to see some of the 2800 rooms of this luxurious palace.

Onto the local market we went to pick up some food for a picnic at the gorgeous Parque de Retiro. Let's be honest, when given an option to make smart decisions not everyone takes it. We had a fair share of Pringles, chocolate cookies, Oreos that some students called lunch. Others took the time to choose a good piece of lomo, chorizo, jamon and did a tasting of various cheeses and fruits.  Have I mentioned how hot it is? I promised months ago that heat will be an issue and unfortunately, I was right. Why do I mention this now? It's so important to choose good meals so that we can give our bodies the energy it needs to walk (8+ miles today?) and handle the crazy heat. Moral of the story: tomorrow we all will make better food choices!

After a relaxing picnic (in the shade!), we split into two groups. Real Madrid lovers went to  Santiago Barnabeu to see the famed team's home stadium while the rest of us "raced" in rowboat. And by race I mean, try to figure out how to navigate the thing so we weren't just doing loopies. Ok, maybe that was just our boat.

We split into two groups once again, with one heading back to the hotel, while others to Teleférico Cable Car to get a view of Madrid from afar. A few pics later we got back to the hotel via Madrid Metro, just like locals.

Dinner was meatballs and rice (mixed reviews but maybe better than yesterday?) followed by an incredible flamenco show. I have seen Flamenco all over Spain, but seeing how the dance comes from the South it is not uncommon to find less than authentic experience elsewhere.  Las Carboneras didn't disappoint! Powerful expressions, precise movements and high energy created a quality show consisting of three female and one  male dancers. 

The eve ended with some people heading back to the hotel, while others cooling off with ice cream at Mercado de San Miguel. Think of San Jose's San Pedro Market meets San Francisco's Ferry Building. Now make it fancier and open almost 24/7 and you have yourself Mercado de San Miguel. I'd like to just eat there for a week nonstop but that's unlikely to happen.

Tomorrow we are off to Toledo, Spain's religious capital and then back in Madrid for a pick of several activities.

Madrid 2018: Día 1

Part 1:

27 months. Who does THAT?! Doing my research ahead of time allowed me to offer this trip to my students more than 2 years out, creating a more affordable opportunity to travel since the payments were spread out for so long.  

A group of 29 emerged but only 16 of them current students or newly minted graduates. We are an eclectic bunch from 8 to 67 years old and I love it. Remi is also joining for his first ever student trip and his instructions are pretty much "don't talk to me, I am working." There are two students who have traveled the world with me and their job is... you guessed it: Remi! This arrangement permits me to take students out in the eve (those midnight churros aren't gonna appear themselves!) but also the old (ish) students don't miss out on every evening event since they are splitting the duty. Wish them luck?

We always get paired up with schools from somewhere in the US and we've met Texans, Michiganders, Floridians, you name it, along the way. This time we are with a group with Granada High School, 30 mins away from our house. Pro: I got to have dinner with their teacher leader a few weeks ago and she is awesome. More pro: if the groups get along, they are close to each other for reunions and reminiscing. Concern: the school is way more well off than we are and I don't want that to be an issue (sometimes Logan get a little self conscious about that).

My wish is to have a great trip, SMOOTH FLIGHTS, make new friends, experience my favorite country in the world, practice the language and eat some amazing food. I don't ever ask for much, do I? 

In the meantime,  our amigos are in the air somewhere between Toronto and Madrid and Remi and I got a separate itinerary (don't ask!) and are running 6 hours behind everyone. For now, I'll sit back, (try) to relax and enjoy the (sky) show. 

Part 2:

Upon landing in Madrid, an EF tour director  (not ours) met Remi and I with a taxi and took us back to the hotel. I enjoyed a shower and by 4:30 met some very dead students. The exhaustion has officially kicked in. I soon figured out that the original schedule I was given wasn't followed and they needed a fearless leader they didn't have that morning. Z to the rescue! 

They had gone to the Prado Museum which is probably the worst thing you can do to a large group of half asleep people, and to top it off they weren't given guide! "Hi, this is the third largest museum in the world, here is an old handout, go find these paintings you know nothing about." Wha???? Needless to say they sat down and tried not to fall asleep, total Prado opportunity wasted. 

By the time I saw them, they had another hour and a half of free time, were bored (I'm sure I have never heard that word before on any of my trips!) and were desperate for some guidance. To say that I am disappointed in EF would be quite an understatement. 100% of the time the kids are exhausted from fun, not boredom. I sat down with our tour director, shared some of my thoughts and now I think she hates me. Oh well. Upon further investigation of our schedule,  I discovered that tomorrow there is 7 hours of free time and on Thursday 5. Omg no. Don't you worry, I am on it and we have quite a fun plan set. Stay tuned for tomorrow's update!

After dinner (reviews ranged from 2 to 5 on a 5 star scale), we got back to the hotel, showered, we journaled and some of us went for churros while others decided to stay back and sleep.

On our way to Churrería San Gines, we walked through Plaza Mayor (old bullring, now a focal point of the city) and Puerta del Sol, took pictures of Kilometro Cero (central point of Madrid from which all the freeways are measured), talked about Spanish meal schedule, fake Louis Vutton bag salesmen and learned what a hostel is.

As a side note, our hotel couldn't be in a better location (hello, center of it all!) and I'm so proud of our kids for wanting to try local food. I'm excited to show off Spanish specialties and I have a feeling (most) of these guys will be adventurous. 

I know tomorrow will be a much better day.  It's amazing what a night of sleep and a plan can do and we are all set to get this thing started properly.