Zaragoza Friends and Harry Potter

Photo: Colin and his buddy, Caser playing Wii before we head out to Harry Potter. Caser is wearing a JDL sweatsuit jacket which is the 'uni' all the kids wear on their gym days. Colin, Caser, and Joaquin are all in 6th grade together, and they play on the same, JDL soccer team.




We took Colin and Kelsey along with a few of their JDL school friends to opening night of Harry Potter in English with Spanish subtitles (most American movies in Spain are dubbed), the first movie we've seen while we've been in Zaragoza.

Photo: Kelsey with Joaquin and Aidan Wolff-King


Before we went, Colin's friends, Cesar and Joaquin came over for pizza. We later met up with Kelsey's friend, Lucia as well. The JDL students start taking English classes when they are 3 years old so by the time they are Kelsey or Colin's age, they are at a pretty good level. We would try to speak to them in Spanish and they usually answered in English. What a nice group of kids!

CAI Basketball

Photo: After the CAI vs. Caja Laboral game on November 14. From left: Chases, Adam Chubb, fiancee, Emily, Chad Toppert, and his girlfriend, Catelyn. With Adam standing at 6'9" and Chad at 6'6", we felt as if we were in the land of the giants around the guys.


On one of our early days in Zaragoza, we were out and about, and our ears perked up to Americans speaking English. We spotted a couple of extremely tall men whom we figured must be basketball players. As it turned out, we wound up having dinner at the same restaurant with these then strangers (a Japanese place called, Sakura) and then quickly started chatting with Adam Chubb, and Chad Toppert, Americans playing professional basketball for CAI Zaragoza. By the end of dinner, we had exchanged contact information, and agreed that we'd find a time to connect again. Since that first meeting, we ran into Chad at a Real Zaragoza soccer game and later, invited Adam, and Chad for dinner along with their girlfriends, Emily, and Catelyn.

Photo: Adam and Colin after dinner at our house



Apparently, it's a pretty good living to play basketball in Europe if the NBA doesn't work out post-college ball. Adam has been in Europe for about 6 years, the first 5 years in Germany and now, he's in Spain. The teams provide the players with a car and an apartment upon their arrival.


The next day, we went to the CAI vs Caja Laboral basketball in Zargoza. Caja Laboral is the best team in the league and they beat CAI pretty handily. However, CAI played competitively especially in the second half of game.


Photo: Emily and Kelsey
















Photo: Chad and Catelyn at our dinner table. They are from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Chad played in the Development League in Albuquerque last year.

















Photo: Chad passing














Photo: #15, Adam on court. He's one of the more seasoned players and plays the role of 'on court coach' with the younger players















Photo: Chad making a free throw shot (he got the point). Chad had a good but frustrating game since he lost his contact lens and he had to leave for the locker room to replace it.

SYA Mini Viaje -- Bilbao and San Sebastian

The week of Novebmer 8, SYA took 3 different groups on 'mini viajes' (trips) to various locations around Spain: the Basque Country, Madrid, and Salamanca. Parker joined SYA faculty, Marta Escartin and the Basque group on Wednesday as he and Ellen Wolff split the chaperoning time -- Ellen took the first part of the week, and Parker the latter. Parker visited some of the sites we had seen when Celia's Dad was visiting including Bilbao and San Sebastian. They also popped across the border to France for a brief visit. SYA families did not join this longer excursion.

Photos: SYA crew in front of Guggenheim in Bilbao. Marta is the spunky one on the far left in black in the top photo.


































Photo: Megan and Hannah Brewster, San Sebastian in background



The trip gave Parker the opportunity to bond with Marta and have a few laughs as well. The bus driver who drove the group around during week, Enrique mistakenly called Parker, "Jordan." Parker corrected him once but then gave up after Enrique continued to call him Jordan. Toward the end of the week, Marta told Enrique that Parker's name wasn't Jordan. Parker gave Marta a hard time, telling her that she 'spoiled the fun.' Even now, some of the SYA students still call Parker "Jordan."












Photo: Scenic San Sebastian











Photo: Parker with SYA group, San Sebastian in background

















Photo: Lovely Parador (Spain has a tradition of converting old castles and palaces into hostels and hotels)















On Thursday, the group visited, the Chillida-Leku Museum, a culmination of Eduardo Chillida's lifelong dream to create a space where his work could be on permanent display.



Photos: Chillida Leku Museum





Chillida-Leku is a beautiful outdoor setting that feels like a park and incorporates beech, oaks, and magnolias trees in about 30 acres. Impressed by the the outdoor sculptures and artwork, Chillida was one of Parker's favorites on this excursion.









“One day I dreamt of a utopia: finding a space where my sculptures could rest and where people could walk among them as if walking through the woods." -- Eduardo Chillida

Halloween

Photo: Scarey creatures, Colin as dracula and Kelsey as his side-kick.


Not many folks dressed up in Zaragoza but the kids did have Halloween parties at their school. Kelsey wore a cat costume (we bought the mask in Venice this past summer) but the other students were befuddled as to why she was a cat. Costumes here are reserved for the scary and freakish not the "be what you want" as in the U.S.








Photo: The whole gang


While Zaragoza doesn't celebrate Halloween in the same way as America does, Colin and Kelsey still had a fantastic celebration with some local pals. We are friendly with an ex-pat community made up of Brits, Irish, and Americans. Some of them are the same folks with whom Celia teaches English at a local school (I'll explain that more in another blog posting). Many of them have made Zaragoza their home; yet, their children still dress up for Halloween and do a small amount of trick or treating.


Photo: Trick or treaters at our door. Colin, Aidan, Hannah (Gemma's daughter), and Eric




While we couldn't find pumpkins anywhere, we were able to buy American candy at VIPs, a local place that sells many American products. Otherwise, you can't find the bite-sized Snickers, Hersheys, etc. anywhere. The trick or treating consisted of the kids only going to the houses of the families of the children involved and then landing at Gemma's (friend from Ireland) for apple bobbing, snacks and an extended game of hide and seek that lasted until after midnight (early for Spanish children!)





Photo: Dracula comes up the stairs

SYA Students Visits Casa de Chase

Many of the SYA students are homesick for American food, speaking English, and a little American companionship. As one of two American faculty families, we were delighted to have a few students come to our place.

Photo: Hannah and Colin tearing it up on Wii Fifa soccer. Hannah won but a rematch is certain

First, we had Parker's advisees over for dinner: Tom, Chelsea, Danielle, Taylor, Charlie, and Riley. When asked what they'd like for dinner, Taylor said that anything was fine as long as it wasn't pork, or fish, both of which are extremely common in Zaragoza. While Spain eats a lot of cerdo (pork or pig), it's not just called 'pork' here. They have names for numerous types of pork and you can eat just about every piece of the pig's body -- serrano (the leg), chorizo (sort of like pepperoni, jamon (ham) and many more. While Americans tend to disassociate themselves from the meat they are eating, Spaniards embrace it. For instance, in the U.S., cow is beef, pig is pork, etc.; we have a category to describe the animal, and we generally don't serve meat or fish in a way that the animal is readily identifiable. However, in Spain, fish is frequently served whole with the head and body in tact. Sometimes, it is a bit of a shocker to have a scaley friend served on a plate with its eyes seemingly peering up at you. In the market, it's not uncommon to have pigs' heads, or full rabbit bodies hanging up in the butcher section for purchase.

We forgot to take pictures of the advisee dinner night but we had a great time with them. All told, they are a fun group of kids. We're lucky that many of them are in our Spanish class so we've had the chance to get to know them in that setting. Many of the SYA students are from the East Coast; New Jersey and New York represent the biggest contingencies. The dinner gave them the opportunity to talk about some of the challenges they are facing and how things are going with their host families.



Photo: Colin, Angelica, Arabelly, and Regina look at pictures from the trip to the Veruela Monastery and Tarazona.


The following week, we hosted a pancake brunch with several students with whom we have a home connection either through St. Paul's or U.S. friends: Angelica, Chanel, Hannah Brewster (niece of Becca and Toby; she is the daughter of Toby's brother, Seth), Regina Saravia (daughter of SPS faculty/family), and Arabelly (one of Parker's advisees who couldn't make it to the advisee dinner). Chi Chi, who's also a SPS student couldn't make it as her host family went to their pueblo for the weekend.




Photo: Hannah and Kelsey


Colin and Kelsey love having the students visit. Many of the students take the time to engage with them. For instance, Hannah worked a puzzle with Kelsey for some time and then played Wii with Colin.







Photo: Chanel on her 3rd or 4th cup of coffee




















Photo: Everyone relaxing in the living room. They felt at home and stayed the afternoon until 5pm.

SYA Trip to Tarazona

TARAZONA

After the Veruela monastery, we boarded the bus and journeyed a short distance to Tarazona which was once home to the kings of Aragon. Called Mudejar City, Tarazona is unique in that the streets are laid out in tiers above the Queiles River quays. Built at the foot of the Moncayo Mountain, Tarazona has little flat land.


Photos: Extremely large stork's nest from a distance and close-up. Antonio told us they weigh about 300 kilos or 660 pounds which we didn't believe until we spotted one on top of this church




























Photo: SYA students -- Riley (Parker's advisee), Marc (he finished high school in his junior year and is now doing SYA 'just for fun', Angelica (SPS student), and Martin.

Martin mentioned that his host mother serves his so much food every night that he often goes to bed feeling as if he's going to burst (put in polite terms). He's working on telling her that he'd prefer smaller portions but cooking can be directly associated with a Spanish mother's ego. Declining it can be interpreted as not only rude but as disliking the mother. Many of the SYA students cite similar experiences. One female student, who's a healthy weight, said that even though she's gained 10 pounds here, her host mother called her anorexic when she refused seconds. To top if off, Spaniards eat dinner at 9 or 10 p.m. during the weekday and 11 or 12 a.m. on the weekend. Dinner marks the end of the day which explains why it is so late but it leaves little time to digest!











Photo: Parker and Antonio in conversation





Interestingly, Tarazona also had a vibrant Jewish population in the old part of town, until the expulsion of the Jews in 1492 by King Ferninand and Queen Isabel (their union created what is current day Spain) . Today, little remains that is recognizable. The alleys are fronted with Moorish and Spanish buildings, and some, called "hanging houses," are built on top of natural rock formations, beneath which are caves once used by Tarazona's Jewish population. Now, a Jewish group is working to restore portions of their former community into historical landmarks.


Photo: Plaza de Toros Vieja (the old Bull ring). Apartments surround the ring and when the ring was active, residents would pop their heads out their windows to watch the show


















Photo: Lupe, our tour guide giving an overview of the history of the bullring. While very knowledgeable, she was difficult to hear, which made the tour harder to follow












Photos: Students with Tarzona in background






















Photo: Arlene and Taylor (one of Parker's advisees and in our Spanish class)















Photo: Kelsey with gal pals, Sofie and Helen. We are babysitting Helen's turtle while the SYA students travel on week-long viajes (trips) during the week of November 8.


















Photo: Lighthearted Chi-Chi (SPS student) with her serious face, and Marie (she's in Spanish class with Parker and Celia and is the youngest student in SYA just turning 16 in October)













Photo: Chanel and Angelica (SPS students)












Photo: Post-tour lunch with SYA faculty, Parker, Ellen, Lupe (Angeles' friend and our tour guide), Antonio, and Celia. While extravagant, these lunches have been a great way for us to get to know the faculty more personally. During the regular school day, the schedule is busy and it doesn't allow time for many relaxed conversations. Are you wondering where Colin and Kelsey are during our boondoggle? They spent a couple of relaxed hours having lunch with a few hand-picked SYA students in a local Tarazona restaurant

SYA Trip to Veruela Monastery

For our 3rd SYA trip, we traveled to the Veruela Monastery in Vera de Moncayo, and then to the town of Tarazona. On the morning of October 25, we once again started our trip by boarding a double decker bus to start our adventure.

Photo: SYA students outside the Veruela Monastery compound (seems like a fortress)



















Photo: Colin entering the monastery as students start the tour

Our first stop, the Veruela Monastery is beautifully situated near the base of the Pyrenees and is less than one hour outside the city of Zaragoza.













Photos: Inside the monastery



Living in the heart of a city, we find it hard to believe sometimes that we are so close to such amazing natural surroundings. Similar to our other SYA excursions, we had a guide Spanish guide who took us around to give us an overview of it.



While our Spanish is steadily improving, it's still pretty lightweight; thus, the SYA trips have been less about grasping all the historical information bequeathed by the guide, and more about getting to know both the faculty and students.













Photo: Parker and Holden (he is in our Spanish class)


However, fefore the trips, it's been helpful to research the sites on the web in order to have a reasonable background and foundation of knowledge of the site we're seeing.








Veruela is in the oldest part of the Province of Zaragoza (Zaragaoza is both a city and a province) and was founded in 1146 by Pedro de Atarés. With a 20 year construction, Atarés didn't live to see the completion of Veruela.


Photo: Colin and Jacob exiting the monastery


A celebrated Cistercian monastery and church, Veruela is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. We learned that the monks only believed in washing their hands and feet and for religious reasons,were forbidden from washing any other part of their bodies...yikes!




Photo: Kelsey inside the monastery. A few of her SYA gal buddies did her ponytails



















Photo: Alex, Mark and Tom (one of Parker's advisees but alas, a Yankees' fan)










Photo: Regina Saravia (daughter of SPS family and she attends Exeter

















Photo: Chanel (SPS student) and Taylor (one of Parker's advisees)


The most famous abbots of Veruela were Fernando de Aragón (1498-1577) and Lope Marco (d. 1560). The former was nominated abbot by Charles V in 1537, and two years later became Archbishop of Saragossa. Gustavo Becquer, the Spanish poet, made Veruela his abode while the religious were prevented from living there.


Photo: One of the crypts inside the monastery





From 1835 to 1877, seculars occupied it. Following this period to the present,it has been occupied by the Jesuits, who, assisted by the duchess of Villahermosa, a descendant of Pedro de Atarés, restored the church and monastery. Now, the monastery now has a portion which is being converted into a hotel as the Spaniards convert many of their historic sites into lodgings.



Photo: Payton, Ana, Kelsey, Arlene, and Sofie




















Photo: Victoria in front of crucifix