What an amazing week we all had in Tenerife!
It is the second year in a row that we spent a week in Spain as part of our language exchange programme. The Spanish host families and teachers at Nuryana school were absolutely fantastic and made our adventure there unforgettable.
We had a week packed of wonderful activities. On the first few days our students experienced life in a Spanish school, learnt about the education system and the different subjects and topics Spanish students cover in secondary school. Later on, we explored "San Cristobal de La Laguna" (UNESCO World Heritage city), the cathedral, the Spanish market and enjoyed a "chocolate con churros". On Wednesday, we had a lot of fun in Siam Park, biggest water park in Europe, and it was a perfect day to develop strong friendships among the Spanish and English students.
Towards the end of the week, we visited "Santa Cruz", capital city, and did a Language competition around the city centre to learn more about the history of the Canary Islands and visit all the iconic places. In the afternoon, we were kindly invited to swim at "Paso Alto" sailing club for free, thanks to the generosity of the sailing club members. On Saturday, we went to the volcano Teide and tried not the get sunburnt up there! We finished the day eating a "parrillada" in a typical Spanish restaurant.
Students spent every afternoon and evening with their host families and also had the opportunity to visit more wonderful places and beaches and to practise their Spanish and build up their confidence. It was an amazing trip to build long time memories and remarkable experiences. Students' feedback was extremely positive, they came home full of stories to share with their family and friends. The Tenerife trip is still the topic of conversation in the school this week!
Our students behaved beautifully and also learnt to be out of their comfort zone sometimes, a very important life skill that will help them in the future. They say the exchange not only had a very positive impact on their Spanish, but has also helped them with stress and anxiety. There were so many happy moments when they could not stop laughing! This has offered them unexpected mental health and peer pressure benefits.
We would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all our families for your wonderful emails and kind words. It was a pleasure to spend the week with all of your children and we, the teachers, will also remember this experience for many years to come. We made a lovely video of our adventures, we hope you all enjoy it!
Alex Bravo, Dee Jackson and Elizabeth López Gamero - The Spanish Exchange Team