I am sure you are all ready to see your loved ones and you should all be especially proud of their achievements this summer, as we team SLP are. The despedida was a big success and today most students are enjoying a final Sunday with their temporary families and packing their suitcases. All should have received a pre-arrival email last week from the IUHPFL supervisor confirming the flight numbers and times (same as original). As of today all is a go and we will be arriving sometime around 3pm. Most students have their cell-phones charged and ready to go meaning you should expect a quick call when we arrive in TX if not then surely once we are in Indy. We look forward to returning your loved ones with some amazing stories and improved Spanish to tell them with. Until tomorrow, Team--SLP
Yes, the time has come, our gala event this evening where the students will showcase their talents in appreciation for all that our host-families have done for us. Tonight will feature 2 dances, 3 theater productions, and 3 songs, followed by a celebration-good-bye cake. Than, later in the evening, students will have the option of returning with their families for dinner or joining the instructors for a typical Mexican evening dinner/soup: the famous pozol. Tomorrow, Saturday, students will be with their families during the day while in the evening we will meet for an ice-cream and final fare-well tour-bus-ride in the city center. Sunday, well, I imagine there will be a good amount of emotion, as well as some scrambling to fit all the gifts we bought back into our original suit-cases. Our flight takes off quite early Monday,6-30am, so we are using a charter-bus service in order to ensure, as much as possible, that we are all on time. As of now the flight is confirmed and, with some luck, we should all be back in Indianapolis around 3pm. I recommend planning on arriving at the air-port between 2:30 and 3:00pm. Look for some last minute pictures this Sunday of our last weekend and a confirmation that we have made it through our last weekend here in SLP safe, sound, and feliz. Wish us luck this evening. Have a good weekend. Best, Team SLP
Un saludo a todos, This week was another fun-filled adventure here in San Luis Potosi. Students continue to communicate effectively in Spanish, join together daily in activities both in and out of the classroom, and demonstrate their right to hold the title of Honors Students. Monday, we continued practicing our choir performance as we lead up to the big farewell gala, where students will perform and sing in appreciation for their host families. As well, Monday evening students were offered the opportunity to visit a book-store in the city center where they bought novels and other literature, which will keep them improving their vocabulary and language abilities until they return to classes in August. Tuesday, we split the groups into our usual Tangamanga park-soccer and dance-studio outings. Additionally, a group of students went out to eat afterward. Wednesday, we continued with our theater practice and students went out for lunch and then to watch the new karate kid movie dubbed in Spanish during the evening. Thursday, was a special farewell event offered by the dance school students have been attending. The celebration followed their usual Thursday evening salsa classes. Friday, we visited Quikilandia adventure park where students had the chance to rock climb, ride go-karts, play paint-ball, and more. Later in the day we moved to a camp-nature-site where we sun-bathed, kayaked, and played volley-ball and soccer. Today, Saturday, students will be accompanied to a museum in the park and then have the rest of the day to spend with their families. Next week will be even fuller as we approach the end of the program, finalize our fare-well ceremony, and begin to say good-bye to SLP. More to come later in the week with the fare-well performance on Friday. Have a great weekend! Team SLP
We safely arrived back in SLP at 9pm after a very successful expedition to the capital city. We were lucky to escape most of the rain Mexico has been experiencing and completed all of our planned itinerary! From Temples to Sacred Churches, to Boat rides accompanied by Mariachis, we did it all.
Overall the students had a very nice time and they continue to impress us with their positive attitude, maturity, and the very noticeable advancement in their Spanish communicative abilities.
Tomorrow, the students have an extra hour to sleep in, as we will start classes at 10am.
Just 2 more weeks, which will surely fly by, and then we are back to the Mid-West. Look for another update later this week, but be assured that all is well, the students are doing great, and that you will see your loved ones soon enough! Have a Great Week!
We hope all is well back in the USA and everyone had a safe + happy 4th of July.
In SLP things are going very well. We celebrated 2 Birthdays, those of Maggie and Dylan, and both of their host families graciously offered to have parties for their respective celebrants/host child, providing a traditional Mexican birthday celebration with dance, food, torta, singing and much more.
Otherwise, classes are going well this week, as are choir, dance, and sports.
Our big weekend to the capital city of Mexico is upon us.
The trip starts out at 6:30 am this Friday, when we meet and begin our journey.
Below is a copy of our planned itinerary for the weekend. If you'd like you can google some of the stops/sites with their Spanish names to get a better feel for what we will be seeing this weekend. Some English translations are provided here (obviously, not in the original!), but whatever you don't understand you can ask your child to explain with pictures once we return.
Our best from SLP and we hope this weekend will be one of the highlights of the trip for the whole group!
Viernes, 9 de julio
6:30 Salida de Tequis. (leave out from the park in SLP)
10:30Parada en el McDonald’s de San Juan del Rio para
merendar (no comemos el lonche hasta después de Teotihuacán) (snack at McD's)
11:30Llegar a las pirámides, ver el Templo de Quetzalcoatl y (pyramids and temple!)
caminar hasta las Pirámides del Sol y de la Luna
Subir, pasear, ir de compras
3:00 Lonche, en las pirámides (lunch)
4:00 Subir al autobús para visitar la Basílica (visit the Basilica)
5:00 Visita a la Basílica de Guadalupe (another famous Basilica!)
6:30Llegar al hotel (Arrive at hotel)
8:00Cenar en Sanborns o VIPS, cerca del hotel (Eat near hotel)
Sábado, 10 de julio
8:00 Desayuno (breakfast)
9:00 Subir al bus (Hop in the bus)
10:00 visitar el Xócalo, Catedral, Palacio Nacional, y Templo
Mayor (very exciting visit to the center of importance)
11:30 Caminar a la Casa de los Azulejos (walk to the famous palace)
12:00 Comer en Sanborns (lunch)
1:00 Caminar al Palacio de Bellas Artes (walk to the palace/museum)
2:00 Subir al bus (back on the bus)
3:00 Castillo de Chapultepec (castle)
4:15 Museo de antropología (Salas Azteca, Maya, Tolteca)(Museum of Anthropology-best in the world?
7:00 Ballet folclórico, en el museo (ballet of folklore--another classic)
9:00 Cena cerca del hotel. (dinner near hotel)
Domingo, 11 de julio
8:00Subida al autobús, con equipaje (pack up the bus, check out of hotel)
9:00Desayuno en Coyoacán (breakfast)
10:00Vuelta por Coyoacán, visitar el museo Frida Kahlo (Frida Kahlo musuem)
Feliz Día de la Independencia (Happy 4th of July) from Mexico, We have successfully completed another week full of activities and classes. In choir we are signing along to the rhythms of Juanes and Diego Torres. In theater we are practicing well known plays as well as putting together a special program of sports, cooking, and dance, all in preparation for our end of the program farewell to the host families. Aside from these activities half of the group goes to Tangamanga park to play soccer, basketball, and tennis while the other half enjoy private dance lessons at a professional school. Additionally, we are know offering professional salsa lessons on Thursday evenings and we will start a cooking class next week. One of our students has also begun to design our official SLP 2010 shirt. Today, Friday, we canceled our trip to the park given we are under a heavy rain cloud--a by product of the hurricane off the Gulf. Instead, we celebrated the 4th of July by giving students a traditional Mexican experience: having a swing at a piñata! They had a blast and were rewarded with watermelon and chili flavored candy once they finally broke the piñata open. After, the group went to a near by culture museum and then to a restaurant to eat together. This weekend, on the 4th, we have Dylan's birthday to celebrate and his host family has offered their house for an afternoon party which we are looking forward to. The next week will be full once again, as well as filled with high expectations for our upcoming weekend excursion to the capital city of the country. For now, all is well in SLP and again a very happy 4th of July to all! Team SLP
I hope everyone had a great weekend! As promised the group had a wonderful time and enjoyed their opportunity to visit the picturesque city of Guanajuato, explore mines, a museum of mummies, eat chili and other-flavored ice-cream, and not least of all enter the Museum of Don Quixote. Further, a group of students took a city-bus-tour and ate dinner together with 2 of our instructors Saturday evening in San Luis Potosi. Everyone is in a rhythm and our third week of classes, chorus, and other activities are off to a great start. Updates to follow later this week. A look ahead: we are scheduled to celebrate the 4th of July this Friday at a park which offers swimming, basketball, volleyball, and soccer courts, as well as other activities and even some rides. Hasta Luego, Team SLP
