A Trip to Caños de Meca

Location of Caños de Meca

    Hello avid readers of the United States. Many of us are preparing our things for an exciting 21 ½ hour trip back to MinneSNOWta. This includes last minute cleaning, frantic packing (lets get those bags down to 50 lbs), and attempting to enjoy our final day in Estepona. But before I get the opportunity to enjoy all of this fun filled activities I had one final adventure on my last day at SIS. This was an exciting field trip to Caños de Meca.  

Two SIS student working hard at studying the landscape
and not falling into the Atlantic

      This was about a one-hour and 15-minute drive from Sotogrande International School. This trip was with my M5 students (15-16 year olds) to investigate an area of Spain for evidence of tsunami! The purpose of the trip was to measure rocks dimensions and shape, determine where most rocks were located on the peninsula, and decide if there is evidence of a tsunami that hit this region of Spain hundreds of years ago. In this fieldwork students looked at 4 different areas and compared them to each other.

Some fun games on the field trip

     While this was a very educational trip, we also managed to have a lot of fun that included creating fun ball games and a trip to a local café. Students also took in the beautiful scenery and an opportunity to get the feet in some sand. We also lucked out with weather. It was a sunny 19 degrees Celsius with limited winds. 

      I wish that I had more time here at SIS to see our results and see how my students analyzed their data. With that said, I am still excited to see all of you fun folks back home and I am ready to trade sand castles for snow forts! Bring on the snow and be prepared for some snowball fights! 

See You Soon,

Drew Ingvalson

Wrapping It All Up...Kinda Like a Christmas Present =)

The Estepona road sign we walk by everyday...

           Today was our last day at Sotogrande International School. We fly out at just before sunrise on Wednesday (yes, very early morning). Needless to say, it was bittersweet. Most of us are carrying on as we have throughout our time here, teaching our classes and working with our students. I had four lessons today (all of my courses) and attended series of meetings with my cooperating teachers. Julia stayed late after school to feverishly correct her students’ exams that she will also use for her Impact Project post-assessment. Mary Ellen and Katie helped put together a Christmas pageant with their P2 students. Drew went on a field trip to the opposite coast of Spain with his Geography students; what a nice last day! All of us have remained quite busy to the very end, and I think it is safe to say that our final day at SIS has sneaked up us a bit. Seven weeks have never come off the calendar so quickly. Where did the time go?

The main office building at SIS.

While the daily grind has left us with little time for us to look around and appreciate the fact that we will soon be leaving this place, I think it also says something about how we are approaching the end of our student-teaching experience. Personally, leaving Sotogrande is a bit more symbolic for me than my last placement in Chaska. Seven weeks ago, I was thinking about wrapping up my assessment for my Civics’ students, assembling my packing list for Spain, and making sure to see as many of my friends before I left as possible. I recognized at the time that my journey wasn’t even close to over, and with another seven weeks in the schools ahead of me, there was plenty left on my plate before I could feel at ease. Today on the other hand, everything seems a bit more conclusive. After today (and two days of seminar, of course!), student-teaching is done. My Impact Project is assembled, my portfolio has been uploaded to my website, and my MN teaching license application is pending. The gravity of the situations is a bit much for me, as I feel like my college career has come and gone without me every really noticing. My journey is complete. Or is it?

o teach abroad right away, because I’m looking for something more concrete, more dependable, and more “normal” in the States. Candice told me that I shouldn’t be afraid to explore my options, for one big reason. The plans you have – those fantastical ideas about what life will be like and where you will end up – rarely, if ever, come true. I have been ruminating on this idea for the past 24-hours, and I am starting to warm up to the notion of doing some crazy (like picking up and moving around domestically or internationally) in the next couple of years. What I took to heart about my conversation with Candice is that because we rarely know what will come of our decisions, we never know if they are good or bad until it is too late; this is sometimes good, and sometimes bad. But with regards to having another adventure to some degree, does not need to fall in with my plans to be a good thing. My “plans” are artificial because I am 22, and just starting my career. There is no telling what my happen in the next month, year, or decade.

One last picture of the beach outside of our apartment!

So why not experiment and have some fun? If the important people in your life are supportive and willing to experience the adventure with you, all the more reason to just make the impractical a reality. But as a teacher, this has opened my eyes a bit to the possibilities that exist for my next journey. So while I will be on a plane for more than 14 hours tomorrow, I won’t be thinking as much about how this last day may have marked the end of one journey, but that it also marked the start of another adventure!

“The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.”

~Don Williams, Jr.

Morocco





The 7 of us on the hike with our tour guide-photo cortousy of Chris

This past weekend was a pretty great one.  It was our Holiday break and the seven of us took a little journey across the Mediterranean to Morocco.  The journey began by taking a VERY bumpy ferry ride which lasted about 3 times as long as the advertised “35 minute” ride.  After we arrived in Tangier, we had to take about a two and a half hour bus ride to the city of Chefchaouen.  We took a little break and enjoyed some mint tea, the standard drink in Morocco, which was delicious.  After seeing our cute little houses, we ate out for a traditional Moroccan meal.  After stopping briefly to see the hat man, we decided to rest up for a long Sunday that awaited us.



Beutiful views of the city from the hike



On Sunday morning, we began our day with a great meal of bread and many different spreads.  Then we were off to hike through the Rif Mountains where the city of Chefchaouen is situated.  It was a great four hour walk where we got to experience a little more of the culture outside of the touristy parts of town.  It was so interesting to see how the people live and observe the cultural differences, such as gender roles and work within the families.  Our hike was rewarded with another excellent traditional meal of chicken tagine.  After taking a few Land Rovers down the mountain (no seatbelts necessary), we tried our hands out at some shopping and bartering.  After picking up some gifts and having another meal, it was time to call it a day.

A typical street decorated in a brilliant blue color

Monday was a relaxing day which included visiting the shops again, exploring some less touristy parts of the city, and simply taking in the culture and the scenery.  Taking the bus back to Tangier was so amazing; it was dark last time we had taken that route.  This time we got to be amazed by the hills and the Moroccan countryside.  It was absolutely beautiful.  After a much smoother ferry ride back, we were all pretty tired out from our trip, but in my opinion, this was my favorite place we have travelled thus far.  I think many would agree that this was a fantastic trip.       

What is everyone TOKing about?

Believe it or not, I did not spell that wrong above and no it is not a cool European way of spelling “talking.” 

What is TOK?

I am glad you asked! TOK is a class at Sotogrande International School that all Diploma students take (16-18 year olds). TOK stands for Theory of Knowledge and focuses on how people get their knowledge about the world around you. It has similarities with philosophy in the United States, but also uses elements from all other subject areas. This class requires students to do projects and presentations to inform their peers about theories of knowledge and how we perceive our world.

What type of projects have students done in TOK?

            Projects that I have seen at SIS include art and psychology. Art projects included original works and interpretations of these pieces of art. Students debated on what type of messages were being sent through the art and how different people might see this art differently. Students also looked at the validity of this information they had created. One project I particularly enjoyed was one that had 3 couples holding hands (a boy and a girl, 2 girls, and 2 boys). Students then continued to discuss the messages that were being sent. TOK projects that students are currently working on are ones with a focus on psychology. Examples of these projects include; How does music affect students work (rock vs. classical vs. silence), How do people conform to authority figures, and How do different cultures perceive beauty? 

How is this class regulated or graded?

            Teachers give students immediate feedback on their presentations. They go over the standards that students need to meet and classmates also add in constructive criticism or areas of high quality work. Also, before students graduate they send in a video recording of one of their presentations to the IB Certificate Officials to critique their work. This is a very formal and important part of students’ school career.

Does anyone have any more questions? Feel free to post any if you feel so inclined! Until next time….

Adios de La Playa Del Cristo,

Drew Ingvalson

Learning and Reflecting

As our days in Spain begin to dwindle, it is time to start thinking about what we have learned over the course of our trip and our time at Sotogrande International School.  I think we would all be in agreement that this journey has taught us quite a lot about ourselves, education, and teaching.  As I think about the first day here just a few short weeks ago, I realize the progress I have made in my teaching, and how the IB program at SIS has challenged me to challenge my students.  As Chris so eloquently stated, “I have learned more about the American school system by studying in a school that isn’t the American school system than I ever would have back in the States”.  It’s very true-we don’t truly realize anything until it isn’t in our lives anymore. 

We have all taken the time to ponder the differences between the school system here and the school system back home.  For example, in my first placement I was handed teacher textbooks and told which units and lessons I would be teaching.  If I wanted to, I could have had everything completely planned out for me and I could follow the textbooks exactly as they were written.  Of course my education classes have taught me that valuable learning comes from engaging and real world experiences, so I would never teach straight out of the textbooks.  Here, I am handed objectives.  I know what the students need to be able to do by the end of a lesson or unit, and I am responsible for figuring out the best way to meet those objectives.  Everything is based off of the unit of inquiry, which is centered on a real world problem.  The students are in charge of their own learning.  If we don’t get through something one day, there is plenty of time to cover it the next day or later on in the week.  What we teach is based on what the students want to learn.  The students end up so much more engaged because the learning is practical and applicable to real life.    

All seven of us will be headed back to America with an appreciation for Nutella, the picturesque Mediterranean sunsets carved into our head, and many new ideas about how we will apply what we have learned to our own classrooms sometime in the near future. 

Thanks for reading,

Sara Schroeder

What do you mean we can't buy pumpkin in a can?

Mary Ellen and I had the bright idea of bringing Thanksgiving to our first graders who are learning about celebrations from around the world. What did we get ourselves into?!

Step 1: Buy Ingredients in Spanish from three different stores. Yes, those are whole pumpkins and fresh ginger. Do we know what we are doing? No! Will this taste good?  Still undetermined.

Step two: Carve pumpkins and remove all of the icky stringy pieces. I feel like I am five again.

Step Three: Lay pumpkin pieces on pan to bake for two hours. If you don’t have two cookie sheets, you can use a muffin pan covered with foil, Spain has taught me to be resourceful.

Our first attempt at making homemade pumpkin pie!

Step 4: Remove cooked pumpkin from the oven and let it cool before starting the mashing process. 

Step 5: Mash away. This would have been easier with a food processor, but we found that the potato masher works quite well. Yay! We finally had our very own pot of pumpkin goo! 

 

Step 6: Add the spices. HOW in the world do I grate fresh ginger?

Step 7: Mix all ingredients together. Hmmm… this doesn’t look quite the way mom makes it, but it tastes like pumpkin pie so far.

Step 8: Make homemade pie crust which consists mostly of flour, sugar, and butter--but mostly butter.

 Step 9: Marvel at our pumpkin pie, while enjoying the aroma and warmth that filled our apartment.


Although making pumpkin pie in Spain was quite the endeavor, our first graders, our teachers, and other student teachers loved our first homemade pumpkin pie. Maybe we should start our own business!

-Katie

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Cute and Unexpected Marbella

If I could only use two words to describe Marbella it would be cute and unexpected. We started off the day with a bus ride that took an unexpected amount of time. We thought it would only take 15 minutes but due to two large tour groups full of cute elderly people who spoke less Spanish than us it unexpectedly took over an hour. We arrived in Old Marbella, which is full of cute orange trees lining cute narrow streets which are full of cute shops and a cute café where we were served café con leche from a cute Dutch man who unexpectedly spoke English. This kind man gave us directions to La Plaza de los Naranjos, which you could probably guess by now was….cute! We then unexpectedly found a cheap taxi, which took us to La Cañada!! What is La Canada you might ask? No, it is not the northern most country in North America…it is a shopping mall. La Cañada is full of cute European clothing and cute Christmas directions. We unexpectedly ran into a couple of our cooperating teachers who directed us to their favorite cute stores. La Cañada was unexpectedly like a mall we might find back home but I think it is a litter cuter. After a long day full of cute and unexpected occurrences we were ready to go back to our cute Estepona home.

I hope you have a cute and unexpected day!

Love from, Mary Ellen Korby