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Digital Storytelling

Not sure what to do this summer? Want to continue practicing your English, but with something new?

For children, teens, and adults, enroll in this summer’s classes by June 26th not only to prepare for your exams, but also to take part in creating a digital story. You will have an opportunity to write, edit, and present your personal narrative. Check out the videos to see what a digital story is:

Inscríbete en los cursos de verano hasta el día 26 de junio para tener la oportunidad de crear un cuento digital. Vas a escribir, editar y presentar tu narrativa personal. Puedes ver ejemplos aquí:

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Mini Vacations! Toledo and Madrid :) – Elise

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This weekend my friends and I went to Madrid and Toledo to do all sorts of wonderful tourist things.  First we took the bus from Córdoba to Madrid and arrived at 7 in the morning on Friday.  The first thing we did was find our friend´s apartment and sleep all morning.  Then, that afternoon we went to see the Royal Palace, la Puerta de Sol and Calle Gran Via.  We had dinner at a very cute restaurant that is very popular among students in Madrid, however, it had a really surprising food on the menu…kangaroo hamburgers!  We all ordered them and learned that kangaroo tastes just like beef!

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The next morning we woke up “early” and took the Ave high speed train to Toledo.  We arrived at 11am and had a relaxing late breakfast in the Plaza Zocalo and then decided to check out the Alcázar and the military museum.  We went up one of the towers and there was an amazing view of the city.  We took a short break from all the walking and sat down for a drink in a cute little plaza.  After that long rest we managed to find the energy to walk to another restaurant to eat a delicious lunch and drink some coffee.  To finish our day trip we walked around the Judería, took photos at a bridge with a great view and visited the Cathedral and the Synagogue.  If you’ve never been to Toledo I definitely giving it a try!

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TV! Holidays! Food! The best things in life. – Jill

Coming from the States, I have been surprised by the number of American movies and shows translated into Spanish. Back at home we don’t really have foreign entertainment. For example, I would have to go to a local university’s “art-house” cinema in order to watch a non-American film. Here I watch my favourite American shows but the characters speak Spanish! For example, I watch the Simpsons at lunch and it is interesting to compare the voices of characters. Marge is quite similar, as is Bart, but Homer and Apu sound very different! Aside from dubbed American entertainment, I also notice Spanish programs that are like ones at home. For example, we have a show called survivor that is like Sobrevivientes. The show Mujeres y Hombres is like our “Bachelor” and “Bachelorette” shows. Now I wonder if our American TV shows are original ideas, or if they are reproductions of other country’s successful TV shows!

A photo of the Bachelorette and more information on the show: http://abc.go.com/shows/the-bachelorette:

bachelorette

I went to the procession parade a few days to celebrate San Miguel and I thought back to my own home town. On the last day of October, known as HALLOWEEN (!), the local elementary school students dress up in their costumes and walk around the town. The townspeople watch them and listen to the small student band that plays music. When I was small, I felt so proud to be a part of the parade and my family would take pictures of me. During Villanueva’s procession a few days ago I really enjoyed looking at the beautiful dresses and suits.

This is not a photo of my school’s parade, but these students follow the same tradition:

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Also one last thing:

If I had to pick my favorite American meal, it would be our breakfast. While it is not exactly healthy, a “lumberjack breakfast” of pancakes or waffles, sausages, bacon, strawberries, bananas, scrambled eggs with cheese, orange or apple juice, and hashbrowns (cubed and fried potatoes) is the most luxurious way to start your Saturday. My family will all come together in the morning and prepare the meal together before we start our weekend festivities. I want you all to enjoy a bit of this magical experience, so here I’m including a recipe for American pancakes.

http://www.food.com/recipe/basic-pancake-mix-48635?scaleto=8.0&st=null&mode=metric

We put “maple syrup” on them traditionally, but you can also put a spoonful of jam/ jelly/ marmalade on them to make them extra special.

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Cultural Differences – Joanna

Cultural differences:

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Sunset in Provincetown, MA
The other day I was talking to some friends of my host family about the differences between Spain and the United States. When I first got to Spain I didn’t think I’d find a lot of differences. But now that I’ve been here for almost 5 months, I have actually noticed some really big disparities. For example, eating schedules and meal sizes are very different. Here breakfast is small, lunch is large and around 3 PM, and dinner is moderate and can be as late as 11 PM. But back in the States people are encouraged to eat a hardy breakfast, then lunch can be as early as 11:30, and dinner is substantial and around 6 PM. At first I didn’t understand this difference at all, but that is because I arrived in winter when the temperatures were still pretty low and the sun set at a relatively normal time. But now that it’s summer and the heat can be unbearable at times, I completely understand this eating schedule. In the U.S. it is usually dark by 9 PM but here there is still light in the sky as late as 10:30 PM, and it’s not until then that it really starts to cool off. At first I thought this was very strange considering geographically Spain is almost directly south of the United Kingdom. But then this past semester I learned in my geography class that Spain is actually on the same time schedule as Germany due to World War 2. Which just goes to show so many seemingly arbitrary things in our lives are direct results of past conflicts and wars.
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Sunset in Córdoba
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First Weekend in Spain – Madeline

Blog post: First weekend in Spain!

What amazing first few days I’ve had here in Spain! My flight from New Jersey landed in Madrid on Thursday, and I was able to spend a few hours walking around the city before hopping on the train to Villanueva to meet my host family. I loved seeing the botanical gardens and tried to learn the Spanish words for the plants there. I hope to make it back to Madrid before I leave; there’s so much to see, and it’s such a gorgeous city!

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This past weekend was packed with events, including the feria and the Romería de la Virgen de la Luna. The feria had all sorts of rides and games, some that I recognized from home (ex. bumper cars, carousels) and others that I’d never seen before (ex. “Don Sapo,” “El Toro”). “Don Sapo” was so much fun, even though I’m scared of heights! The mood at the feria was great: everyone was smiling and enjoying themselves. Many girls and women came dressed as sevillanas, and they looked beautiful!

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On Monday was the Romería. My host family and I drove to the ermita around midday and spent the afternoon chatting with people as they passed by the casetas. Since I love to ride horses, it was incredible to see the number of horses and riders that were walking around the grounds. One rider very kindly let me ride his horse, Deseo, with him for a little while, which was amazing! Upon entering the church, I was able to see la Virgen de la Luna up close and watched as people took photos with her. We didn’t do the walk to town but met up with the procession as la Virgen met San Miguel. I’m so glad that I arrived in Spain in time to see this! It was incredible and unlike anything I’ve experienced before.

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I’ve already been able to try lots of new food, including salmorejo cordobés, lechón, almejas, morcilla, jamón ibérico, flamenquín, and caracoles. What I like most about traveling is trying new things and meeting new people. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the summer brings!

-Madeline

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Cursos de verano

Summer is almost here! Este verano contaremos con siete profesores nativos de los Estados Unidos, que estarán disponibles para ayuda extra en gramática, escritura, y conversación.  Os dejamos aquí la información sobre los cursos intensivos que ofreceremos este verano en Academia Manhattan:

Cursos Intensivos de B1, B2, o C1 – ¡matricúlate antes del 24 de junio!

  • preparación intensiva para examen del ISE I, ISE II, o ISE III (Trinity College) con fecha del 16 de septiembre (examen escrito)
  • fechas: 29 de junio – 18 de septiembre, con descanso la primera quincena de agosto (10 semanas)
  • 5 horas semanales, más 3 horas de conversación extras (opcionales) por semana
  • para matricularse o para cualquier duda: rellena el formulario que se encuentra debajo, o envía un email a academiamanhattan@gmail.com
  • precios:
    • B1: 420€ incluido precio del examen y materiales (libro: The Big Picture Pre-Intermediate, Richmond)
    • B2: 460€ incluido precio del examen y materiales (libro: Target First, Richmond)
    • C1: 500€ incluido precio del examen y materiales (libro: The Big Picture Advanced, Richmond)

Además de estos cursos intensivos, ofreceremos clases de repaso de materiales escolares, clases de conversación general, preparación para exámenes de la EOI y Cambridge, y más.

Todas estas clases seguirán el modelo de Academia Manhattan, es decir, grupos reducidos (máximo de seis o siete alumnos) y enfocadas a la conversación.  Si te interesa cualquier otro tipo de clase, no dudes en llamarnos, escribirnos, o rellenar el formulario de esta pagina, o de la pagina marcada “CONTACTAR”.  ¡Os esperamos en Academia Manhattan!

[contact-form subject=’Summer Courses 2015′][contact-field label=’Nombre y apellidos’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’/][contact-field label=’Número de teléfono’ type=’text’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’DNI’ type=’text’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Fecha de nacimiento’ type=’text’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Tipo de clase en que está interesado’ type=’radio’ required=’1′ options=’Trinity ISE I (nivel B1),Trinity ISE II (nivel B2),Trinity ISE III (nivel C1),Cambridge PET (nivel B1),Cambridge FCE (nivel B2),recuperación E.O.I.* (niveles B1 y B2),Clases de niños,Otro’/][contact-field label=’Horario preferido’ type=’radio’ required=’1′ options=’Por la mañana,Por la tarde’/][contact-field label=’Nivel aproximado’ type=’radio’ required=’1′ options=’Nada de inglés,Básico,Intermedio,Avanzado,Otro’/][contact-field label=’Otros comentarios o preguntas’ type=’textarea’/][/contact-form]

* E.O.I. = Escuela Oficial de Idiomas

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Trinity Exams – mayo 2015

Entramos ya en la última semana para matricularse para los exámenes de Trinity en mayo en Academia Manhattan.  Envíanos tu matricula (en formato PDF o rellenado el formulario) antes del 30 de marzo.

La matricula se puede hacer descargando y rellenando el archivo PDF, o a través del siguiente formulario:

[contact-form subject=’Trinity Enrollment 2015′][contact-field label=’Nombre’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Apellidos’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Fecha de nacimiento’ type=’text’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Grado de ISE o GESE a presentarse’ type=’text’/][contact-field label=’Convocatoria’ type=’radio’ options=’30 de mayo,16 de septiembre’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Teléfono de contacto’ type=’text’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’DNI’ type=’text’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]

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Madrid – Elise

This weekend we took a trip to Madrid to see the sites and try some great food.  We left on Thursday morning from the Córdoba bus station and it took us five hours to get to Madrid.  Even though the trip was long, it was definitely worth it! The first night we were there we checked in to our hostel, and then went immediately to the most famous churros place in the city.  It is a chocolatería called San Gines that has been visited by many famous people, even including supermodels like Naomi Campbell!

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It is always packed with people and the lines can be extremely long but the churros are delicious (and cheap!) and I would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting Madrid.  We spent the rest of the weekend walking around the city and visiting popular tourist sites like Puerta Sol and the Plaza Mayor.  My favorite day was Saturday when we went to a neighborhood in Madrid that is famous for its cute antiques, retro clothing stores as well as adorable bookstores and cafes.  We shopped around for a while until finally settling down to drink coffee and eat desserts at one of the many cafes.  All in all, Madrid is definitely one of the best cities in Spain, but by the end of the weekend we were ready to head back to Córdoba, home sweet home! ☺

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Rome – Asrie

The last trip I took during the fall semester was to Rome, Italy. Initially, Rome was not a place that I really wanted to visit. I was more interested in going to places like Prague, Amsterdam, and Budapest. But I figured that Rome was one of the places I should travel to since it’s one of the most famous cities in all of Europe and my friend really wanted to go. So I went with her; and by the end of the weekend, I was very glad that I did.

As an architecture student, I get excited by all the monuments and sites of older cities like Córdoba and Granada. I love exploring places that I’ve only read about in books or learned in class. It is much different when I get to experience a city or site in reality. I learn much more by physically being there. Rome was definitely a place that had this effect on me.

First off, the Colosseum was amazing. The size and structure was simply overwhelming. I never imagined that I would actually see it one day but the day that I did, I was blown away. The Colosseum thoroughly aged to the point where is a little bit difficult to see where things were. Moss covered several sections and some of the walls and supporting parts were missing. Nevertheless, it was a beautiful sight.

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The Pantheon was smaller than I thought but the open circular space and oculus let in a lot of air and light. Moving through the building was easy but there was so much to see in every direction. The Roman forum and Palatine hill took a long time to explore. There were structures and sites on almost every part of the neighborhood. Obviously, a lot has decayed and disappeared but that’s what made the experience unique and valuable.

Lastly, Vatican City took us a whole day to see. The Sistine Chapel in the Vatican Museum is simply remarkable. An artwork that takes us a whole room is worthy of all praise and St. Peter’s Basilica itself was a memorable visit. As the center of the Catholic Church, the basilica lives up to its name and importance. The details, size and overall architecture were awe-inspiring. It still amazes me how people were able to construct such massive structures so many years ago. It all depended on pure craft and manpower. That, to me, is so unreal but awesome.

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Ultimately, the Rome trip was everything I thought it would be and much more. I highly recommend that everyone plan a visit to this city at least once in their life!