Vaughan Town, Barco De Avila, Spain

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Parent Category: Travel Over There
Category: 2014 - Gap Year
Created: Friday, 04 April 2014 10:04

Vaughan Town, Barco De Avila, Spain

A little over a year ago we came across a program that interested us in Spain – Vaughan Town. Vaughan Town is operated by Vaughan Systems, an English language school in Madrid. The school offers week long immersion programs for their students where they will spend 80 hours communicating in English with a variety of native English speakers (Anglos). The English speakers are volunteers who are provided accommodation and food for the week in exchange for their services. We figured spending a week in a hotel near Madrid and speaking to Spanish people sounded fun and so we signed up.

We had no idea at the time what we were getting into, but am I glad that we did.

The experience begins with Saturday night tapas at a small restaurant. It is here that you meet the program coordinator, MC, and most (if not all) of the other Anglos. Over 2 hours you talk, drink and eat and get your briefing. For this trip we had a variety of ages and nationalities (Australian, English, American and Canadian). The following morning the Anglos and Spaniards met outside the Vaughan offices for the bus and our immersion experience. The general rule of Vaughan town is that there must always be an Anglo/Spaniard mix and the bus is no exception. For around an hour each of us talked to a complete stranger, gauging their level of English and adapting our speech to accommodate their needs. At the end of the hour we pulled into a truck stop for a quick break before continuing the journey with a new person. By the time we arrived at Gredos we were already familiar with two Spaniards.

Upon arrival there is an orientation followed by lunch (Lunch and dinner are always three courses and served with wine and water). Meals are part of the immersion experience and each table has two Spaniards and two Anglos. During the meals it is expected that everyone at the table will contribute to the conversation. Meals became an excellent way to get to know everyone and their stories.

Our week together is predominately a series of one-to-one conversations where a student and Anglo are paired for 50 minutes, a telephone conversation and a conference call, group activities, as well as a range of theatre performances. The students also had to give 10 minute presentations on any topic in English!

Vaughan Town, Barco De Avila, Spain

What makes the Vaughan Town experience extraordinary is the relationships you build. During our time here we made many wonderful new friends and were able to learn of Spanish culture in a unique and intense way.

When you are forced to communicate with someone you don’t know over a specific period of time conversations can take some strange turns. You begin by talking about who you are and where you come from, your family and all the general small talk and before you know it you talking about each other’s passions, sharing stories of triumph and tragedy, philosophy, life and everything in between. It’s not that this happens with everyone, but I found many times that the conversations became so deep it would be hard to think of these people as anything other than close friends.

Vaughan Town, Barco De Avila, Spain

In the evenings were a number of performances by the Anglos and students. Some of the performances were straight up comedy, while others were educational or musical. Everyone left their comfort zone behind and embraced the experience.

When it was over, Rina and I stayed in Madrid for the week and almost every day we met with someone from Vaughan town and shared more life together. Such is the experience and the depth of friendships that can be made through an experience such as this. If you are at all open to the idea of spending a week talking English with a bunch of passionate Spanish people and having a unique experience (there were veterans with us who told us that each and every one is different) I heartily recommend it.

Other stories from Spain:

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A day at the Keukenhof

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Parent Category: Travel Over There
Category: 2014 - Gap Year
Created: Friday, 25 April 2014 16:56

Keukenhof, Lisse, Holland

The Keukenhof is a 32 hectare garden in Lisse, Holland that only opens for two months of the year. It is often quoted as being ‘The most beautiful spring garden in the world’, and it shows.

We spent 6 hours wandering through the garden and delighting in the constant beauty and incredible variety of tulips. The brochure says there are over a thousand varieties of tulip as well as varieties of narcissus and hyacinth. It is easy to believe these claims as we wandered the many paths we never tired of tulips as there seemed always to be a new flower in bloom.

Keukenhof, Lisse, HollandKeukenhof, Lisse, HollandKeukenhof, Lisse, Holland

The Keukenhof is remade every year with 7 million bulbs by a team of 30 craftsman over two to three months working from the plan of single designer. The bulbs are supplied by local producers and is an excellent advertisement for their wares. Dutch artists also provide new sculptures each year that are distributed throughout the garden and available for sale.

Each plot is painstakingly planted with layers of bulbs that flower at differing times throughout the season, enabling the garden to stay in bloom. We took a tour around the park and our guide pointed out beautiful beds of yellow that were purple two weeks previous. The entire garden is alive and in transition, colour fading from one plot while it erupts directly opposite.

The garden is not only the three types of flower I listed but includes hundreds of other varieties of plants interspersed adding depth and contrast. There is an avenue of Beech trees, a Japanese garden, permanent forested areas, and other plants throughout. It was in one of these areas that we came across rhododendrons in bloom.

 

Keukenhof, Lisse, HollandKeukenhof, Lisse, Holland

The Keukenhof also has a number of pavilions highlighting the plants, their history, as well as flower arranging demonstrations, a petting zoo and a children’s playground. There are plenty of places to eat and drink although it is costly and you could bring your own and picnic.

When people think of Holland, they often think of Tulips, and the Keukenhof is the pride of this image displaying in incredible detail the wonder and variety of this plant, as well as garden architecture. It was an incredible place to visit, and if I ever return to Holland I will probably do so again.

Keukenhof, Lisse, Holland

 

Other Netherlands Articles:

Konigsdag

Netherlands

Granada, Spain

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Parent Category: Travel Over There
Category: 2014 - Gap Year
Created: Wednesday, 26 March 2014 11:58

Alhambra, Granada, SpainWe arrived in Spain by ferry at the port of Algeciras. Passport control was unusual as they just looked at our passport and handed it back, without stamping or scanning it. There are two ways you can get to Granada from here, by train or by bus. We opted for the bus as it was the closest departure and both took approximately the same time. The bus drove us north through the hills then along the coast to Malaga, then inland again until Granada over four hours and the views were excellent while the sun lasted.

Granada is a beautiful city in the south of Spain, at the foot to the Sierra Nevada with a long history and is best known for the impressive and imposing structure of the Alhambra. Granada has been occupied since the 8th century BCE and was the last region of the Moors to fall to the Christians in 1492. Some Christian royalty kept, maintained and utilised the Alhambra after the fall of the Nasrid Emirate and Queen Isabella & King Ferdinand were even buried here for a time.

Granada, SpainAlhambra, Granada, SpainGranada, Spain

Granada has a famous tapas route, gypsy caves in the Sacromonte, Flamenco dancing and much more, but almost everyone will tell you that the Alhambra is the main attraction you need to visit and with good reason.

Alhambra, Granada, SpainAlhambra, Granada, Spain

The Alhambra is an impressive complex, and is now a UNESCO site. Many parts are incredibly well maintained and the vistas from its ramparts are incredible. As we have just come from Morocco, we were able to gain a greater appreciation of the impressive craftsmanship in the Alhambra having seen many similar structures that are painted. I could post quite a few photographs of it, but this is one of those places that has been visited by so many that a quick search on the internet will reveal literally thousands of photos much better than anything I produced. I could also write hundreds of words about it, but again there are books and documentaries that would pale any words I write.

Alhambra, Granada, SpainAlhambra, Granada, Spain

*** My Advice to anyone visiting the Alhambra is to get there early, as there are a limited number of visitors for each session (morning and afternoon). Also, if you have pre-purchased, you will still have to wait in line to collect the ticket (the line does move reasonably quickly), and once you have your ticket, you may still need to wait until the gates open.

Alhambra, Granada, SpainAlhambra, Granada, Spain

The Alhambra has a permanent museum and art gallery and, while we were there, one special exhibit on the history of Al-Andalus (The Moorish name of Andulusia). The museums are free to enter and are located in the Palace of Charles V. I would heartily recommend that before you visit the Al-Hambra that you visit the museum as it contains a number of artefacts that will enhance your experience such as painted frescos or wood panels. The art gallery contains many paintings from artists in Granada since the Christian era and is well worth the look.

It is the special exhibit that is a true wonder. It contains numerous artefacts from centuries of occupation and celebrates the Moorish period very well. It was a delight to admire the many books and documents contained here including official legal documents. The exhibition is extensive and you will leave well informed to enjoy your visit to the Alhambra and other historical sites.

While we here we chose to visit the ‘El Centro Cultural CajaGRANADA Memoria de Andalucía’ museum located 10 minutes from the central district. This museum is incredible. It has been designed as an interactive educational centre. The museum is divided into eras with a panel on the rear wall retailing major events throughout pre-history until the present. There are also interactive screens in each area offering video of the eras on display, and others offering video biographies of famous individuals. There are thousands of artefacts, many displayed for people to touch or manipulate for effect. There are also multimedia displays that project history onto a physical map of Al-Andalus to show the viewer the movement of history. If you enjoy learning about the history of where you visit this museum is an extraordinarily good choice providing a comprehensive and enjoyable experience.

Tapas is a widely known Spanish delight and Granada is a great place to enjoy it. Why should you try it here? Well, at bars that offer a Tapas menu, for every drink you order you will be provided a small plate of food. This can provide for very interesting nights out as every place you go is different and there are two styles of tapas service – Traditional & Modern.

Traditional Tapas: the complexity and quality of the tapas increase with each round of drinks.

Modern Tapas has you order off a set menu with every round.

Both have their benefits with the Traditional style generally being slightly cheaper than the modern, with prices starting at 1.5Euros.

One that became a quick favourite for us was Babel World Fusion. Their tapas menu offers a range of fusion dishes served and a good range of drinks, but the real reason it became a favourite was the ambience – it was warm and inviting, the staff were great, and it was almost always full (It was also a block away from our Pension).

Granada, SpainGranada is an excellent city and I thoroughly enjoyed my time here relaxing and refreshing after Morocco. There were several things I would have liked to do but didn’t find time for this time around including Flamenco in a Gypsy Cave. Granada is geared towards visitors, providing a huge amount of information on the web and the city is easy to navigate. There are many places to visit as well as well signposted tourist walks featuring some excellent lookouts. It’s a great place to relax and catch your breath.

When we left, we took the bus north again to Murcia then changed buses for Yecla.

Other stories from Spain:

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Yecla - Nuestro Mes de la vida en España

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Yecla - Gastronomía

Australia FlagYecla - Working without a Common Language

Spain Flag Yecla -Voluntariado

Australia FlagMadrid

 

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