Trip to the Highlands

The trip started with 11 children bundling into a mini bus. We then set off to the highlands! We first stopped at The Hairy Coo Café so everyone could get a coffee and wake up. The next stop was Loch Ness, where we had lunch and looked at the locks that let boats through.

 We took a short journey to Urquhart Castle overlooking Loch Ness, we spent some time learning about the history of the castle and how it has changed through the years and took some photos.

 Later we packed back into the bus and set off to where we were going to spend the night in Aviemore. Later once we had settled in and had a look around we went for dinner. The students first time trying Indian food! We ordered a variety of different dishes, so that we could try an array of tastes (some spicy, some not). The rest of the evening was spent chatting and playing cards. Afterwards we all settled down for the night as we had a busy day ahead.

By ten o’clock on Wednesday we were all out and ready for breakfast which we spent at a typical Scottish café having bacon and egg rolls which were thoroughly by all.

Once everyone had been fed and watered it was off to Tesco to get our meal deal pack lunches. Soon after it was back into the minivan and of to the glorious Scottish beach of Loch Morlich, we started our adventure with a mini assault course where some skills were shown. After this tiring event we headed off to the water to do some sunbathing, playing cards and even some swimming in tropical Scottish water.

 Once everyone was well rested we decided to hire some canoes and venture of into the loch. This was great fun, some people even sang while rowing.

 Once our beach day was over we took a short trip to look at some picturesque Scottish mountains and take some more pictures. Once we had taken the pictures and had a look around we set of to the last part of our highland adventures to the fish and chip shop, where we ate lots of yummy foods. Finally we loaded in to the mini bus for the last time where we listened to some music and slept some more.

Trip to St. Andrews

Saturday morning we went to St. Andrews. We took the bus at 11 o’clock and we arrived there around 11:30. Firstly we went to the golf course to see the Swilken Bridge, a famous stone bridge.  Moreover we played some football on the golf course. Then we went to St Andrews University and we took some pictures there. The building is amazing and there are a lot of flagstones in memory of some people who studied there and their family and relatives wanted them to be remembered. After that we went to St Andrews Cathedral, which is ruined and now there’s a cemetery. We spent some time there walking through the tombs and looking at the ruined parts of the cathedral.  

Then we went to the sea front to have lunch and after that we played a match of football – tennis and we stayed on the seashore. We took some pictures of  The bridge. Then, around 5 we arrived back to Dundee and we stayed there all together, we walked around the city and finally went home. 

Carlos Saenz, Javier Bella. 

Climbing..

On Thursday, after class Carlos guided us to the Avertical (place to do rock climbing). We got a little bit lost, but finally we found the place. When we arrived there, firstly we got specific shoes for the activity and then, we went to the vertical wall. We started climbing two easy walls, all of us reached to the top easily. Secondly we climbed a more difficult wall, some of us didn’t climb and others had difficulties climbing it, for example Javi. We had time to climb another one and the people who tried it finally reached the top,for example Javi. 

Later we went down to the bouldering wall, where we tried to climb a very inclined wall. We tried (unsuccessfully) climbing the whole wall but some of us like Edorta and Carlos nearly finished the wall.  

Finally we came back to the first floor and took off the specific shoes. We had a lot of fun. In my opinion it was one of the best days in this trip cause we had a great time and we really enjoyed the time there. 

The Weekend

Alba’s weekend

On Saturday, she went to the swimming pool with Ann and her granddaughter. It was a saltwater outdoor heated pool. They spent the morning there. They had lunch and then they went home. While they were on their way, they saw a castle on a cliff, so they decided to stop and visit it. The castle was a ruin on the top of a cliff. Then, they walked down the cliff to have a look at a small rock beach that was beside the cliff. Finally, they went home and had dinner.

On Sunday, she woke up early because she was going to go to Edinburgh with Ann. She mooched around the centre of the city and some shops. She also had a look at a street market. On their way home, they stopped at St. Andrews to go for a nice walk around the town. After that, they bought strawberries for dinner. Then, they picked up Ann’s granddaughter because she is going to stay with them for this whole week, and went home.

Fernando’s weekend

On Saturday morning, he worked on is presentation during the morning. He had lunch at home and he had a little rest after lunch. Later, he met with his friends at the city centre. They went shopping and after that they went to a supermarket to buy something to eat. Then people went home but Edorta and Fernando decided to have dinner in Mc’donalds. Finally he went home and watched TV for a while before going to bed.

On Sunday Fernando woke up later. He had breakfast and then he organised his bedroom. At 1pm he took a bus with Caroline to go to Tayport, a little town on the other side of Tay’s river. There, they went for a walk on the Tentsmuir National Nature Reserve. It has a nice beach and a forest. They were walking for 2 hours, had something to eat and then went back home at 5pm. Later he had dinner and he went to bed.

Rut’s weekend

On Saturday, Rut met some of the other Spanish kids to play basketball at the park. They had lunch together at KFC. Then, they went to Overgate’s shopping centre and hanged around the city centre for the rest of the afternoon.

On Sunday, she went to Arbroath with her host family. She visited the abbey, which is a ruin. She found it fascinating because it is an important landmark for the history of Scotland’s Independence. As the weather wasn’t very good, they went back to Dundee. They had dinner at Gallery 48, which is the Spanish restaurant where we meet every morning.

Bellas’ weekend

On Saturday, Bellas went to a comic exposition with his host family. He found it interesting. After that, he had lunch at KFC with his friends and hanged around with them for the rest of the afternoon just like Rut did.

On Sunday he visited Glamis Castle with Carlos because there was an exposition of old cars. He enjoyed it very much as some of the cars were unique and vintage. He hanged around in the afternoon with Carlos.

A day in Glasgow

Friday, 30th July 2017

We checked the weather forecast and saw that it was going to be dry on Friday in Glasgow, so we decided to visit the city that day. We took the train at 9:50 am from Dundee’s Train Station and arrived at Glasgow at 11:15 am.

First, we had hot chocolate and coffee at Queen Street station in Glasgow. The first thing we saw was the city hall and the War Memorial, which are located in George Square. We had a look inside the city chambers and saw the wonderful marble staircases. Then, we bought underground tickets to move around Glasgow during the whole day. The underground in Glasgow is smaller than the one in Madrid and has only one line that goes all around the city. It looks like a toy train because it is very small. As it is orange, it is also known as the Clockwork Orange.

After having lunch, we visited the Kelvingrove Museum where we saw Dali’s famous painting called Christ of Saint John of the Cross and some other things such as stuffed animals, historical objects and other paintings and sculptures. One thing that caught our attention was a room that had faces with different expressions hanging from the ceiling. 

Then we walked through Kelvingrove park to go to the University of Glasgow. It was a stunning building that looked like a castle. It had two big gardens inside and we were allowed to visit the small chapel of the University as the big one was being used for a graduation act. We loved the views from the top of the hill where the University is located.

Then, we took the underground again to go to the Transport Museum. We had to cross the river in a very small ferry. In the Transport Museum we saw old cars, mock-up boats, motorbikes and locomotives and carriages. Also, there were trams and a mock-up of the old underground. We found it very interesting because we hadn’t seen anything like that before. We enjoyed seeing the old ways of transport and vintage cars and trams.

Although we were very tired, we headed up to Buchanan Street which is the main shopping street in Glasgow. We had an hour to do some shopping and listen to the buskers. We found some bargains and had dinner in an Italian restaurant. By the time we arrived home we were exhausted but we enjoyed the day and the city very much.

Fernando and Alba 

Cultural changes

Food

Firstly, we are going to write about the food here and how different it is from Spain. Sincerely, people who live here, in Scotland, like Spanish food instead of British food, because the food here is less tasty and they don’t elaborate the dishes as we usually do in Spain. That’s why there’s a lot of kinds of food, like Chinese, Indian, Spanish and Italian food. But obviously, they have local food which is very influenced by English food, for example, Ayr’s cheese and the seafood from the west coast and the meat, Aberdeen Angus.

 People

Secondly, people in Scotland are very nice, they are always trying to help each other, they are polite and attentive. Their costumes are so different from ours, they don’t greet or introduce each other as Spain. In Spain, you always give two kisses but here they just shake hands. 

Weather 

Thirdly, we must say that the weather here is worse than in Spain because it is colder and it rains a lot, even in Summer. From my point of view, this is the worst issue of Scotland, because whilst in Spain there are hot days, here we are like in Spanish winter.

To end the blog, we are going to add that there is another thing that surprised us when we arrived, that the Victorian buildings are mostly grey but that is balance out with the green landscapes, which is wonderful.

2017's Students

Another year, another blog

A year has gone by and here we are again starting this summer's blog. As previous years, we will be posting our day to day activities in Dundee, from our students' point of view. To begin with, students have been paired to interview each other, this way we will get to know them a wee* bit better.

Profile pictures were taken during an intensive class!

 Carlos and Fernando

Fernando Marin is 15 years old. He lives in Logroño, La Rioja. He doesn’t have any brothers or sisters, but he has a pet, a parakeet called Mateo. He is going to study 1^st of Bachillerato in the biological science field. He has played tennis since he was 7 and he trains and practices twice a week. He has also played the flute since he was 8 and is in an academy and also part of a band called "Big Band". He has been to Portugal, France and now Scotland. He speaks Spanish, English and he is learning French. He describes himself as sensitive, shy and responsible.

Carlos Saenz is 18 years old. His birthday is the 27^th of March. He is from Pozuelo de Alarcon, Madrid. He lives with his parents and his 2 sisters: Paula, who is 21, and Almudena, who is 15. He also has 3 dogs: Tuka, Cody and Thor. He is going to start Aerospace Engineering at UPM. He has played basketball in Basketveritas since he was 10. He also likes listening to music and watching films at home. He enjoys hanging out with friends, they usually go out in Pozuelo and have dinner. He has visited many places like Rome, Geneva, London and Copenhagen, and now Scotland. He would like to visit Australia when he is older. He describes himself as outgoing, active and talkative.

  Edorta and Javier M

Edorta Ormazabal is 16 years old. He is from Areatza, Bilbao. He has two sisters called Libe (13 years old) and Haymi (8 years old). He doesn’t have any pets. In the future, he wants to do science in the Spanish grade of Bachillerato. He has played football for all his life and now is playing for Athletic de Bilbao (I hope he will play with the first team). He doesn’t watch TV because he prefers to hang out with his friends in town. He has been to London, Scotland (this is his second year here), Turkey, Ethiopia and Bosnia. On holidays he usually goes to Peñiscola (a Spanish town in Catalonian coast). He thinks that he is polite and a bit shy. He likes all types of music but his favourite music is Spanish punk. His favourite kind of food is fast food but he is not fat.  

Javier Martin is from Madrid city. He is 17 and he has a sister called Marina who is 19. He hasn’t got any pets. In the future, he wants to study economics, in the University. He has played tennis since he was 7 and table tennis since he was 9. He plays for a team called Madrid CTM. He usually watches TV.  On holidays he usually goes to his town in Valladolid (Olmos de Esgueva) and Granada. He has been in a lot of cities all over the world; London, Istanbul, Berlin, Praha, Italy and Greece. He likes punk rock music and Spanish food. He describes himself as funny.

  Rut, Alba and Javier B

Rut is 16 years old. Her birthday is the 13th of March. She is from Logrono, in La Rioja. She has one brother, who is 21. She had a rabbit called Silver and a hamster called Pipper, but they both died when they were one month old. She likes indie music, and her favourite group is Vetusta Morla. She has played the piano and the guitar since she was 6 years old, and she has also played basketball since she was 6 too. She eats all kinds of food. She wants to be a lawyer. She has been in Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin, for example. She would like to visit Cuba someday because she finds it very interesting as its landscapes and weather are quite different from the Spanish ones, and it is also on another continent. She describes herself as an open-minded, generous and humorous. She has come to Scotland in order to practice her speaking because she had promised her dad she would do it during the summer. While she is here in Dundee, she will be doing her best to speak more fluently and learn more vocabulary.

Javier Bellas is 17 years old. He is from Torrelodones, in Madrid. He has 2 sisters, who are 31 and 25, and 2 brothers, who are 30 and 22. He has 3 dogs, who are called Coco, Rolly and Turco. He likes all kinds of music, except rock and opera. He likes all kinds of food. He wants to join the army or to be a lawyer, but he has not decided yet. He has played football in a team since he was 6. He describes himself as a cheerful and polite person. This summer he is going to Santander with his family. He has been in Kenya, Istanbul and Italy. He wants to visit Chile because he wants to get to know their culture. He has come to Scotland because he wants to improve his English and to visit Scotland too.

Alba is 18 years old. Her birthday is the 20^th of September. She is from Madrid, which is the capital of Spain. She has a younger sister who is 12 years old. She doesn’t have any pets because her parents don’t let her. She used to do rhythmic gymnastics. She likes rock and all kinds of food. She has visited France, Italy and the USA. She would like to visit Greece because the ancient culture is very interesting for her. She describes herself as an open-minded and curious person. She speaks English, Spanish and a little French. She has come here. because she wants to improve her English and she hopes to get to know the Scottish culture and traditions.