¡Buenos días León!

León's 30 new residents representing their new city

Dear families, friends, and fans of Equipo León 2017,

The summer is now well under way! Our students have been living with their host families for a few days since arriving in León and are already beginning to get into the rhythm of things - taking shorter showers, eating enormous lunches and late dinners, giving two kisses to their host families as a greeting, and all the other everyday things that make living in Spain special.

Heading up an ancient Roman Imperial military wall to have a spectacular view of the city

On Thursday, our very first full day in León, we took the students on a walking tour of some of the more iconic, historic, and beautiful parts of León. One of the first things noticed was that León is ancient - in fact, it existed before Spain did, as it was founded as a Roman military city (hence the resilient centuries-old walls that remain from Roman rule). In fact, walking through the streets of downtown León, one can see centuries worth of growth and change built into the architecture and layout of the city. Students internalized a lot of history and cultural information (not to mention a lot of new vocabulary), and were in awe of León's unique beauty - we visited a number of famous sites including the Cathedral, la Calle Ancha (like León's version of Main Street), and the Plaza Mayor.

Equipo León in the Plaza Mayor

On Friday, we had our first full day in the academy building where we'll be having classes for the remainder of the program. Friday included a tour of the building and an academic orientation. On Friday we also had our first lunch in Casa Blanca, the restaurant where we eat on weekdays (more photos of Casa Blanca and Spanish food to come soon!). Some students were adventuresome enough to order cod lasagna, green beans with chorizo, and even pig feet (they're delicious!).

Now students have the weekend to relax, explore their new city, and get to know their host families a bit better. On Monday, we begin our regular class schedule with afternoon activities, which will bring plenty of new challenges and exciting experiences. Look forward to another blog entry early in the week :-)

Hasta la próxima,
Mark (and Sarah T, Sarah G, and Israel)