Posts

Footnote

Image
  As I sit in my favourite coffee in Cardiff, enjoying a flat white (what would the Spanish make of that?) rather than the café con leche, which I have become used to during the last month, I take a moment to think about the things I am missing most about Leon. Above all the Colegio Divina Pastora, the staff and its pupils, who with their oversized rucksacks, reminded me of baby turtles navigating their way through a sea of corridors (I never did manage to find my way to every class without help!). The school welcomed me like a long-lost relative and I will always be grateful for everyone’s warmth, support and humour. Certainly I miss the Leonites, that other surrogate family whose camaraderie, friendship and love of life enhanced the experience one hundredfold. Despite our different ages, interests and life experiences, I loved getting to know everyone in the group and genuinely miss every single one of them. Above all I miss the city, with its network of busy narrow alleyways, cr
Post a Comment
Read more

La última semana

Image
  The final full weekend in Leon included a guided tour of the city’s main attractions, the jewel of which must be the gothic Cathedral. We learned that it contains over 1800 metres of stained glass, some of which dates from the 13 th century, creating a light—filled, ethereal space, full of beautiful and unusual reflections. At the other end of the spectrum we watched the England v Ireland encounter in the Six Nations Rugby Championship in the Harley Sports Bar in the Plaza Mayor. Despite having a dozen or so TV screens, the staff always seemed reluctant to show the rugby matches and it usually took several attempts to persuade or cajole someone to change the channel from basketball or football, by which time the first quarter had gone. With representation, in some shape or form, from all the home nations amongst the Leonites, there has been plenty of tension and friendly rivalry during these encounters. My final observed lesson with Class 5A fell auspiciously on St. Patrick’s Da
Post a Comment
Read more

Juntos por la Paz

Image
  We are now into the second half of our placement and I am conscious of how quickly the remaining time will pass. With Caro’s words, echoing in my head, I wanted to ensure to enjoy every minute. Whether it was singing Karaoke in a local bar with “the Leonites” until 4am on Saturday morning, joining the school choir under the direction of Carlos the Colombian countertenor or sampling local delicacies such as morcilla (unappetisingly translated as cow’s viscera), I have tried to immerse myself in the school community and Leonese culture. The rehearsals with the school choir were an uplifting end to the school day. They are held in a former side chapel within the school with excellent acoustics, enhancing the exquisite voices of Carlos and his small band of enthusiastic choristers. Together with other schools in the region they are planning a concert of world music in June, so rehearsals typically involved practising a range of pieces spanning the globe, from Japan to South Africa t
Post a Comment
Read more

Beyond the mask

 So Laura the Explorer has returned home. I am not sure what life has in store for me now.  Teaching was very rewarding, but finding a path to make it career is unclear. Especially as I have a dreaded "gap in employment", due to being mentally ill. Who wants an employee like that? Still, I am back. I am motivated. And finally, I have hope 
Post a Comment
Read more

Miscellany

Image
We’re sat in the flat on the last Saturday listening to the Welsh 6 nations match on the radio before going into town for the remainder of super Saturday so I though I’d jot down all the little things that have happened that haven’t merited a whole blog. *** Both Iain and I sing in choirs so we enquired at school if they had one, which they did. We had three very happy sessions with their little choir led by Carlos, who came from Columbia and who has the loveliest counter tenor voice. The choir were practicing for a concert of consolidated choirs singing a variety of international songs, so we joined in singing Japanese, Portuguese, and Zulu songs along with Spanish from Spain and Argentina. Carlos was really chuffed to have us there, particularly Iain who has a much more distinguished singing background than I do. We were really touched when he gave us a CD of his music on our last session. *** Last week the school had a live conference with a Spanish peace-keeping force in Lebanon. S
Post a Comment
Read more

Adios amigos!

Image
Who knew four weeks would go quickly? Well, to be fair, Carolyn did warn us!! It's been such a pleasure to meet everyone who has been part of this incredible adventure. I've learnt such a lot both professionally and personally, and am looking forward to what comes next. So a big thank you to everyone who made our placement possible, it was worth the two year wait! And good luck to everyone on the programme, I hope we will keep in touch x
Post a Comment
Read more

Crepes and mountains

Image
  The weekend began well, with a pancake party (albeit a belated one) at La Casita, as Tracy and I affectionately refer to our bijou flat. The whole Leonite gang joined for a relaxing Friday evening, which ended with a visit to our local, where a glass of vino tinto costs 1 euro, including tapas.  On Saturday a group of us hired a car and headed for the Picos de Europa, to the mountain village of Ria ň o. It was my first time driving in Spain, but after leaving the city, the roads are surprisingly empty and we easily navigated small, sleepy towns and villages, into the foothills of the Picos.  Ria ň o is stunning, surrounded by jagged peaks powdered with snow, reflected in the still, turquoise waters of the reservoir below. This body of water was created in the eighties, as a result of flooding the valley beneath. Poignantly old Ria ň o, along with 6 other villages, lie submerged beneath the water. Knowing how important “el pueblo” is in the Spanish psyche, the pain of loss felt by the
Post a Comment
Read more