Mid-March on the Med

This past March I once again had the opportunity to take the RCNM Optimist Race Team on a weekend training session in the Mediterranean. Taking advantage of a long weekend we left on a Friday for a four-day trip.

The trip to Burriana, a town close to Valencia, was a bit rough as the team truck suffered a flat tire only a half hour from our destination...

An early start on Saturday morning, we unloaded the trailer,...

rigged the boats,...

briefed the on-water session...

...and we were ready for some sailing!

 After two and a half days of sailing through weather of all sorts, it was a successful weekend for the team.

A year later and back in the Canaries

After many trips to the UK this past year I have become aware of how much of a wuss I am when it comes to the cold... An embarrassment to all Canadians at home and abroad, I was thankful to be heading to a warmer climate the week after the UK exchange trip. I was off to the Canary Islands for a beach hat tournament called TIBU, Torneo Internacional de Beach Ultimate. After attending the tournament last year and having a blast it was inevitable that I return for a second year.

Post-layout at TIBU in 2012

Photo credit to Herm

The tournament is held every year in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and is a 3-day tournament, Friday through Sunday. Arriving late Thursday evening we were just in time for the welcome party and, as it was a hat tournament, the team lottery.

A sandy Herm enjoying the little shade to offer on the beach. 

Aman, fellow Quijote, and I, after laying out/face planting to catch a disc...

All photo credit to Herm

After a full day of games, with the occasional break for a free massage, each team went their separate ways for dinner and assembled later in the evening for the costume party. The theme, slightly unconventional but appropriate to current events, was Higgs' Boson.(For those unfamiliar with it check out this video, as shared by the host team, Atis Tirma.) Players not sure what to do with the theme came up with some interesting ideas, most involved polka dots, lab coats, or, for Herm and I, crashing into to each other and throwing out a paper plate with "Higgs' Boson" written on it...

Tournament organisers as 'Boson Catchers'

Photo credit to Atis Tirma

Photo credit to Heidi, our team captain

Unfortunately, my team (pictured above) lost every single game at the tournament... a humbling experience to say the least. Nevertheless, the tournament was a ton of fun once again, especially as Herm and I celebrated our one-year anniversary.

Herm and I at TIBU in 2012.
Photo credit to Rebe

A Canadian chaperone in England

Now in the beginning of April this post is long overdue. The week after the tournament in Catalonia in February I was off to England to chaperone a school exchange trip. I was involved in planning the trip with two other teachers at Gabriela Mistral. It was a group of 29 students who were coupled with English exchanges from the Alton Convent School, an all-girls Catholic school in the small town of Alton, an hours drive south-west of London. The students were billeted with the families of their exchanges.

Preparation for the exchange involved getting the students to keep a Travel Log which would include entries prior to the trip, daily entries during the trip and post-trip entries.

We arrived at Gatwick airport on the Thursday and we hopped on a bus to Alton. Once we arrived our students had the chance to meet their exchanges and attend their afternoon classes with them. It was an eye-opening experience for the Spanish students as the English education system, especially that of a private school, is quite different from that of the Spanish. At the end of the day the students went home with their exchanges and the other teachers and I stayed at a local hotel, The Swan. The hotel was quite interesting as it dated back to 1377 and received some famous guests such as Jane Austen and Queen Elizabeth.

On Friday we were off to Winchester for the day to do some sightseeing. One of the other teachers had prepared a scavenger hunt for the students to carry out throughout the day.

Our students spent the weekend with their exchange families and so I was off to London to see Herm. I met the students again when they came into the city on the Monday. I was in charge of planning their day in the city and so I had prepared a Student's Package which included the schedule for the day, a questionnaire and a map.

The students thoroughly enjoyed the city, the walking tour not so much, their interest was focused on getting photos with red telephone booths and buying everything with a Union Jack on it... Nevertheless, the trip, although nerve-racking at times, went really well and the students had a wonderful time. The English exchange students will be coming to Madrid at the end of April and the teachers and students involved have been preparing for their arrival since our return from England.
Check out Alton Convent School's website about the exchange!