School Life

Life is good. I’ve been keeping busy with studying for my HSK 3/B1 Mandarin test and enjoying work. The kids are hilarious and a handful as always. We recently went on a field trip to Berganzo to do the 'ruta del agua' hike--a beautiful 1 hour hike along a stream ending at a waterfall. The kids had fun and only one person fell in- so we (the teachers) counted it as a successful trip. ;) ​​

 We also had the Korrika this month, which is a campaign to promote Basque language and culture that spans two weeks. The main event is the “running” that takes place all over Euskal Herria (which is different than Basque Country). Each kilometer has a different torch bearer who runs ahead of everyone else. The route is over 2000km long (1243 miles) and there is always someone running, be it day or night. The route passed in front of the school I’m working at and all the kids got ready to run the 1 kilometer (we actually only ran 1/2) that corresponded to the school. There were at least a hundred other runners, plus the police car/ambulance/and korrika cars with speakers and music. It was a pretty cool experience, though it reminded me how much I hate running ;). We were lucky as the rain held off until we had all returned to the school.
​In other news I only have a month left of work and I’m still waiting on my placement for next year, so here’s to making the most of it. :)



Note: the difference between Euskal Herria and País Vasco. País Vasco (or Euskadi in Basque) is the autonomous community in northern Spain comprising three provinces (Álava, Vizcaya, Guipúzcoa). It has very similar status to the Cataluña community on the other side of the country. In contrast, Euskal Herria is the traditional “Basque Country” that the Basque people have since before Latin first appeared on the Iberian penninsula. Euskal Herria comprises seven provinces across Spain and France (Álava, Vizcaya, Guipúzcoa, Navarra, Basse Navarre, Labort, and Sola). 

Berganzo Field trip

Korrika