El Adios

On the final day of our trip, we did many exciting things. We started off our day eating many delectable breakfast foods, including scrambled eggs, pancakes, and bacon. Afterwards, we rushed to school. Every boy from STA took an exam testing what we had learned. We all passed with high scores. With our tests completed, we prepared for an outing to a nearby university. The university engaged their students in their cooking. They would learn the similarities between culture and food. We thought of 5 questions to ask some of the students at the university. A popular was question was “¿Cuantos años tienes?” Another frequently asked question was “Why did you choose to learn at this school?” They would answer “Because we like to cook.” The students also asked us few questions including “Do you like San Miguel?” Another popular question was “How old are you?” The Students were very nice and were also learning English as we were learning Spanish. After the university, we went to the “Mercado” to buy ingredients that were used to make a wonderful guacamole. The main ingredients to make guacamole are aguacate, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and salt. There were four teams which engaged in a guacamole making contest. We all worked hard to make the guacamole that tasted great. Afterwards, we went to Casa Carmen to rest for about 1 hour. At 2:00, there was a going away party held at Centro Bilingüe for us. We ate food while listening to an estudiantina band. Later, we returned to Casa Carmen with food in our stomachs. We were ready to rest. At 6:00 we had a second party, here in Casa Carmen. We had great food, with a bit of mariachi music, followed up by Aaron playing some music on his guitar. We all tried breaking two separate piñatas. The first one was broken by Ben. The second one was broken by Señorita Blanford after many failing attempts from the 7th and 8th graders. The prizes included many different types of candy and action figures. We held an award ceremony during the party. Jack Guenther won the award for the most effort of speaking Spanish. Towards the end of the party, we were listening to Aaron’s breathtaking music on the guitar. Many people were holding back the tears as they realized that the amazing trip was over. After the song ended, we sadly made our final goodbyes. But we were happy that we would see our parents again. Now, we are going to pack our bags, and drift off to sleep.

-Ben Donvan and Joey Gaines

Form A

A Brief Recollection

To be in an unknown land with a strikingly different culture than that of our own Washington DC is an enticingly eventful experience. The discovery of a different lifestyle can lead to enthralling encounters, both major and minute. But in the ocean of a new culture lie the waves of familiar faces, who we come to regard as our fellow “compañeros”. These acquaintances have aided each other towards our positive and animated assimilation to the surrounding environment. However, the uncommon, yet warming hospitality provided by the locals of the lush and luxurious San Miguel has further facilitated the absorption of San Miguel de Allende.
With both the teachers from the Centro Bilingüe and St. Albans constantly being helpful, obliging, and supportive, we students have been able to develop our Spanish-speaking skills and our cultural backgrounds. From venturing to incredible places such as, physically, La Gruta hot springs of old San Miguel, spiritually, the Casa Ayuda orphanage, and emotionally, tonight’s karaoke singing session at Mamma Mia’s, everyone has been able to enjoy and express their appreciation of their being here in San Miguel. Trips to the market, central Jardín, discussions and small conversations with teachers, and even meals strengthened our cultural knowledge. This trip has given us a panoramic view of a world we never knew, ever re-peaking several of our past thoughts and experiences of different feelings and emotions to new heights.


La cultura de San Miguel de Allende es diferente de la de los Estados Unidos. Pero esta diferencia ha cambiado la cultura que ya hemos tenido en nuestra vida. Los lugares en los cuales que hemos estado han cambiado el tipo de la cultura que estamos acostumbrados a conocer. Los viajes a lugares como el estadio de fútbol y la plaza de toros han ampliado nuestra percepción de la diferencia de cultura entre México y los Estados Unidos y nos han enseñado mucho sobre esta diferencia, pero en una gran escala.

Cameron Thariani

San Miguel Diaries

Today, we started with a great breakfast. Pancakes, eggs, and bacon seem to be the most popular dishes, but some Mexican foods like huevos rancheros and huevos mexicanos are also enjoyed. We then left for school at the Centro Bilingüe. Today we had classes for two hours followed by a long visit through most of San Miguel’s markets. We looked at and bought a variety of local toys and gifts, including ceramics, slingshots, post cards, and jewelry. The afternoon was relaxing and we played cards. Then we went to the orphanage, Casa Ayuda. The kids there were really nice and we got along with them easily. We played soccer until it started raining so we went inside. We played a lot of games inside such as go fish, pickup sticks, and a Spanish board game. It stopped raining and the soccer game resumed. We played and after a while we had to leave. But before leaving we left our friends a collection of money we saved to donate. We arrived at Casa Carmen and we relaxed for a little bit more. Dinner was at the Mansión del Bosque restaurant next to the Benito Juarez Park. Everyone’s having a great time! Mañana vamos a tener un “rally” en el pueblo y cantar karaoke en español en un restaurante.
Malcolm Steinberg and Darian Matini

Fotos de nuestro viaje

http://picasaweb.google.com/kcastellanos1/SanMiguelDeAllende2009?authkey=Gv1sRgCLCe06vjgZfaeg&feat=email#

San Miguel Diaries- Forma B

Yo conocí a cuatro personas en San Migule. Los nombres son Aaron, Griffin, Adrián, y Carlo. Aaron tiene los brazos y un bigote. Él es mi maestro. Griffin tiene una voz fuerte y es un poco loco. Tiene una pulsera de Pokemon. Adrián es cómico. El juega fútbol muy bien. Tiene muchas perforaciones en la cara. Carlo juega fútbol con nosotros. Carlo anda en bicicleta a nivel de competición. Él es cómico y simpático. A me me gustan las personas que conocí en San Miguel.
Christian Hanway

Yo conocí a cuatro personas en San Miguel. Adrián es muy atlético. Él practica mucho el fútbol. Es muy simpático y divertido. Arturo es mi guía turístico. Es muy simpático. Él jugaba al fútabol cuando era joven. Aarón es mi maestro en mi escuela. Él es muy atlético. Él toca la guitarra. Noé es mi otro maestro en mi escuela. Él dibuja muy bien. Él es un buen jugador de deportes. Me gustan las personas que conocí en San Miguel.
Darian Matini

San Miguel Diaries - Forma A

Cuatro personas que conozco aquí en San Miguel de Allende son Aarón, Noé, Adrián, y Arturo. Aarón es alto, cómico, y un buen maestro. Noé es simpático, alto, e inteligente. Adrián es cómico, poco bajo, y un buen jugador de fútbol. Arturo siempre habla sobre el pasado de San Miguel. Él es muy interesante. Ellos son cuatro personas que conocí aquí, en San Miguel de Allende.
-Ben Donvan (Joey me copió mis ideas…)

En San Miguel de Allende yo conocí a muchas personas incluyendo Aarón, Noé, Adrián, y Arturo. Aarón y Noé son mis maestros. Aarón es cómico y simpático. Noé es simpático y dibuja bien. Adrián es muy cómico y jugaba fútbol bien. Arturo es mi guía turístico de San Miguel y es muy simpático
-Joey Gaines (Ben me copió mis ideas)

Cuarto personas yo conozco en San miguel de Allende son Noé, Aarón, Adrián, y Miguel. Noé es mas bajo que yo. Se pone muy emocionado. Especialmente cuando juega deportes. Aaron es mi maestro favorito, y es comiquísimo. Aaron es esta alto y es un hombre muy bueno. Adrián es un hombre misterio y Adrián juega futbol muy bien. Ayer Adrián jugo futbol para el equipo D1 y hizo un gol. Miguel es muy alto y rápido. El es mejor jugador que Noé en futbol pero Noé es bueno de todas formas.
-Charlie Wolf (Yo no copié de nadie)

Assorted journal entries...more to follow

San Miguel de Allende - Un poco de historia por Jack Guenther

El pueblo mexicano de San Miguel de Allende es un pueblo lleno de historia. Por dos mil años, los indigenas de México vivieron aquí. En el año mil quinientos cuarenta y siete, los conquistadores llegaron aquí porque había agua fresca. Había dos arroyos que venían de una cueva. Los españoles se quedaron aquí porque había mucho oro y plata en las minas cerca de San Miguel. Por eso, los peninsulares eran ricos y los indigenas y criollos eran muy pobres. A los criollos y los indigenas no les gustaba eso. Querían que todos tuvieran el dinero de las minas – no sólo cinco por ciento.

Entonces, en el año mil ochocientos diez, General Ignacio de Allende, Padre Hidalgo, y otros empezaron la conspiración. Se reunieron en una casa cerca de la casa de Allende y cerca de del Jardín de San Miguel. En el mismo año, Padre Hidalgo hizo su “grito” y les dijo a los criollos y indigenas que ellos debían pelearse contra los peninsulares y el rey de España y debían hacer un México nuevo.

Después, los criollos y indigenas fueron a San Miguel de Allende y se pelearon contra los peninsulares. Los peninsulares se fueron. Entonces, los guerreros vinieron a la Ciudad de Guanjuato. Aquí había soldados de los peninsulares. Ellos se pelearon y los criollos y indigenas ganaron. En un año, los peninsulares volvieron y lucharon otra vez contra los insurgentes. Los soldados de los peninsulares ganaron.

Después de la guerra, los peninsulares pusieron las cabezas de Allende, Hidalgo y dos otros en las esquinas de un edificio. Se quedaron allí por toda la revolución.

Hoy, se puede ver la historia de San Miguel de Allende. Se puede ver la casa de Ignacio Allende y casas que tienen doscientos cincuenta años.

Personas que he conocido en San Miguel de Allende – por Derin Dutz

Cuatro personas que he conocido en mi visita a San Miguel de Allende son Arturo, Marina, Aaron, y Adrien. Todas estas personas trabajan en el Centro Bilingüe y todos mejoraron mi visita. Arturo es nuestro guía turístico. Nos llevaba a los lugares más interesantes de San Miguel y nos daba clases de cultura muy interesantes. Todo el tiempo Arturo esta sonriendo y positivo. Marina es mi maestra en el Centro Bilingüe. Marina nos enseña muchas cosas sobre la lengua española. Aprendemos gramática, vocabulario, cultura, y muchas otras cosas. Marina siempre es justa, interesante, y una excelente maestra de español. Aaron es el maestro de los principiantes pero es un buen amigo y siempre juega a deportes con nosotros. En el pasado, Aaron jugó con el equipo nacional de su edad de baloncesto y siempre juega con nosotros en el parque. Aaron es fenomenal y cómico pero también compasivo y simpático. Adrien trabaja también en el Centro Bilingüe. Adrien es mi mejor amigo de los que trabajan en el Centro Bilingüe y siempre juega con nosotros. Juega al fútbol en el parque y también en un equipo competitivo. Siempre cuenta chistes y nos cuenta historias de su vida. Adrien es divertidísimo e interesante. El es atlético y simpático y siempre pasa su tiempo con nosotros. En resumen, me gustan mucho las personas que conocí en San Miguel de Allende.

Guanajuato—La Ciudad de Las Ranas

Después de perder soldados en la guerra contra el agotamiento, el resto de nosotros fuimos a Guanajuato para tener un día cultural y fabuloso. En la mañana el doctor vino a ver lo que parecía un infinito número de pacientes para dar sus consejos y decirles como ellos podrían mejorarse. Nosotros, Marcos e Iván, éramos unos entre muchos de los estóicos. Después de que todos los enfermos habían tenido una oportunidad de hablar con el doctor, decidimos dejar los que no tenían ganas de venir.

El resto de nosotros partimos para Guanajuato. En el autobús nuestro guía turística, Arturo, nos informó sobre la historia de San Miguel de Allende y Guanajuato. La vuelta de coche tomó casi una hora y media, pero las historias que Arturo nos contó nos ayudó a pasar el tiempo. Cuando llegamos, la primera cosa que notamos era que había muchos más coches en Guanajuato que en San Miguel. Primero, caminamos por el mercado y vimos muchas frutas deliciosas. Luego algunos de nosotros necesitábamos ir al baño y entonces paramos en el más cercano. El baño tenía condiciones terribles y tenías que pagar tres pesos para entrar. Después de mucho Purell, continuamos por la ciudad. Vimos muchos edificios interesantes como la esquina donde los españoles colgaron la cabeza de Ignacio Allende. Caminamos por muchas plazas bellas, callejones angostos y mucho más. Fuimos al Museo del Pueblo de Guanajuato. También pasamos por la casa de Diego Rivera, un pintor famoso de México. Nuestros estómagos estaban gruñendo y por eso paramos para comer un almuerzo increíble. Los baños del restaurante eran muy modernos que la Señora Carbonaro dijo,”Era la diferencia de día y noche entre estos y los primeros baños.” Cuando estábamos llenos salimos para ir de compras y comprar unos recuerdos pequeños. Subimos a una mina de Guanajuato donde compramos unas rocas muy alucinantes de minerales naturales. La mina era más de mil pies de profundidad e Iván casi se cayó, pero Marcos lo salvó. (¡Es una broma!)Encima de la montaña había una vista hermosa donde podíamos ver colores diferentes de cada casa de la ciudad. Un poco adoloridos y cansados empezamos nuestro viaje para la casa. Cuando llegamos, saludamos a nuestros amigos débiles. Mientras cenamos, un pájaro pequeño (colibrí) se metió en la araña de luces y teníamos que salvarlo con una escalera.

Nos bañamos para relajarnos y terminamos el día con un poco de La Autobiografía de Malcolm X. Mientras la guerra tomó unos de nuestros soldados, el resto de nosotros combatimos para una victoria de diversión.

Marcos “Mac” Cogo
Camyar “Iván” Matini

Baila con César

One of today’s highlights was the boys’ first Latin dance class. They were introduced to merengue and reggaetón. Their first moves were tentative and “creative”. After being enticed by a prize (an itunes gift card), it became clear these boys had rhythm. The promise of dancing with girls next Monday also added an extra incentive. The picture here shows the intense concentration at the beginning with their teacher, Cesar. But these boys are clearly 'renaissance men', they are brainy and they can dance!! After an hour of high energy hip-swinging, everyone including their teachers was soaked with sweat and ready for dinner.

Other highlights today included a review of Spanish songs, complete with tambourines; an excursion to an ecological preserve; a Mexican party back at Centro Bilingüe; and a quick trip to the market for souvenir shopping.

After dinner at La Mansión del Bosque, everyone hit the sack early in anticipation of tomorrow’s trip to Guanajuato (which is why we teachers composed tonight’s blog).

Kelly, Lisa, and Gilda

GOOOOOOLLLLL!!!!!!

Today began with a well-earned extra fifteen minutes of sleep. After a bountiful repast off eggs, pancakes, toast, juices, and other delectable foods, we set off for our fourth day at the Centro Bilingüe. During our classes, we learned the past tense, subjunctive tense, and new verbs such as soler. After them, we left our school to try our hand at cooking Mexican food and pizza. We returned to Centro Bilingüe and finished work on our piñatas for the piñata contest on Friday. After school we had a small break and played rousing games of poker, Presidents, and other card games. At four o’clock, we got on the bus and headed off to play a game of soccer against an AC Milan training club. After selecting a formidable lineup, along with help from Carlo, an AC player, we began a game of ‘futbol’ with the second-best club in San Miguel. The Mexicans jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but soon after their second goal Marcos put one home to cut the differential in half. At halftime, the score was 4-2 (with Marcos scoring another), and although the Milanese club put on a few subs to start the second half, the tide of the game was soon turned. Early in the second half, Darian scored to make it 4-3. Successive goals by Carlo and Marcos put us ahead. Later, Guenther “Guenther” Guenther sent a ball to Cameron that was scored beautifully. A late 35 yard goal from AC Milan made Cameron’s goal vital in attaining our winnings- Coke for everyone!! A rematch was scheduled after the game for Tuesday or Thursday. We got back on the bus and headed to the Casa Carmen. Soon after, we went to La Mansion del Bosque for a nice meal followed by a great dessert of caramel dipped bananas to round off a fun and athletic day.

Christian Hanway
Jack Guenther

Wacky Wednesday (Miercoles Loco)

Today was a wacky Wednesday. We ventured to a San Miguel thermal hot spring named "La Gruta" (the cavern). In "La Gruta" there was a small cavern where people had to wade through 30 yards of 3 foot deep water to enter. Inside, the cavern was shaped like a dome. There was hot water running from the wall in one area. The water running from the wall made this waterfall that most people enjoyed, especially boys from STA. While soaking in the heat, we experienced coldness, and our first rain of the trip. During the early second hour, some of us noticed small raindrops. Those small raindrops turned to gallons of water falling upon us, just before and after dinner, here, at Casa Carmen. Aside from that, we went shopping at the mercado (market place), to buy gifts for beloved ones. We found many interesting items (cosas interesantes) including prank items that would shock you when triggering a gun or car keys. Fortunately, before it rained, we went to a local ice cream store (heladeria) and each one of us bought delicious ice cream, which was worth only 1-3 USD. In our Spanish classes, we have been learning different verb tenses and vocabulary, including future tenses for multiple verbs. Inside Casa Carmen there are many kind people who work and own this wonderful place. If parents are wondering, we are all fine and enjoying this divine adventure. Por fin, iremos a dormir, pero primero, vamos a jugar cartas con nuestros amigos. (Finally, we shall go to sleep,but first, we will play cards with our friends).
-By Ben Donvan and Joey Gaines
A FORM

Cuarto Dia - Clases y el Orfanatorio

If today could have been described in one mere word, it would have been "magical". This morning we started our day with a bountiful breakfast of eggs, pancakes, bacon and other breakfast foods. After breakfast we walked to Spanish class, two blocks up the street. When we arrived in our classrooms our teachers Marina, Miguel, and Aaron asked about yesterday and began to handout worksheets on grammar tenses and vocabulary. We worked rigorously until snack time at around 10:30 and once again began to eat; they had prepared burritos, sandwiches, and little weenies. The snack was much needed nourishment and we were able to focus on our studies. After the snack we began the pinata contest among our Spanish groups. We used colorful paper and glue to start the project.

After school we had an hour long break and we all left for the ophanage, Casa Ayuda. The orphanage was about twenty minutes away in a large, but homey building with a small dirt soccer field. When we first arrived, we saw two children peeking their heads out from behind a wall. Although they were shy at first, they soon came out and we talked and became immediate friends. We toured the house, starting with the children's playroom, which consisted of a television, shelves of books, multiple couches, and other fun accessories, all for the kids. Next, we visited the girls' room which had seven beds and posters of famous male celebrities, thus making it an average teenage girls' room. Then we went upstairs to look at the boys' room. They had seven beds, two of which were triple bunkbeds. Surprisingly, the male room was a lot cleaner than the girls' room. One memory that stood out from today was that as soon as we arrived in the guys' room, one of the younger orphans was so happy to see us that he shook all of our hands and presented himself. His name was Daniel.

We had brought several donations for the orphans. These consisted of clothes and money that they needed more than we did. The children were very grateful and happy when they saw these donations. Later on, we asked them if they wanted to play a soccer game on their dust field. At first they were very shy and reluctant but after more persuasion, they decided to play with us and they were immediately having the time of their lives. Luckily, all of us had shoes to play on the rocky field but unfortunately some of the orphans were forced to play barefoot or with worn-out sandals. Although we played with their only ball, which was flat, it didn't seem to get in the way of us bonding with the orphans. Even though it was a very competitive game, we included everyone and tried our hardest to play the ball to the littlest of the children. It made us happy to see their smiles when every single one of them scored a goal. In particular, Ari, one of the boys at the orphanage, who was barely six years old was extremely joyful and celebrative when he scored his first goal. All in all, the day was a magical experience where we learned that we are very lucky and should be extremely grateful for what we have. --Camyar Matini, Charlie Talcott, Derin Dutz

Tercer Dia en San Miguel: El primer dia de clases

El grupo de San Miguel se levanto a las siete y cuarto en un dia muy soleado. Hoy era el primer dia de clases en San Miguel y todo el mundo estaba muy ansioso de conocer sus nuevos maestros. Comimos un desayuno delicioso de huevos, cereales, y pan dulce. Comi un omelette con queso y jamon y un plato de cereal "Corn Flakes". Despues, regresamos a nuestros cuartos para prepararnos para ir al lugar donde ocurrieron nuestras clases, el Centro Bilingue. El dia pasado, hemos tomado nuestros examenes para determinar nuestro nivel de Espanol. Los maestros nos dividieron en tres grupos diferentes segun nuestro nivel: principiante, intermedio, y avanzado. Antes de ir a nuestros grupos diferentes, todos nosotros tuvimos una clase de pronunciacion juntos. Aprendimos a pronunciar las palabras espanolas correctas sin parecer como americanos y extranjeros. Despues, nosotros fuimos a nuestros grupos. Yo fui al grupo avanzado con la mayoria de los estudiantes de octavo grado. Mi clase tenia un buen ambiente porque conozco a todos mis companeros pero era una lastima que no pude interactuar con una persona que no conocia. Todos los estudiantes se sentaron en una mesa enfrente de nuestra maestra, Marina. Marina era una maestra siempre alegre, enerjetica y animada. Ella nos dio un juegito para saber mas sobre nosotros y saber nuestras fortalezas y debilidades. Despues nos dio una hoja de practica para saber nuestro nivel de gramatica. Lo hicimos y apprendimos mucho espanol y mucho sobre Medusa, el sujeto de nuestra hoja. Despues nos dijo que vamos a apprender mucho en las dos semanas que vienen, incluyendo el subjuntivo pasado, el subjuntivo futuro, y el condicional. Despues de un curso muy interesante, fuimos a comer una merienda. Comimos sandwiches, burritos, y una cantidad de fruta. Hemos terminado nuestra merienda, fuimos una vez mas a nuestras clases para hablar sobre las cosas que vamos a hacer. Con la gran mayoria de los estudiantes sin ejercicio, decidimos ir al hermoso Parque Benito Juarez. Nos dividimos en dos grupos, los que querian jugar al futbol y los que querian jugar al baloncesto. Evidentemente escogi el futbol porque es mi deporte favorito. Unos amigos, unos maestros fanaticos del futbol y yo fuimos a jugar. Jugamos muchos juegos diferentes y todo el mundo se divirtio. Finalmente, regresamos al Centro Bilingue y tuvimos un discurso sobre los indigenas, las diferencias entre Washington DC y San Miguel De Allende (incluyendo el hecho que solamente hay dos semaforos en San Miguel!), y un discurso muy largo sobre las piramides de los indigenas. Despues de un dia interesante en el Centro Bilingue, regresamos a nuestro "apartamento" la Casa Carmen. Jugamos un poquito a cartas y despues fuimos a cenar. Fuimos al restaurante La Mansion del Bosque. Comimos una cena muy deliciosa, incluyendo una cosa que nunca he comido: aguacates en una sopa de pollo. Me gusto mucho la comida pero fue alegre de regresar a la Casa Carmen donde nuestras camas calientes nos esperan. Nos duchamos y nos lavamos los dientes. Finalmente, dormimos en esperenza de un dia como hoy para manana. Realmente es un placer quedarse en San Miguel de Allende. --Derin

Domingo - Día de los Locos

Ayer vimos el desfile de los locos aqui en San Miguel de Allende. Es un festival muy importante para San Miguel.

The Dia de los Locos parade was a very exciting parade and very historic, starting in the 1700's as a festival to give thanks and to ask the Saint Pascual Bailon for a prosperous year. This year's theme for the costumes was Disney Classics, so while giant Shreks would be throwing candy at everyone, watching not far behind you could see Captain Hook waving to bystanders. Then, after we watched the parade, we went to lunch at the Mansion del Bosque, where like most places, they serve a variety of great foods loved by all of us. Then, we all had a lot of time between lunch and dinner so you could find most of us playing card games, sleeping or, leaving for Parque Juarez. Parque Juarez is a scenic park were you could join a variety of sports like soccer and basketball. Then, for dinner, we went to a wonderful French restaurant called El Market Bistro that was like the Mansion del Bosque in that they served a variety of foods, except this food was French. Finally, after dinner we watched a movie about the Mexican Revolution in the restaurant. -Charlie Wolf

Sabado - Segundo Dia en San Miguel

Nos despertamos con los ojos medios abiertos. Desayunamos pancakes y huevos muy deliciosos. Nuestras panzas estaban llenas. Luego fuimos a la escuela y tomamos un examen para decidir nuestros niveles de espanol. Despues, descubrimos la ciudad de San Miguel y tambien cambiamos nuestro dinero americano por pesos. Visitamos unas tiendas y unos de nosotros compramos unos recuerdos. Tomamos un tur de autobus de la ciudad que era muy divertido y bonito. Descansamos un poco antes de salir para una cena muy rica. Vimos a Mark O'Connell caminando por la calle y lo invitamos a ver nuestra pension. Regresamos a la casa, hablamos un poco, y todos no podemos esperar para el dia siguente.

If a trip was tangible, this one would be a "fiesta". With trips to volumptuous places such as the Parque Juarez and Jardin, Mexico's finest city, San Miguel de Allende, truly illuminated its great qualities. Our accommodations fit every student well, as a great breakfast and lunch were served and topped off with relaxing rooms where one could relax and read, talk with friends, or play an exciting game of cards. The day began with the opening of weary, yet excited eyes. We hopped out of bed, got ready, and headed down to the dining room for our first breakfast in San Miguel de Allende. The breakfast received loud praises from many of the students as they filled their stomachs with fresh bread, eggs, omlette, and pancakes, all prepared to perfection. Quickly, we hustled to the school where we would learn spanish, called the Central Billingue. We were introduced to the kind instructors before dividing up and taking placement tests to determine each of our levels of spanish. After these rather dificult examinations, we were divided into groups and proceeded to tour the city with our instructors. We examined fountains, parks, churches, and more interesting places before venturing to a few shops to browse for little nick nacks here and there. After our exploration period, we returned to our pension, Casa Carmen, to rest and re-gather ourselves. After the well-needed relaxation, we ate a traditional Mexican lunch, which was also delicious and then prepared for our next adventure. The ATM machine was our necxt destination as everyone exchanged their dollars for pesos, so they could indulge in spending their money for the authentic and unique Mexican goods. We went to the pharmacy, as we purchased bottles of water to quench our thirst. Directly following this event, we stepped onto a tour trolley, which took our entire group on a Spanish-English tour around the entire city, including its outskirts and its origins. We were able to see where the entire city was founded and started from, as well as the famous buildings and their significances. We rested once more before heading to a fantasting restaurant for dinner, where we ate pasta and empanadas. The bright lights of the Jardin drew us in as we listened to the incredible music of a Mariachi band and examined the jardin. We divided into two groups and some of us (Marcos, Cameron, and "Ivan") purchased bracelets with our names inscribed into them. As we walked back home, the sun began to fall and we went over our schedule for tommorrow, tempted to wake up the next morning and see what adventures lay before us.

Marcos "Mac" Cogo Cameron "Cameron" Thariani

We all got on the bus to go to National Airport. We arrived at Leon. Then we took a shuttle to San Miguel de Allende. It was very sunny and I could barely see. We got on a bus and went to Casa Carmen. The people there were very nice. We all relaxed for a long time.-Darian Matini

Despues de descansar, nosotros fuimos a un parque en San Miguel de Allende. Alli, jugamos al futbol y al baloncesto. El equipo de St. Albans perdio en un partido de baloncesto contra algunos Mexicanos, pero nos divertimos. Entonces, volvimos a Casa Carmen y nos preparamos para cenar. A las ocho y media, salimos para cenar. Fuimos a un restuarante cerca de Casa Carmen. Alli, los estudiantes comieron echiladas, fajitas, tamales, tacos de tipuron, y nachos. Por fin, volimos a Casa Carmen y nos acostamos.-Jack Guenther
June 12, 2009 9:03 PM

Meeting today at 1:30pm in Senora Carbonaro's room

Muchachos

Faltan 12 dias para nuestro viaje a San Miguel. Manana tenemos nuestra reunion a la 1:30 pm. Nos da mucha ilusion que pronto estaremos en esta preciosa ciudad.

Senora Carbonaro y Senoritas Blanford y Castellanos