Béjar

Last month I visited Béjar with a couple of students of Tia Tula. Béjar is a little town/city in Spain. It’s only 1h15 from Salamanca, so it was a great opportunity to visit it for a day. We were a group of 5 people, all from different countries, which was interesting (Japan, United Kingdom, Korea, Czech Republic & Belgium). Which is cool about the place is that it’s not that cold in there, but if you look up you can see mountains full of snow around you and you can actually ski over there.

There was a place, called Camera Oscura, which I recommend to everyone. It’s some kind of touristic attraction, but in an interesting way. We all had to go in a dark room, and one of the towers of the building had the shape of a lens of a camera. From the inside the guide could turn the lens to zoom or to make the image we got to see sharper. I paid only € 1,50 so it was really worth its price!

Something else I liked about this town were the ‘murallas’. These were Moorish walls, built in the 11^th century. While walking around those walls, we took some really nice pictures.

In that neighborhood I also saw an old fabric, with broken windows and everything. It really seemed to be one of those creepy places they use in thrillers. It fascinates me to see buildings like that, but since I was on the top of a mountain when I saw it, I couldn’t enter to check it out. It wasn’t the only creepy place in Béjar! There were a lot of old houses, that looked like they came straight out of a horror movie.

Last but not least, I loved the restaurant where we ate, called La Antigua Posada Del Peso. For only € 10,00, they offered us a delicious three course meal. There was a lot of choice on the menu, and I honestly didn’t know what to pick. Because we couldn’t chose, the owner brought us his special rice to help us ‘choosing’. When I finally decided I first ate lasagna, after that I shared calamares and some kind of fried ‘tiger’ mussels. After that the owner of the restaurant offered us, instead of 1 dessert, a whole plate with everything that was on his dessert menu. Everything was homemade and it was the most delicious plate I’ve eaten in my life. He also served us a free dessert drink (Caramel vodka), which didn’t taste that bad either. The food, the hospitality and the jokes of the owner which were included, were worth so much more than only € 10,00. I hope that someday I can go back there! 

By Julie Crombe (student intern)

Extra-curricular activities 25 March – 27 March

Monday 25^th, 17:30: Movie. To start this short week we’ll watch a Spanish movie. Meeting point: Tía Tula.

 

Tuesday 26^th, 21:30: Procession. Today we will watch the procession passing by Tia Tula. We’ll watch it from the balcony. Meeting point: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 1h30
 

Wednesday 27^th,^,18:00: Exposition. During this activity we’ll visit “ERASE UNA VEZ… EL HABLA”. During this exposition we will discover the source of  ‘speaking’ with the help of some interactive games and audiovisual means. Meeting point: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 1h

Remember to sign up for the activity at the reception on beforehand (the minimum number of people needed for each activity is 3). If the cost is not stated then the activity is free. We recommend our students to participate in the activities so they can get to know other students in the school, so they can broaden their knowledge of Spanish culture and to practice and improve their Spanish in a fun way.

Capture the light of the night in Salamanca

It doesn’t matter if you have been a couple of days, weeks, months or all your life in Salamanca, there is something about this city that won’t ever bore you. There is something in Tia Tula that we adore: that moment when the night falls and suddenly the city gets covered in a special light which makes it magical. That’s the moment when all the monuments start sparkling and they start taking over the city. The golden color of the stone of Villamayor that you can find in the old city center lights up during a couple of minutes and the streets flow over in a silence that overcomes the pedestrians, which makes them want to immortalize this moment full of impressive and unforgettable views.

 

It’s because of that that this week we wanted to make a tribute to the beautiful lights of the city in one of our extra-curricular activities with a photographic tour. We organize this activity the 22^nd of March. We meet at school at 8 o’clock and we’ll go to 3 of the best points of view of the city to see and photograph the views:

 

El Puente Romano (view of la Casa Lis)

La Vaguada de la Palma

La Plaza Mayor

 

The activity will allow you to bring out the photographic creativity that you have inside of you and to discover with your own eyes the magic that is hidden in the city thanks to people who know the city very well. It will clearly also allow you to share this amazing experience with your classmates. We just want to make clear that you will have fun, that you’ll improve your talent and that you won’t regret it!

The activity is for free. The only thing you have to bring is your camera and the desire to enjoy the magic of the night.

 

After that, we will collect all the pictures that have been made and the one that we like the most will be published on the Facebook page of Tia Tula (www.facebook.com/colegiotiatula). As you see, that’s another reason to participate: the ability to see one of your pictures published and the ability  to make everyone discover your great photographic talent.

 

See you on Friday! ;-)

Extra-curricular activities 18 March – 22 March

Monday 18^th, 17:30: Movie. During this activity we will watch a Spanish movie. Meeting point: Tía Tula.

          

Tuesday 19^th, 19:45: Cinema. Today we will watch “LOS FANTASMAS DE GOYA’’ (2006) by Milos Forman in Teatro Liceo. Price: € 1,20. Meeting point: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 1h30

 

Wednesday 20^th,^,19:00: Cooking class. During this activity we’ll learn how to make croquettes and after that we’ll eat them. Price: € 7,00. Meeting point: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 1h

Thursday 21^st, 18:00. Visit. On Thursday we’ll visit Scala Coeli. During this visit we will climb the Torres de la Clerecia. Price: € 3,75. Meeting point: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 1h

Friday 22^th, 20:00: Photography tour. To finish the week we’ll go to the three places in Salamanca where you can enjoy the most amazing views of the city and where you can take wonderful pictures. The nicest picture will be published on the facebook page of Tia Tula (www.facebook.com/colegiotiatula). Meeting point: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 45 minutes

Remember to sign up for the activity at the reception on beforehand (the minimum number of people needed for each activity is 3). If the cost is not stated then the activity is free. We recommend our students to participate in the activities so they can get to know other students in the school, so they can broaden their knowledge of Spanish culture and to practice and improve their Spanish in a fun way.

 

Trip to Zamora

In this post I’ll talk about the visit to Zamora we did with some students.

Zamora is a city in the northwest of Spain, near the frontier with Portugal. It is crossed by the Duero river and they actually offer boat rides on the river, but sadly they only start those boat trips at the end of March. But there was of course more than just a river in the city. Zamora counts 24 Romanesque style churches, which makes it the city where you can find most churches of that style of all Europe.

We did a walking tour through the city and I think we passed like 15 of them.

Before our visit I looked up some information about the city and while doing that I found an article about the Holy Week in Zamora. During that week all the inhabitants of the city are celebrating and enjoy the organized activities. When I visited the city last week, people of all ages were already practicing the songs that they are going to play during the festivities!

We all took lots of pictures but I took one that is kind of special to me. On this special picture you see a connection between 2 buildings. I can’t really say why, but I really liked this. It connected two buildings, of which one was completely different of the other one. It made me think about the group I was visiting the city with. We are all completely different persons, of all different countries (Belgium, Korea, Japan, United Kingdom, Czech Republic & United States), but even though there are so many differences between us, we still connect, and we had a great time together!

 

 

Extra-curricular activities 11 March – 15 March

Monday 11^th, 17:00: Movie. During this activity we will watch a Spanish movie. Meeting point: Tía Tula.

                                                                                             

Tuesday 12^th, 19:45: Cinema. Today we will watch “LA JOVEN DE LA PERLA’’ (2003) by Peter Webber in Teatro Liceo. Price: € 1,20. Meeting point: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 1h30

Wednesday 13^th,^,19:00: Exposition. During this activity we’ll visit an exposition, called “ROMPIENDO MOLDES”. Meeting point: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 1h

Thursday 14^th, 19:00. Picnic. Today we’ll go to El Mandala, where they offer a great variety of sweets, just like cakes, tea and pastry. Price: your consumption. Meeting point: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 1h

Friday 15^th, 20:00: Tapas Tour. We’ll enjoy some tapas in the bars in the center. Price: +/- € 6,00. Meeting point: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 1h30

Remember to sign up for the activity at the reception on beforehand (the minimum number of people needed for each activity is 3). If the cost is not stated then the activity is free. We recommend our students to participate in the activities so they can get to know other students in the school, so they can broaden their knowledge of Spanish culture and to practice and improve their Spanish in a fun way.

DELE exams

DELE is the abbreviation of Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera (Certificate of Spanish as a foreign language). It’s the best official accreditation for the use and the knowledge of Spanish by someone who doesn’t have it as its mother tongue. This certificate is awarded by the Instituto Cervantes after having accomplished  the official exam. If people talk about DELE, they refer more often to the exam than to the certificate.

In this blog post I’ll give you a summary of the different levels for which an exam can be made. The exam you take depends on the level you have, which is acknowledged by the Cervantes Institute.

- Level A1: the language skills are considered to be satisfactory enough to understand the language and to be able to use common expressions in Hispanic countries. This level can help you to satisfy your instantaneous needs.

- Level A2: the person is able to understand common used sentences and expressions that are connected to relevant themes (information about himself/herself, family, purchases, interests…).

- Level B1: the language skills are considered to be good enough to understand and react adequately to common circumstances. Having this level means it mustn’t be a problem to express your wishes and your needs through simple sentences.

- Level B2: a person with this knowledge level of Spanish can easily communicate in common situations in his/her daily life. This means that he/she can say what he/she has in mind in circumstances where specialised vocabulary is not required.

- Level C1: someone with a C1-level is capable of understanding a large variation of texts of a higher level. He/she also understands ambiguities. This person will use the language in a flexible and effective way for social, academic and professional purposes. He/she can also compose clear and well-structured texts about complex subjects.

- Level C2: the language skills of someone with this level are excellent. He/she can perfectly communicate in situations that require the use of a more complex vocabulary.

Before it was only possible to do an exam for the B1-, B2- and the C2-level. In 2009, an A1-exam was added. In May of 2010, an A2-exam was included to this list and in the end they also added an exam for the C1-level in November 2010.

In Tia Tula it became a tradition and a specialty for the students to prepare themselves to pass the DELE-exam, which is confirmed by their pass rates. If you are interested, you can take a look at our official website, which provides you with more information about the DELE Exam Preparation Courses that we offer. If you have questions about our courses or about the DELE exams in general, please do not hesitate to contact us via info@tiatula.com.

Extra-curricular activities 4 March – 8 March

Monday 4^th, 18:00: Huerto de Calixto y Melibea. During this activity we will go to the orchard of Calixto and Melibea. Meeting point: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 30 minutes

                                                                                                                                  

Tuesday 5^th, 19:45: Cinema. Today we will watch “POLLOCK’’ (2000) by Ed. Harris in Teatro Liceo. Price: € 1,20. Meeting point: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 1h30

Wednesday 6^th,^,19:00: Visit of Salamanca. During this activity one of Tia Tula’s employees will talk about the history of some monuments while guiding you through the city. Meeting point: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 1h

Thursday 7^th, 19:00. Tapas tour. On Thursday we will go to various typical bars in the city center to enjoy their tapas and to have a nice chat with each other. Price: +/- € 6,00. Meeting point: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 1h

Friday 8^th, 20:00: Billiards. We’ll enjoy a pool game to finish this week. Price: your consumption. Meeting point: Tía Tula. Approximate duration: 1h30

Remember to sign up for the activity at the reception on beforehand (the minimum number of people needed for each activity is 3). If the cost is not stated then the activity is free. We recommend our students to participate in the activities so they can get to know other students in the school, so they can broaden their knowledge of Spanish culture and to practice and improve their Spanish in a fun way.