Eco Parque

Today will be a blog post without pictures because none of the pictures turned out very well.

We all went to a place called the Eco-Parque. Its kind of like a big campsite. The thing that it has are big wire courses where you where a harness and use caribeiners to go across various courses set at various heights in the trees. We had two caribeiners each on our harness. The key to doing it right is taking one caribeiner off and keeping one on that way you never are in danger of falling at all. Its an ingenious system. So, we went about doing various things like having to jump across various ladders and rope bridges with nets to get from one place to another through the trees. The funnest part are the zip-lines. Each of us had a special device which allowed us to attatch ourselves to a zip lines and then ride across a metal wire. it was very fun. This park has the longest zip line in Spain apperently. Its about 250 feet long. Some of us made it to that point of doing it where others stuck closer to the ground. Personally I had a blast cruising through the various wires and things. There were sections where you had to use hanging ropes to pull yourself along a wire or a section of pure net that was very thin and one had to get across it. I also enjoyed the last contraption which was a big rope swing onto a net of ropes. I missed the net or I didn`t use both hands to grab it so I had to be lowered. It was a blast. I think everyone had fun. We got to have some time to commune with nature. Our guide was quite funny. He put in a big effort to speak English and would stop when he thought no one could understand him but he spoke really well. He had fun sound effects as he demonstrated the things we had to do as we went. As I said, the pictures were not very good because of the lack of light in the woods and the various factors.

After all that we went to a pool that has an interesting trait. Its water is from a natural spring. It is very clear and very nice. The pool is normal and all but they allow the water to flow in as needed. The water was very cold. I myself did not even get in. Many of the kids did and I think they enjoyed it without dying of cold. We then hung out in the sun and what not and talked and everything. It was very productive on the whole and it was a nice chance to get outside. The park is up in the mountains a little ways so it was very cool.

Well, hope everyones well. Its amazing that its Friday and that we will be seeing all of you so soon. Until then.

                                          -Johnathan

I Found My New House In Spain

Interesting title, I know, but I will explain.

Today we went to a place in Spain called Segovia which is similar to Toledo in the fact that its old with a lot of history. It has Roman roots that go way back. One big sign of this is the big aquaduct that goes through the center of town. It was quite a sight to see in person. I had never seen one personally. I liked it a lot. Its a structure that dates back hundreds and hundreds of years. Its amazing that it still stands here today as a reminder of the city`s history. I took a bunch of pictures of it because I liked it so much. Anyways, moving on.

After getting to Segovia and seeing the aquaduct, we hopped on a bus and went on a tour of the city and saw various buildings that I don`t really know what they are. They had cool architecture though. Then, we passed by a huge castle that is one of the reasons that Segovia is famous. Its like one of the ancient castles that you see in pictures and postcards. We had a conversation where one of the girls asked me how cool it would be to have a house near the castle because then you could tell people, "Yeah, I live near that big castle." I then said, "It would be better just to live in it." I said that once I have about 20 billion dollars laying around, I`ll get on it. Heres a picture.

So, thats my future house. Not bad I thought. Anyways, after the bus tour, we got to eat our lunch. Me, Karen and the other chaperones had the pleasure of eating the famous pork that Segovia has. Its another thing that the city is known for.  It was very good. its quite fresh too. Its a lot different than frozen stuff that you buy at the super market. Theres a picture of it.

After that we had a chance to walk around the town and buy some stuff. We actually didn`t buy much because most stores close during the lunch hour when we were out and about.

After that we went to a place called la Granja. I will admit that pretty much all of us were pretty tired and didn`t have much desire to go and walk around the place. Its a big garden that was built for one of the Kings of Spain 200 years ago. Its main attractions are huge fountains that are very spectacular that were built solely for the King`s eyes to see. These fountains were spectacular. What they proceeded to do was take us around to the four most spectacular ones and turn up the water on all of them and then watch them as they increased in pressure and other things. It was worth the trip in the end. Even though none of us was really looking forward to it, it went well. Some got wet because they turned up the fountain so much that water sprayed everywhere. Those fountains could get high. Probably 100 feet in the air or more. It was quite amazing.

After that we all came home and got to rest at long last. We are all pretty beat from doing so many things. Its been fun. Hope everyones doing just fine. Until next time.

                           -Johnathan

Quickie

I`m not going to write much right now. Today was a free day. A bunch of the girls went to a big water park. I didn`t go myself but, it was very fun according to them. It also took them quite a while to get there. They had to take the train, then the Metro(they are two different things) then a bus then they had to walk a ways to get there. It went well though and everyone made it back alive. Some of us took the day off and got some sleep. Others went to the pool to enjoy time with the group. So, that was about the day. Sorry for the lack of serious details. but, just a quickie to tell you whats up. Tomorrow we`re off to Segovia. its gonna be good. I love historical sites. Well, see you tomorrow. This time my battery is charged and I will have many pictures for the Blog. See you then.

                            -Johnathan

Tour Bus

Hello to all.
First and foremeost you should all know that my Camera`s battery died when we took the tour of the city today. Its funny because I checked it  and it had plenty of battery but, it then proceeded to die right when we started the tour. As a result, this post will not have pictures sadly. But, hopefully I can give enough description to today´s activities.

Today we started the tour near the center of town. We got to see those two buildings that I mentioned earlier that are tall and leaning in towards each other. Then we hopped on a double-decker bus without a roof. The nice thing is that the bus was totally dedicated to us. We could sit where we pleased and take in the adventure.We then took a loop where we saw various things like the Madrid version of Fifth Avenue in New York. For those who don´t know Fifth Avenue, its where all the big brand name stores are and its where the wealthy live and have large houses, at least in Madrid. It was very beautiful. I liked the houses. They are right in the city.

After that we went through some other palces and even saw the US Embassy which I must admit was a moment of pride. It`s quite a big complex there. It had the first little building and then opened up into a large and open complex with a courtyard and various other buildings within. Along that same road were various other international embassies and dwellings for international leaders when they come to Madrid. They were all very nice locations.

After that, we made our way to a spot that has an old palace and a very large Cathederal. Both date back hundreds of years and were both breathtakingly beautiful. The palace especially caught my eye. I am still amazed that these people built such buildings without modern technology all those years ago. They used pure man power and pure mechanincs. Same with these huge cathederals that they have in various parts of Spain. They amaze me how they managed to do such things without all the things we have today. So that was a sight to behold. The palace was white with big pointed spires that went up on all parts. It also appears to have had a large courtyard if I´m not mistaken. I only saw it as we drove by. It was great though.

After that we passed toward the most central part of town where there are all kinds of stores and all kinds of other crazy things. They have a huge movie theater at the center of town. I swear that its the biggest I`ve personally seen. It had an enormous screen previewing movies on the outside. Next to it and all around were other various government buildings. Many of which have that same architecture from Roman and Medieval times. The city hall is like a giant palace that appears to have been somewhat of a fort in its time.

One of the coolest things we got to see was an egyptian temple that has been there for 2400 years. Its not in its original form but carries some original parts still. It was a gift from the Egyptians to the Spanish because of a good cooperative realtionship that they enjoyed in those times. It was amazing to think that its been there for two and a half milenia. Imagine the things its seen. I really liked that part of the trip. Then we took a break to walk around it and than headed off to finish the tour. After the tour we went and walked around Madrid as groups and saw some things. Various people bought things and others simply took it all in.

It was an exciting day. I think all had a good time. We hope all is well in the great land of Maryland. Talk to you soon.

                              -Johnathan

The Weekend

Hello Everyone.
So, I will sum up what happened over this weekend because we didn´t do any true group activities. i will give a summary of what various people did.

Many of us spent time in Madrid doing various thoings like shopping and seeing sights. Madrid is a very interesting city. its modern with all its stores and things. it has two huge soccer stadiums and one of the best teams in the world called Real Madrid. It also has all the normal things of a city like lots of shops and businesses where many of us have gone looking for things to buy. Along with all of that you have tons of cool buildings. there are two buildings that lean in towards each other. I don´t have pictures of them because I forgot my camera that day. but, they are very cool to see.

Being modern, Madrid also has the feel of an old city. There are remnants of the Romans here. For instance, jorge, the Spanish chaperone, pointed out to me that there is a bridge in madrid from the Roman time period. Its crazy to think that people still use a bridge that was first constructed over a thousand years ago. Also, there are several buildings with architecture from the medieval times. Such buildings are quite a sight to behold. The other thing thats amazing are the small, brick laden streets. These streets are very narrow and they look just like any scene from a movie set in Europe. they are definetly the remnant of an older civilization.

Others of the students have been hanging out together at the pool here in Tres antos or in other places together. The students are getting allong great thus far. The Spanish kids are pretty dang sharp and are fun altogether.

Us chaperones went to a theme park together yesterday where we got to ride lots of fun rides. There were some rides called the Abismo(Abyss) and another called the Tornado which were really fun. It also had the classic drop ride where you get to the top and it lets go. It was fun. my personal favorite attraction was a theater where we got on small mechanical horses. They moved here and there and we had fun. As we were on them we all had to shoot various targets on a big screen. There were 50 or 60 of us in the room on horses. it was really fun.I have never seen anything like it at a theme park.

Well thats, about the weekend. Another student went to a world famous art museum called the Prado which has a collection that rivals the collection of the Louvre in france. i`m really jealous. i`d love to go and see it myself if i get the chance. But, thats about it. hope everyone is well. Till next time.

                                      -Johnathan

Buenos Tardes from Spain

Today was quite a treat. We went to a place called Toledo which has history dating back almost 2000 years. We got to see a bunch of things that were quite spectacular. I´ll start from the beginning. Well, when we left today we got a late start because two of our company slept in quite a while and didn´t show up until 10:15 where we had wanted to leave at 10:00. But, they came and we got a move on. Some of us (including the two american chaperones) went to sleep on the ride, but everyone was quite excited to go and see Toledo. When we got there it was already quite amazing. It is really like and old town from medival times. Its like a page out of a history book. It really is a beautiful place. I was personally in awe from the moment we got there.

We then went to do a tour on a little motor train which took us around the city showing us various parts of the city. theres some serious history there. We found out that many different people have dominated the city, all being Spanish apperantly. There Spaniards at first. then it went to the muslims and Arabs for a time and then was taken by Christians. The city´s history had its ups and downs, but has now become a calm little settlement full of history. We saw various parts o fhte city up close. I will say that something that caught my attention is the architecture of the buildings. There are many castles that are still there from those early times. I also found it funny that many of the Spanish kids were somewhat bored because to them its nothing new. Its similar to when people like us go to Washington DC or Baltimore. We´ve been so many times that its already normal. Regardless they had fun as well.

After the small train we got to go and do a walking tour which took us to one of the biggest cathedreals in the world. I think the guide said its the fifth biggest cathederal. It was amazing. We walked around inside and saw all the various features. it has three organs of varying size. the oldest comes from the 1500´s and was a gift from an emperor to the Cathederal. it also had various paintings that are originals as well as artifacts that that are priceless. We couldn´t take pictures inside unfortunately. It was great though.

After that we had time to go and eat and then walk around the town on our own. There are many places that sell various things like armour and swords from the old times. it was a quite a sight to behold. Well its late. It was a very fun day today. We all enjoyed. Hope everyone is well.

                            -Johnathan

Day of welcome

The big news today is that we had a  welcoming ceremony where we heard a couple of speeches  and a few other things. The main leader of the Youth program here in Tres Cantos talked a bit and I gave a speech as well. Also, a man who is one of the chief financial advisors for all of Spain was present. He spoke some good things about the importance of establishing a good relationship between us and our two countries. All in all the experience was good. We then got to eat at a restaurant up the road. Well, we didn´t really eat there per say because we didn´t sit down and order stuff. We were all standing or sitting and just talking to one another. We got to eat some good food. They had various snacks and things and put them all on plates. They have very good ham and salami here. I think we all really liked it. We also got some time to get to know each other a little better and have some good conversation. All the kids are getting along really well. Its amazing to see that even with a language barrier, the kids still get along and have so much in common. I think its great. Also, a few of the kids went to Madrid today. They told me that it went really well. They bought a couple of things and got to see some unforgettable sights. Well, I hope all is well on the other side of the world. By the way, the picture on top is from the welcome meeting we had.

                        -Johnathan