May 14, 2019 - Rosetta Estelle
It is hard to believe we are about half-way through our trip! The time has really flown by with our schedule being packed with fun activities around Valencia. Today started with our first guest lecturer, Professor Agustin Reyes Torres. His lecture covered the ins and outs of Spanish education. The lecture was interactive and informative, the entire class participated and seemed to enjoy the content. For myself, I enjoyed comparing Spanish and American teaching approaches. The most surprising thing that I learned was that in Spain colleges do not look for or engage in extracurriculars such as clubs or sports. I couldn’t imagine going to a school without a big social aspect like Purdue has. During the lecture we also touched on what we think schools should focus on, differences in tuition prices, and study abroad programs. We talked about how important it is for teachers to really connect with their students in order for the students to be successful. I thought this was an awesome lecture to have since we have two education majors in the group, Josh and Lia. 

After class a group of us went to a cafĂ© and had various pastries, coffee, and water before heading to our homestays and the ISA office for lunch. We had free time before our scavenger hunt at 4pm. Most utilized this time to work on homework due tonight or take a much-needed nap as is custom here in Spain. The naps after lunch is a custom I definitely want to continue after we return to the U.S. For out scavenger hunt we all met at Serrano Towers where we were then put into groups for the scavenger hunt. I was with Jasmine, Anna and Leigha. We took our time, took pictures of art, and looked into windows of shops that we passed on our way to various destinations. Jay’s group decided to rent bikes in hopes to win the scavenger hunt but in the end Kiersten, Danielle, Kat, and Ty were the winning group. Sadly, my group came in last but we still had a good time exploring together and found shops we would like to revisit during our free time. Overall it has been a good day in Valencia. It did not feel as long as yesterday since we had a nice, long break between class and the scavenger hunt. I am excited for what the rest of the week will bring!


Left to right: Leigha, Anna, Jasmine, and I at the Central Market, stop 2 of 10 on our scavenger hunt.

My team at the Serrano towers, our start and end point.

Left to right: Kiersten, Ty, Danielle, and Katt at the end of the scavenger hunt.

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