I had the wonderful opportunity this year to work with twelve 7
th-grade choir students who participated in the MAIS honor choir in Valencia, Spain. I brushed up on my rehearsing-a-choir chops, for sure. Taking them on tour was a bigger learning curve; the students were at times exhausting, and other times made me laugh with joy. I learned a great deal about the cultural differences between my students and me, and many of these differences were more socioeconomic-based than country of origin-based. (The kids really just wanted to go shopping.) I wanted to share with you some photos of travelling with my well-to-do students, as well as some photos of Valencia…
(By the way, Valencia is underrated! It has a wonderful historical old town as well a fantastic modern architecture that houses museums, aquariums, and malls. We just missed the yearly tradition of Fallas, where people burn intricate wax sculptures; but we did see the museum. Valencia is known for oranges and paella, both of which I enjoyed.)
Our Group. On Left is Paige, the MAIS honor choir director. Front right is Marti, the colleague who organizes this at our school each year. I thought it was funny that for the "silly" picture she's focusing on the kids.
Posing with some wall art
My student bought so many gifts at the mall that he had to buy a suitcase to accommodate them.
REALLY excited about the dog
walking through a cool aquarium!
One of the entrances to a famous cathedral in Valencia. Built over hundreds of years, and one of 5 places in the world thought to hold the Holy Grail.
Feed the birds...
Graffiti in Spain is so cool!
Old train station. You can't really see, but all along the walls and ceiling are glass mosaics. Gorgeous.
Flamenco dress in a shop.
-Karissa
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