Donkey Basketball

Sorry it has been so long since we've written........we went from one busy life to another! Many of you remember the signs for Donkey Basketball that was to take place on April 19th. Well, it happened and many of the people you met here were players on either the Faculty team or the Senior team.

The game was very exciting ....and difficult. The rules of the game are pretty simple: in order to pass the ball or shoot a basket, the player must be seated on the donkey. You have no idea how hard it is to hold on to the ball and get on your donkey at the same time! The other thing that makes the game difficult is the fact that the donkeys are all trained to do specific things. The referee is also the trainer and can make the donkeys do things with vocal commands. That makes for a lot of fun on the court.

In the end, the Faculty beat the Seniors 30-28. I think we all had a great time. Mrs. Churchman was our high scorer with, I believe, 17 points! Nice job, Mrs. Churchman!!!

I have added a few pictures that Mrs. Flint has taken. If you have any that you would like to add to the blog, please send them to vincent_jassak@stev.net and I will put them up. Enjoy!

Sr. Jassak

¿Cómo explicárselo a los demás ?

Sólo dos días es muy poco tiempo para asentar tu mente y volver a esta realidad. Tantas experiencias vividas, tantos paisajes, tanta gente entrañable que ahora ya forma parte de todos nosotros, tantas risas y tantos pañuelos mojados en la despedida.....
Os quedará esa sonrisa en el recuerdo.Os quedarán las ganas de seguir escribiendo, y de seguir hablando con todos ellos. Os quedará la necesidad de seguir estudiando inglés....para poder hacerlo mejor la próxima vez!
Pero, sobre todo, os quedarán las lecciones aprendidas : fuera los prejuicios frente a una raza, religion, cultura o política diferentes. Si en algo somos iguales todos los seres de este planeta es en los sentimientos. Y en Arkport hemos compartido muchos: la intranquilidad/inseguridad antes de llegar, el "corte"/duda en el aeropuerto de Rochester, las risas con las primeras bromas de Mr. Jassak, el cansancio del primer día (21 horas seguidas en pie), los nervios del primer día de clase, la agradable sensación de sentir el sol durante Egg Hunting, la sabrosa comida de Easter, la curiosidad por pintar huevos por primera vez, la camaradería en el viaje a Niagara Falls, la belleza del paisaje, la excitación del trick or treating en Halloween, la expectación del Thanksgiving day, la alegría de todos los regalos recibidos (larga lista de agradecimientos por hacer), la fascinación en el Corning Museum al hacer nuestras flores, y la sorpresa al día siguiente al ver lo preciosas que habían salido, la bonita fiesta de cumpleaños de Katie, los buenos momentos en la clase de Spanish, los catarros y las toses, el calor espantoso cuando visitamos Alfred University, la alegría que os dió ver el -amarillo-autobús escolar, la sensación de estar viviendo una película -americana of course-, tantos abrazos y tantas lágrimas en la despedida....

Tantos nombres, tantas caras, tanta amabilidad. Tantas familias que ahora ya son parte de todos nosotros.
Algunos me preguntásteis si yo no iba a llorar al decir adiós....mis dos ángeles, Lukas y Olaya, me hicieron llorar con los últimos besos.
He tenido la suerte de muchas despedidas así de emotivas...son muchos intercambios ya. Pero os confieso que este ha sido especial. Nunca antes había sentido tanta fuerza en las familias, tanto empeño y tanto afán por ayudar y por agradar.
A mi colega Vincent Jassak y a su mujer Nora Jassak los conozco hace 11 años. Desde entonces son AMIGOS. Se cómo se esfuerzan y se cómo se han volcado siempre con mis alumnos. Esta vez me tocaba conocer al resto de su familia, así que Lukas y Olaya han sido mis dos nuevos soles en esta visita....y han brillado, ¿verdad?

No deberíamos guardarnos los tesoros para nosotros solos. Estamos obligados a compartirlos porque, no lo olvideis, THE WORLD IS ONE FAMILY.
Me alegro de haber podido compartir esta experiencia de este lugar llamado Arkport con todos vosotros.

María José Alonso Pedrosa

New York, gorgeous city!!!

When the bus definetely left you behind, most of the students were weeping and sobbing...tissues running from hand to hand. Had it not been so touching, what a great comedy scene a film director could have shot!
We all felt much more comforted after we stopped for a meal , two hours and a half after the "overemotional" departure....but still many Spanish students' eyes were in tears. It was only when arriving in N.Y. city, that the atmosphere started to cheer up.
Heavy rain in the Big Apple and so cold. We registered at Milford Plaza hotel and waited for Raquel's parents, for their flight from Toronto was delayed.
Eventually our adventure of N.Y. sightseeing started :Time Square, 5th Avenue, Central Station, Rockefeller Center, St Patrick' s Cathedral, Broadway Av. , dinner at a Friday's, back to the hotel....
Lucia, soaked to the skin after the inevitable surprise of huge puddle + yellow N.Y. taxi at full speed...what a laugh!
Intense and unforgettable moment when we entered the cathedral at the very exact moment Haendel's Halleluja was sung by a wonderful choir and the organ played too.

Our second day was much colder (it snowed in the afternoon) .We visited the U.N. official buildings where we had a reception with the Spanish Ambassador, Sr. Inigo de Palacio Espana, who so kindly explained to all of us the work carried out by the U.N.O. and the Spanish Mission there and all over the world. Our visit lasted one hour and three quarters !!! because the students had so many questions to ask him.
On leaving his office I felt so happy for the opportunity given to be there and also so proud for the human achievement that the United Nations Organization represents... especially so soon after having met you in Arkport and having experienced how much human beings have in common.That day I felt optimistic about the future of the world!
Rushed to Battery park to take (after a never-ending line) the ferry to the Statue of Liberty (AWESOME! no matter how repetitive this may sound). Almost freezing there, but we enjoyed it so much.
The city impressed us because of the variety of "tribes", cultures, peoples, multi.....everything.
Wall Street and the Bull, the Stock Exchange, the Governor's House. When approaching the Ground Zone, Elena got very emotional remembering Sept 11th 2001, and so did we....the moment snow flakes started to fall down...so quiet, so cold and white... like an unreal scene in a movie.
Cristina made us feel quite worried as she was feeling stomach upset and I feared appendicitis, she was brave to continue walking, much fun when we wrapped newspapers around her stomach to make her feel warmer...it worked, for she was feeling better soon afterwards (old trick that cyclists know about and use very often here). Therefore we went on walking to Chinatown where we bought lots of "I love N.Y." souvenirs.
I should say that the great moment was still to come. It was dawn when we headed for the Brooklyn Bridge (about 3 km. long) and completely dark when we reached the other side and got astonished to see the beautiful lights of Manhattan at night!!! Worth walking so far despite the chilly wind, for some girls were wearing trendy shoes, no gloves, no scarffs...a gang of freakies taking photos by the sea, so happy after the whole day effort (maybe a 15 km walk?)
Back to the hotel by taxi, surrounded by the multicolor lights of the skyscrapers . Hard, extraordinary and rewarding day in New York city!
The following morning we had two musts: the Empire State Building and Central Park. We could not go up the former because we did not have enough time to wait for the -at least- 60 minutes line. So we took photos and bought postcards "down there", we continued and saw the Flat Iron that everybody had already seen in the T.V. series "Friends", and stopped at Macy' s to do the last shopping. Walked and walked along the Avenue of Americas and finally reached Central Park. Quick lunch and back to the hotel to pick up the luggage and take the bus to JFK airport. Traffic delay but got to arrive there just on time for the check-in and the never ending security. Our flight had an hour delay but the night was pleasant on board and everyone got asleep very soon.
In Madrid the Villoslada family said goodbye (we were so lucky to have had Raquel' s parents touring us in New York for they know the city so well) and so did Ana Perez and Cristina.The rest of the group waited at Barajas airport until our flight to Asturias at 2:30 p. m.
We arrived home safe and sound, exhausted and pleased, so tired and so homesick...because of you.
Two days to rest, trying to disconnect, trying to digest, trying to get over the jet lag (travelling East is always worse). Tomorrow we will go back to school again, to start the last term of this 2006-2007 academic year, which we will never forget.

Mission accomplished. Well done. Our time to correspond. We wish you could come right now!
¡¡¡¡Os esperaremos con los brazos abiertos!!!!

THANK YOU. GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

Aviles - Arkport Niagara Falls March 2007

The world is one family

Maria Jose Alonso Pedrosa - Arkport 4/3/07

Almost leaving... our last school day here at Arkport Central School. It is going to be hard tomorrow. So many exchanges experienced before this one, Mr. Jassak and I knew this would eventually happen.
Yesterday, when I advised my Spanish students to start packing, some of them told me they wished they had spent more days here (instead of going to N.Y. City!!!)
In planning our trip to USA, visiting N.Y. city was their main interest, now they all would prefer to stay with you longer... therefore we can conclude that this exchange has been a success.
If the Spanish students had guessed that, they would have not been so anxious and uneasy before arriving here. Now that you have gotten to know each other so well, you won't be so concerned next year when you come to Spain.
We all wish you could visit us before, it is going to be an eternity waiting for you to come!!!
Attending Arkport Central School has been a pleasure for all of us. We thank Mr. Locke and Mr. Hoose for allowing us to go to classes and for meeting other American students and teachers.
Teaching the 5 and 6 years old some Spanish words and songs has been for me one of the greatest moments in the trip.

We have had a welcoming party, Easter celebration (Egg Hunting included) Halloween, Thanksgiving and a birthday/farewell party this evening.
We visited Niagara Falls and had a nice meal at The Hard Rock Cafe. Also, Corning Glass Museum, where we created our own flowers, courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Simpson. Mr. Simpson also showed us the Architecture College at Alfred State University. Special thanks to Mrs. Alice Wheaton, so enthusiastically teaching Spanish there, and to Mrs. Wellington who took us there.
Our appreciation to the thirteen families who have hosted us these weeks and have made us feel at home since the first moment. You have become our true dearest American families.
As for all of the students, just to tell you how brave, caring and kind you have been to take this risk. I wish you could say now that it has been worth doing it.
It will take us time to digest this experience. So much we have enjoyed, so much we have learned.
We have tried to understand each other. We have shared our ideas and opinions...

We are creating a better world

This blog needs a thread for the english language!!!

Yes. This blog was incomplete without a section to send comments in English. Everybody can post to this section, both American and Spanish people, but using English, please!!! Any comments are welcome!!