HASTA SIEMPRE

Un año más cerramos nuestros cursos de Idiomas, con la confianza que todos nuestros estudiantes hayan alcanzado los objectivos que nos habíamos marcado. Quiero pues, agradecer desde aquí, en primer lugar, todo el trabajo llevado a cabo por los directores de grupo y los monitores responsables de cada uno de ellos.
Asimismo, agradezo a los padres la confianza que habéis tenido con Idiomas Padre Manyanet. Que todos terminemos de pasar un feliz verano en familia y hasta siempre.

P. Antonio Sorribes S. F.
Director de Idiomas Padre Manyanet

EVERYTHING IS DRAWING TO AN END...

On the 23rd of July, we attended English lessons in the morning. We reviewed some of the lessons we had already learnt during our stay during the first two hours of class and then, in the third one, we carry on with the preparation of next Friday's Get Together ceremony! As everything goes to an end, we took a class photo. We had lunch in the park all together and at 2 p.m. we went to the swimming pool. After that, we came back home. We sadly had almost our last dinner with our lovely English families...

Luis & Alberto

BIRMINGHAM PEN MUSEUM

On the 22nd of July, we attended our English lessons, as always and in the afternoon, we visited Birmingham. We went there by train and then, we had to catch the metro until the Jewellery Quarter, one of the most known neighbourhoods in this city. We went to the Pen Museum. We stayed there more than two hours, I'm afraid! There were lots of old machines and even, we could use them. We could also write on our own, which was amusing! After that, we went to the city centre and we had one hour to go shopping. At 17.20 p.m., we met the group and we caught the train in a different station, which was in the city centre. As it is a big city, the station was really overcrowded, which got on our nerves! Once in Leamington, we went back home. It was actually one of the best visits, from my point of view!

Nil

VISIT TO THE MAYOR AND LEAMINGTON QUIZ

On the 21st of July, we attended our English lessons in the morning. We learnt the different uses of the verb "to take", depending on the word that appears after, for example: take up, take on...When we finished, we went to the Town Hall, because we had a meeting with the Mayor of Leamington. He was really nice with us, even he invited us to have a cup of tea or coffee and some biscuits! Father Jesus and Laura had prepared a speech so as to let him know who we were, what we were doing in Leamington...and also, some of us gave him their personal opinion about Leamington. We asked him some questions and to finish with, he showed to us the different rooms the Town Hall has: the meeting room, his office... Besides, we gave him a present, Idiomas Padre Manyanet's bag, which really surprised him.

In the afternoon, we played a Leamington Quiz, consisting of answering some questions about the history of Leamington by reading the Notice Boards set in the town. It was difficult; however, it helped us to know more things about the town where we have spent three weeks.
Silvia

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S TOWN

On the 20th of July, we attended our English lessons in the morning and in the afternoon, we visited Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. It is set in the rural Warwickshire countryside, on the banks of the river Avon and it is one of the most important tourist destinations in the UK. We visited the house where Shakespeare was born many years ago, in 1564, in Henley Street. It is really big and it is preserved intact. We also visited the house where William Shakespeare lived when he came back to Stratford, after living in London during some years. After that, we went to the Holy Trinity church, where we could see his grave. We also saw The Swan theatre, which is being rebuilt. After all these visits, we had free time. At five, we met the group again and we caught the number 15 bus to come back to Leamington. We really enjoyed the journey because the bus driver drove the bus as if it was a rally car. You can see in the photo how we enjoyed! Once in Leamington, some of us went home and some others, practised a dance because they are going to dance on the next Friday's Get Together ceremony.

Ferran

OUR SECOND SUNDAY IN LEAMINGTON

My second Sunday in Leamington was quite different. On Saturday evening, when we arrived from Alton Towers, my family didn't pick me up because they were at a wedding. Owing to this fact, I went to Father Jesus' host family and I slept there. On Sunday morning, I went to mass with Father Jesus and his host family. When the mass finished, we went back home and after having lunch, we played board games. At about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, my host family pick me up and I went to my English home. We had dinner and we watched a film called "Cool running". So, as you can see, Sundays are the best days to be spent with our families. It is a chance to develop our English skills during all the day, which, needless to say, is quite hard!

Carmen

ALTON TOWERS!!!

On the 18th of July, we met at 8 o'clock in the morning at Newbold Terrace. A coach was waiting for us there. We first stopped in Birmingham because the students who are in Aston had to use the same coach. Once in Alton Towers, the leaders took us an initial photograph and then, we separated ourselves in different groups and we had free time! We rode all the attractions we could: Air, Nemesis...As this theme park has got big parks, we could have lunch on the grass and relax for a while. At five, we came back to the coach and after two hours, more or less, we arrived in Leamington. Our families were waiting for us in our meeting point. However, before going home, Eduardo's host father took us a photo, which is going to be a present for Leamington's Mayor. We are going to visit him next Tuesday! It was a really wonderful day!

Maria

OUR SECOND FRIDAY

On the 17th of July, almost everyone arrived at Saint Peter's church at about half to nine. We spent half and hour speaking and sharing opinions before starting our English lessons. The exercises Ruth gave to us were more difficult than others given before. We did them quiet well, that's why I think we are improving our English! We have two breaks during the morning and in one of them, we played football in the park opposite Saint Peter's. After class, we wanted to have our packed lunches on the grass, but we couldn't because it was wet. We also had time to relax or to play football before meeting at Newbold Terrace at two o'clock. Even, we played football with a group of English people and needless to say, we won! Then, we went to a park near the swimming pool and we played baseball until it started to rain. We swam during an hour, more or less and it was amazing! After that, Father Jesus gave us some advice and we came back home.
We are looking forward to going to Alton Towers!!!

Deborah

OXFORD UNIVERSITY T-SHIRTS AND JUMPERS, TODAY?

On the 16th of July, we visited Oxford, one of the most famous cities in England. However, during the morning we attended our English lessons with Ruth. In the lessons we learnt pronunciation and we cut out photos of Leamington. After class, we went to the train station because our train was leaving at 1 p.m. Owing to that, we had to go to the station really fast and we had our packed lunches in the waiting room. Once in Oxford, we visited lots of places: Carfax Tower, the Brigde of the Sighs, some colleges...We were luckily and we could visit Merton College!! It was a perfect chance so as to know how students live in Oxford. We also had one hour to go shopping, in which almost everyone bought t-shirts or jumpers of Oxford University. We came back to Leamington by train and it was completely overcrowded; we had to stand up the entire journey! And once more, when we arrived in Leamington, it was raining!

Pablo

Here are some photos:

THE CENTRE POINT OF OUR STAY

On the 15th of July, it was the centre point of our stay in Leamington although it seems as though we only arrived yesterday. As a current day during the week, we attended our English lessons during the morning and then, we ate our packed lunches. Owing to the sunny day, we could eat in Pump Rooms Garden, the park in front of Saint Peter's church, where we attend our classes. After a while we met the group and we went to the cinema. We watched "Harry Potter and the half-blood prince", which had its premier the same day. Unfortunately, the film is quiet sad and believe me, there are a lot of surprises...my advice: go to the cinema!! After that, we met Father Sorribes. He visited us and asked us if we were learning English, if we were enjoying ourselves...We also went to Jepshon Gardens until twenty past five, when we went back home and had dinner with our English families.

Alejandro

WARWICK, A TOWN WITHIN THE COUNTY OF WARWICKSHIRE

The 14th of July was the second Tuesday of our stay in Leamington. Despite we are feeling more comfortable here because we are not so lost, we have the chance to learn, see or visit something new everyday. The day started in a funny way: all of us were sitting down in the building where we attend our classes, chatting and laughing at the rivalry between my Real Madrid t-shirt and Nil's Barcelona one, while our teacher was getting ready to start the class. We started class at 9 a.m. and after one hour hwe had a fifteen minutes break. We really enjoy Ruth's classes because they are very dynamic and interesting, but we must have in mind that it is quite difficult for us to attend classes in summer...After class, we had our packed lunches on the grass and had a walk around Leamington. Some of us went to our favourite sport's shop, which is in the shopping centre meanwhile some others went to Mc'Donalds to have an ice-cream. We met the group at 1.25 p.m and we caught the x17 bus to go to Warwick. I really enjoy cultural visits!! Warwick is a town within the county of Warwickshire. It has got incredible monuments such as the castle, some churches, Leicester Hospital...We learnt a lot about all these places thanks to Father Jesus' explanations. Then, we went to a park were we were supposed to play mini golf. However, it was not possible. Consequently, we changed our plans and decided to play rugby in the park or to walk into the town. I preferred to play rugby, but unfortunately, I started to feel pain on my neck. We caught the bus again to go home, where we had dinner with our families.

Eduardo

OUR SECOND WEEK STARTS

Today, on the 13th of July, a week has passed: we did a lot of activities, trips and cultural visits.

In class, we reviewed all the vocabulary we learnt last week. We also did some listening, speaking and grammar. After classes, we had lunch on the grass all together because luckily, it was sunny, as you can see in the photographs. However, a few of us were really hungry and left the group for a while and went to a shop to buy some food. After that, we met at Parish church bus stop and we caught the bus to go to the bowling centre. Although we have been there more than once, we always enjoy ourselves! Then, Father Jesus gave us some advice into how to help us fit in with our English family and he asked us how things were going, how we were feeling with them and so on. After that, we came back to Leamington and caught our buses to go straight home.

J.Manuel & Javier

OUR FIRST SUNDAY IN LEAMINGTON

As our timetable says, Sunday is a special day: we spent all the day with our families. We visit some new places, we meet some people of their family, we have a picnic wherever, we have a barbecue with them, we go to the church... Is the only day during the week in which we can relax ourselves.

We have been here in Leamington for one week now. We have enjoyed a lot during this first week and we are looking forward to attend our second week classes, to do new activities and to visit new places such as Warwick, Oxford and Alton Towers!!

Alberto

LONDON!!

On the 11th of July, we visited London!!! Although everybody was really nervous, all of us arrived on time at Newbold Terrace at 8.15 a.m. We caught the train and we arrived in London in one hour an a half! We played cards in the train all together.

The first thing we saw in London was a street show. It made us laugh a lot and even, one of us, Maria, participated in.

Our transports in London were the underground and the public bus (the red ones). Thanks to them, we were able to visit a lot of places. Firstly, we visited one of the most famous markets in London: the Covent Garden. After that, we went to the British Museum, where we listened to Father Jesus explanations. We also visited Saint Paul's cathedral and we walked through two important bridges in London: the Millennium Bridge and the Tower Bridge. Then, more or less, at half past one, we had our packed lunches next to the Tower of London. After lunch, we went to the Houses of the Parliament and to the Westminster Abbey. Then, we kept on walking until we arrived at Trafalgar Square. Once there, we went to Piccadilly Circus, where our free time started. Some of us visited "Hamleys", an enormous toy's shop. At half past five, we met with the rest of the group and we visited the last thing in London: Sherlock Holmes' house. We caught the train back to Leamington and our families picked us up at Newbold Terrace.

We had a good time in London!

Nil & Ferran

Here are some photos:

SWIMMING POOL

On the 10th of July, we attended our last week class. We did some vocabulary related to detectives, thieves... and Ruth also explained us some things about London (our next visit). Our afternoon activity was sports & swimming pool. We played baseball on the grass and then, we went to the swimming pool, which is really big: it has got two swimming pools, one for children and another one used to improve swimming skills. After that, we went back home and we had dinner with our dearest English families.

Silvia & Maria

CULTURAL VISIT TO BIRMINGHAM

On the 9th of July, we attended our English classes. Ruth (our teacher) introduced to us some important places of Birmingham, where we were during the afternoon. We went by train; it takes half an hour from Leamington to Birmingham. We visited several things: Saint Martin's church, the Mail Box, the canals, Victoria square and the Bullring.

The Bullring is a big shopping centre where we had some shopping during almost an hour and a half. Although I do not support Manchester United, I have bought one Manchester United t-shirt! Back in Leamington, we spent the evening with our English families and we went to bed. It was an interesting cultural visit!

Luis

BOWLING

On the 8th of July, the day started better than yesterday because all of us arrived on time at our English classes. Ruth (our teacher) was waiting for us at Saint Peter's. We had some homework today: asking to our English families some things about their jobs. After having lunch, we caught the number 68 bus to go to the bowling centre. Father Jesus was the winner again, he's so good at bowling!! However, some of us had improved a lot comparing with the first day we played. At half past five, more or less, we caught our buses to go back home. During dinner time, we did our homework. It was a great opportunity to know more about jobs vocabulary.

We are looking forward to visit Birmingham tomorrow!

J.Manuel

ICE SKATING IN COVENTRY

On the 7th of July, we attended our English classes during the morning and after that, we went to the train station to catch a train from Leamington to the city of Coventry. We ate our packed lunches at the train first went to the ice skating rink and after falling down more than once, we visited some of its cathedrals and Lady Godiva's statue. Some of us also visited an art museum, where we were told of Lady Godiva's legend. At about 6 p.m., we came back to Leamington and we went home, where we had dinner and enjoyed ourselves with our new mums and dads. It was a beautiful journey!
Carmen

OUR FIRST BUS TRAVEL EXPERIENCE IN LEAMINGTON

On the 6th of July, we all met at Saint Peter's church at nine o'clock. Some luckily students were driven here, but some others, had to catch a bus. First of all, we went to the place where we are going to attend classes. Father Jesus and Laura gave us the itinerary of our days here in England and some rules and instructions, too. After that, we did a test in order to check our level. It was quiet difficult, in fact! We also went to the Tourist Information Office to pick up some maps of Leamington and its nearest villages. Then, we walked around Leamington town centre just to be a little bit more orientated. At lunch time, we ate our packed lunches and we also had some free time to go shopping or to have a look around. At twenty-five to three, we met at Newbold Terrace and we all went to the bus stop at Parish church, because we caught the number 68 bus to go to the bowling centre. We enjoyed ourselves a lot there! Father Jesus plays very well and that's why we asked him several times how to throw the ball. Oh, I've forgotten two things: the first thing is that it has been raining during the day, but only a little, and the second one is that we went to the Travel Shop to buy our travel card to be able to travel by bus. After playing one hour, more or less, we came back to Leamington town centre where everyone caught their bus to go home. It was our second day in England and it was fantastic!

Deborah

ARRIVING IN UK

The day finally came! We were at the airport at 9 o'clock in the morning. We saw off our parents and we took off from Spain by midday. We arrived in London airport on time, where a coach was waiting for us to take us to Leamington Spa. There, at Newbold Terrace (our meeting point during our stay) families were waiting for us. Once at home, our new English mums and dads showed our bedrooms and, after having dinner, we went to bed. We were so tired... it was a very long tiring day!

Alejandro & Javier