Plymouth Plantation and Back Home

Plymouth Plantation and Back Home

by Asier and Isabel

Today was our last day in America, so to start this important and special day, I woke up very sleepy and I went upstairs to have breakfast.

When I finished, I had shower, brushed my teeth and my face, and combed my hair. Then, I finished doing my bag. I said goodbye to the whole family, and I went to school by car with Alex and David (his younger brother).

There, our first lesson was astronomy. I found it interesting because I like most issues dealing with the universe.

Then, an hour later, all the exchange students went to the library. We were there for about ten minutes until the bus arrived.

Later, we took the bus, and headed to a museum of ancient Native American pioneers and pilgrims who came to America from Europe.

I liked it, because it seemed very interesting to see how they lived, what they did, how they dressed and spoke...

Next, we took the bus and went to see a replica of the "Mayflower", one of the first ships that arrived from Europe to America full of pilgrims. The truth is that I didn´t like it too much, because we only had twenty minutes to see it.

We went back to school by bus at 2:00 p.m. more or less. There, we had about twenty minutes to say goodbye to all our American friends. It was very exciting and also sad, because we all knew that we wouldn't see one another again until after seven long months.

Finally, we headed to Boston airport by bus, where we took a plane at 5:40 pm. After six long hours, we landed in Madrid, where we took another one that took us direct to Bilbao. We returned home very exhausted and both, happy and sad.

ASIER

Day 15 - Plimoth Plantation ande Back Home from J. Carlos Martínez

DAY 14 - New York 3

Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty...

by  Alazne and Iker

Waking up in New York is only exciting in the films. After sleeping on the floor, having a shower and a full breakfast, I was late for the bus. Luckily, I've very lazy partners so I wasn't the last one. A quick trip of 15 minutes left us ready to take a ferry to the Statue of Liberty. There we met Nancy, our extraordinary guide for our whole stay in New York, and after having time for taking some photos the ferry left us in Ellis Island.

At 13 pm we were crossing Battery Park, and the Bull's balls guided us to Wall Street. Once there we had enough time to buy some food and continue the way.
Our last stop in New York was going to be the September 11th  Memorial Museum. Inside the building, the respect was the only thing you could hear. Everyone was quiet, astounded, trying to assimilate the tragedy that had happened there 15 years ago. Outside the building two fountains in memory of the victims were breaking the silence.

The 5 minutes turn to the bus was too fast comparing with the "short" journey of 6 hours and a half coming to Scituate again. Enough time to relax, reflect, and relax again.Arriving at the school was like a mirage. We greeted our partners, and without having enough movement during the day, some of us we went to have an ice cream somewhere near. Aware of the day of tomorrow I came back home after 3 days. Home, sweet home, but I needed to pack.

IKER

Day 14 - New York 3

Nobody likes waking up at 6:30a.m. Unluckily, we had to wake up at that time today. We had breakfast at 7:00a.m. as we should take the coach to NYC at 8:00a.m.
Once in the city, we took a ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It was so hot that some people had to drink a cold lemonade.
After visiting these beautiful places, we went to Wall Street and we took pictures with the famous bull. At 1:30 p.m. we had lunch in a square. Some of us ate pizza and some others ate hamburgers or nuggets from the Burger King.

When we finished our lunch, after buying some water, we visited the Museum of the Twin Towers (National September 11 Memorial & Museum). We all were moved about what happened 15 years ago.
At 3:30p.m. after visiting a building designed by Calatrava, we took the coach which took us to SHS. At 7:00p.m. approximately, we stopped to have dinner.
At last. After 7-hours drive we arrived at Scituate at 10:30 p.m. Our American friends were waiting for us at the high school.
We drove back home and we made the suitcase.
It's been a very tiring day!

Alazne Lopategui

DAY 13 - New York 2

UNO... Aladdin

By June and Jon Mikel

This morning we went to the United Nations. Our guide was a Chinese girl. She gave us a lot of interesting information. She showed us the General Assembly and other important rooms. She also explained to us some paintings about Human Rights and War Affairs in our world.

Later we went to the Gran Central Station and we had lunch there (Asier ordered fried chicken that  he couldn’t finish. Ibon and I ordered a hot dog). Afterwards, we visited the Fifth Avenue. We didn’t buy anything because all the shops were too expensive. Then, we went to China Town. The gifts there were much cheaper. If you come to New York you should buy the gifts in China Town. If you buy your gifts in Times Square you will spend a lot of money. After China town we went to Times Square again and there we had dinner at Dallas BBQ. We ate chicken, ribs and fries. It was delicious.

Finally, we went to watch the musical "Aladdin" in Broadway. We all enjoyed it very much because everything (actors, wardrobe, set design, tricks, etc.) was fabulous. Awesome! The actors sang very well and the music was fantastic. It was well worth. To finish the day, we took the bus and we went all together to sleep to the hotel

Day 13 - New York 2

DAY 12 - New York 1

Boat Trip, Top of the Rock...

By Laura and Ane

We met at school at 7:45 to take the coach. Our destination was NEW YORK. We arrived in NY around 12:45 am and we went to the Museum of Natural History. As Everybody knows, “Night at the Museum” was filmed there. After that, we went across Central Park . We took a picture at Strawberry Fields at the memorial to John Lennon “Imagine”, Alice in Wonderland, etc. Later, around 2:15 pm we met our guide on 5th avenue in front of the museum and we enjoyed the Mid Town Tour and the Circle Line Landmark Sightseeing River Cruise. AWESOME!

LAURA  M

In the afternoon we went to Times Square for a self guide visit. There, we had dinner at Bubba Gump’s restaurant. It was inspired by Forrest Gump film. The whole restaurant had images, items and games based on the movie. When we finished dinner, we walked to Rockefeller Center. From Top of the Rock we watched amazing views, we could see all New York, all the big skyscrapers like The Empire State Building, The Chrysler Building... lighting up the city. It was awesome. Finally we arrived at the hotel in New Jersey to be ready for the next day.

ANA S.J.

Day 12 - New York 1

DAY 11: Farewell Party

by Leire and Ane E.

This morning I woke up at 10 am and after that, Gretchen and Alazne picked up Izzie and me, and we all  went  to have breakfast with Sam, Maitane, Jon Mikel and Julia. 

After having breakfast, they drove us to play laser tag all together. It was so funny! We wanted to go karting  but the road was wet, so we couldn't go.

Then, they took us to buy some fish for their homes and we named their fish. We called them "Txema 1" and "Txema 2". 

After playing  laser tag, we were so hungry that we ate some hamburgers at Mcdonald's. 

Gretchen and Alazne left us at home to take our swimming clothes.15 minutes later we were ready to go for a swim to Gretchen's house. After having a good time in the swimming pool, we had a shower and we got ready for the Farewell Party.

LEIRE

After playing  laser tag, we were so hungry that we ate some hamburgers at Mcdonald's. 

Gretchen and Alazne left us at home to take our swimming clothes.15 minutes later we were ready to go for a swim to Gretchen's house. After having a good time in the swimming pool, we had a shower and we got ready for the Farewell Party.

LEIRE

In the afternoon, we all went to the Hassetts’ house to the goodbye party with most of our American parents. We played some games like volleyball, some typical games from here and there was a little castle where we could jump inside and we ate food like pizza, salad and so on. We had a great time, and after that, we went all back home and we left everything ready for  tomorrow’s trip: New York

ANE  E. 

Day 11 Farewell Party

DAY 10: Family Life

by Amaia and Maitane

In the morning I went to Nantasket Beach with Leah and we had a great time there. Then, some other people from the exchange came with us and we rode a carousel; it was funny. We took the cars and we went to a place with really good sea views. We took some pictures there and we went back home to have lunch. It was my host father's birthday, so all the family had lunch together while we were watching America's got Talent. After that, we went to a party and had  a really good time dancing and playing different games.

AMAIA

Today, Saturday, the 10th of September was a free day. This means that everybody had to go with their American families. The weather was very good. I was really nervous in the morning because we were going to sail from Scituate harbour.  It was fun as there were a lot of waves!  My friend Jon Mikel came with us.

In the afternoon, all of us went to an American house and we stayed there for a long time. It was like a party! There was music, games, food... Finally, to finish the day we had dinner at a restaurant. The food was really good!

MAITANE

Day 10 Saturday

DAY 9: Wrentham Village

by Ana

Today we went shopping to Wrentham Outlets.

First of all, the Spanish students went to the first class with their partner. For example, I had the math class with my American partner and some of the Spanish boys and girls. Then, we took the bus to go shopping. When we arrived there, we started visiting the shops, such as Levi’s, UGG, American Eagle, Nike, etc.

 At 2:30 p.m. we started eating some food because at 3 we had to go back home. At 4 pm we were already at home and we took a shower because at 7 all of us were going to see an American football game.

ANECDOTE:

While I was eating, one of my friends missed her phone. Suddenly she realized that she'd left in the bathroom. Here people are so nice!!!  Someone had left it at the Information Office. 

Day 9 Shopping

DAY 8: Aquarium, Freedom Trail and Quincy Market

 Aquarium, Freedom Trail and Quincy Market

by Gaizka and Alex

Today, Thursday the 8th of September, we have been to the Aquarium of Boston.

This aquarium doesn' t have big sharks as the ones in San Sebastian, but it is really good. One of the parts that I enjoyed most was the animal exhibitions. I also liked seeing the penguins swimming, because it was so funny. But  the best part for me was when I touched stingrays.

So it was amazing, but that is not all, because in the afternoon we went  to a market called Quincy Market, where they offered us a lot of food, like pizza or hamburgers, and clothes. Finally, our teachers gave us some extra time to do whatever we wanted,  like having a drink,  eating something or buying  something.  And thats all.

GAIZKA

Today was a great day. I enjoyed a lot going to the Freedom Trail, the aquarium and Quincy Market.

The day started like every day: I got up at 6:30, I had a shower and after that, I had breakfast. Then, Genna took me to high school and I went to her English class. It was like my philosophy class in Spain, a bit boring. Finally, we went to the library and waited for the bus to come.

We travelled for an hour and arrived at the Aquarium. After we left the aquarium we walked the Freedom Trail. It was amazing. We saw Paul Revere's house which nowadays is a museum and it's the oldest house in Boston. Next to the house there is a red line made of bricks which shows the places and landmarfks of the freedom revolution. Then, we arrived at Feneuil Hall,which is next to Quincy Market.The revolutionaries met there to discuss their political ideas. 

After that, the teachers gave us free time and we went to Quincy Market to have something to eat. Quincy Market reminds me of Covent Garden in London. I took a chicken teriyaki, which was delicious, and after that I played chess with Alex, Gaizka and Asier, who is a very good player. 

At 5 p.m., we took the bus and went to the high school to meet our American brothers and sisters to go home. When I got home I stayed there for a couple of minutes and went out for dinner. I went to Feng Shui, which is a Chinese restaurant and I had roasted beef. Finally, I got back home, I brushed my teeth and I went to bed.

ALEX

Day 8 Aquarium; Freedom Trail and Quincy Market

DAY 7: State House and Museum of Science

State House and Museum of Science

by Oihana and Asier

I woke up at 6 o'clock, I had my everyday's  breakfast and we had to go to school. We had 1 lesson and then, we went to the State House of Massachusetts. After that, we walked fast because we were late for the Science Museum. It was INCREDIBLE!!! We had a lot of fun and we learnt so much! The thing  I liked best was the frog exhibits. There were a lot of different types of frogs and some of them were poisonous. There were a lot of funny things, but there were some other frightening things like bees and spiders...What shocked me most was seeing the birth of a chick while we were there. 

At 3 o'clock we took the bus and we returned to school. Some people went to watch a football match. Scituate Sailors won the match. It was so exciting!! At 7 o'clock some people went to a restaurant to have some hamburgers and finally at 8:30 we went home to sleep. 

It has been a very busy day!!
OIHANA

Day 7 State House and Science Museum

We arrived at school, and Alex's first lesson was "AP US Government". It was a very complicated subject, but it was interesting in some aspects.
Later, when the lesson finished, we went to the school library. We were there for about 10 minutes, and then, we took the school bus to Boston. When we arrived, we first went to the State House. There, a volunteer called Mary explained to us some history of the United States: some old presidents, the civil war, battles in Europe...etc. It was a little boring, but not bad at all...
After that, we went to the Science Museum. It was fantastic! There, we saw a lot of animals, new technology, robots...for two and a half hours. I really loved it.
Then, the bus picked us up and we came back to Scituate. There, at Scituate High School, we all watched a female soccer game while Alex was training American Football.  Scituate girls won 4-0, and gave us a very good soccer lesson.
Later, we went to have dinner all together to a restaurant whose name was "TKO Malley's". I ordered some chicken fingers and French fries. They were very tasty, and also very cheap. It was a great restaurant...
Then, to finish this day, we went to an ice cream shop and we bought some.
Finally, we came back home and as we were tired, we went to sleep in a few minutes.
That's all.
ASIER

Day 6: Harvard

Day 6: Harvard, 

by Isabel and Gaizka

The first day of school started too early in the morning. In fact, by 7am all the Spanish students were already awake. I went to high school by car and when Chris and I arrived, hundreds of students were gathered at the entrance.  The American students seemed really excited to have some Spanish students walking around. I got to know some of them, as they were Chris's friends. We had homeroom as the first lesson of the school year. I was lucky  because I was with Irati, so I wasn't alone. By 9am the other Spanish Students and I left the high school in one of those yellow school buses. We were heading Harvard University. Once we were there, we got to know Ben, our tour guide, who had studied at Scituate High School. He told us the number of grades the university has, the different ways to apply and the importance of having excellent marks. He even showed us a classroom and explained to us how the lectures work there. By 3pm the visit had finished and the school bus came and picked us up. Once back at school, Avery's mother picked me and some students up and took us to Nathan's house, where we had dinner and spent a nice evening. Megan took me home around 9pm and I went to bed, hoping the following days would be as nice as today was.

GAIZKA 

Day 6 Harvard

Day 5: Pawtacket Paw Sox Game

Day 5: Pawtacket Paw Sox Game

by Ibon e Iker

"Today I woke up at 9 and then I had breakfast. After having breakfast, Nathan took me to high school There, there was a bus that took us to the baseball stadium. The match was a little boring but there were very funny moments, for example, when we shouted at a player named Jiménez and he waved at us.The match finished and the Paw Socks won. At the end, the players threw baseball balls at the bleachers, but I didn't get any balls.

Then we went back to the bus and we arrived home at 5:30 p.m. I had dinner and I went to an American student’s house. Finally I went back home and went to bed. "          

IBON

Day 5 Pawtucket Red Sox 

"Today Monday I started the week in the worst way: I overslept , so I had to get  myself ready very fast to take the car to the school on time. Sleepy, I arrived  with Julianne, my partner, and met all the group there, in the hall of the high school. We took the school bus to Paw Sox's Stadium at 11:30. The trip lasted a whole hour. 

Then, once we got the tickets, we sat on our seats and started to watch how the match was going on. We began the game relaxed, but eventually we started to cheer up,  scream and sing. It was really fun. At the end of the game, the local Paw Sox won but it wasn't  the most important point for us.

I got slept going back home, but I wasn't the only one, as I could see afterwards in some pictures.

Once back at school, I went to Avery's (Ana's partner) house with some other friends. There, we had a great time eating, speaking and laughing together. We didn't go home till 11pm.
After watching TV with my host family, I finally went to sleep. Such a long day!"

IKER

Day 4; Family Life & Paintball

Day 4: Family Life and Paint Ball,

by Alex and Gonzalo

“Sunday with the Bilyou family started pretty well. I woke up thanks to the light of the sun, and I went downstairs to meet the whole family. They were having an early breakfast, French toasts. In Spain, they are called “torrijas”. I ate just one French toast with maple syrup, followed by orange juice. Gaizka, my Spanish partner, joined us a little bit later, and had a French toast without syrup and hot chocolate milk. 

When we finished our meal, Gaizka and I went upstairs and started preparing for our trip to the paintball place. Once we arrived there, we met all the other people, and practically all students came to play paintball.

They gave us guns, paint and masks. We were separated into two teams; USA vs Spain. The USA team won, they were like a hundred times better. Once we had finished, I counted how many times I got shot: two headshots (that’s accuracy!), one at the back and one at the fingers (I even bled!).

After that, every family went home. When we arrived home we had some snack, because they don’t really have a big lunch in the USA. We stayed home in the afternoon and played some videogames. After we had a shower, we went downstairs and had dinner all together. Each one had a big steak while we were watching a baseball match: Red Sox vs Athletics. Red Sox is the team from Boston, and ended up losing, so the Bilyou family was a little bit disappointed. 

After having dinner, we saw a movie called “London has fallen”. After that great movie, we went upstairs to go to sleep, because we were so tired of such an exciting day.”

(Alex)

Day 4 Family Life

“I woke up at 8 o'clock and I got ready for another exciting day to come. 

At 11 o'clock I went with my American brother, Thomas, and the rest of the group to play paintball, It was amazing but when someone shot me, it hurt. We stayed 3 hours and we played 3 different types of games; my favourite game was when we had to take a flag and bring it to our base.

After that, I went with Asier, Ibon and our American brothers to a restaurant called Buffalo Wild Wings, I ate 10 spicy chicken wings, they were delicious.

At 5o'clock I went with Thomas to Genna's house and we played a long volleyball match, freesbee and American football. 

Finally, some of us went to the beach and we looked at the stars, it was a wonderful night because there weren't any clouds and we could see a lot of stars. When we finished, we went back to our homes and we went to bed. It was an amazing day.”

(Gonzalo)

Day 3, Saturday: Family Day

Saturday: Family Day, by Ana and Ane

In the morning every Spanish student went with his/her partner to see where they work and then some of us went walking through the town.

Then at 14:00 we met at the train station to take a train to Boston. When we arrived, we made two groups to go shopping. After that, we decided to have a quick lunch and continued visiting the town. At 21:00 we took the train back to Scituate and at 23:00 we arrived home. We were very tired.  

The day has been  amazing. We have had fun and we are looking forward to tomorrow because we are going to play paint-ball all together.

Day 3 Saturday: Family Day from J. Carlos Martínez

Day 2: Beach Day and Welcome Party

Beach Day and Welcome Party, by Irati and Maialen

After the first day meeting, our families  and partners prepared  a very entertaining day. But before starting, I have to say that I had a terrible night because of the jet lag. What is more, at 4 a.m. I was awake!!

My second day starts having breakfast with my American sister Cecily, and then taking the car  to go to the beach. It has been amazing. We met all the students and we swam in the sea, though the water was almost frozen... We played volleyball, cards, with the rugby ball (football americano) etc.  We also had lunch on the beach as the weather was warm and sunny.

We enjoyed it a lot and you can see how we enjoyed it in the pictures below. Our teacher Juan Carlos takes amazing pictures!!!

In the afternoon, after relaxing on the beach we had lunch. I went with my partner to Alaina's house. Alaina is my partner's best friend and her exchange partner is Isabel, who is my friend. There, we were playing video games and we had a lot of fun. Then, we went to the store to buy some food for the week. I got surprised with the variety of products that they sell here in Scituate. 

At 6 o'clock we went to O'Brien's house for the Welcome Party. It was great! First, we played games with a frisbie and a ball and we learnt each others’ names. Then, we went indoors to have dinner. There were lots of burgers, hot dogs cooked by parents, pasta, fruit… and cakes.The food was delicious!

Also, some boys dived into the pool. I didn't do it because it was a little bit cold. Finally, we went outside to play another game. 

It was a fantastic day!

Day 2 Beach Day and Welcome Party

Scituate - Getxo 2016 - DAY 1

Scituate-Getxo Student Exchange, Day 1 
by Ane and Laura.

Our 1st day!!!

After spending a great time on holiday, we have been waiting for this moment for so long... IT'S TIME TO START OUR AMERICAN  ADVENTURE! 

We were so excited that we didn't mind waking up early and meeting our friends at the airport. When we were all together, we started by checking in our lugagge and suddenly a big problem came out!!! Gaizka, who is coming with us, had a problem with his ESTA, the visa to enter the USA, and he had to do it again. When everything was solved we said goodbye to our families, we took a family picture, went through customs and took a plane to Madrid.

  

The flight was rather short and entertaining, as there was a profesional football team with us. They were very handsome and friendly. Once in Madrid, we took the subway of the airport and went to Terminal 4 RSU. There, our teachers gave us some advice about how to  live and behave in the USA.

At last we were going to take the plane to Boston!!!! We were completely  excited  because it was our first time flying with the classmates, It seemed that the minutes were hours. We all started watching films, sleeping, walking through the aisles and getting bored. When we arrived in Boston, we had to go through the police control. I was really nervous and my classmates too, because they took our fingerprints, some photos, and  asked some questions... We all went through, but Iker lost a paper and we had to wait for him to solve his problem. Finally, we went out and took the famous yellow school bus.

It took 1h to get to the high school. There they were, our partners waiting holding pretty posters with our names. We spoke to them and then each family took their students to their houses.

 I spoke to them on the way home and when I arrived at their house they showed me where the things and rooms were.Then, I gave them some presents that I had bought in Bilbao.  We spent time talking and then Ashley and I went to another student's house, with other girls to watch a film, have some food and speak about life. It was as if I were in an American film!!!

We had a great time there! 

Then they drove us to another student's house with a lot of other students participating in the exchange. We danced, played table-tennis, had more food, etc. It seemed as if  we had known each other for a long time. I really enjoyed my first day and I hope the following days will be like today or even better.

The experience is being better than I thought!

Scituate Getxo '16 Day 1 from J. Carlos Martínez