September 21, 2023 - Wrentham Outlets

 Wrentham Outlets

by Leire & Peio

On September 21st, we were dropped of in the morning and then we went to the first period with our partners. At 9.15, the bus picked us up and we went to our destination: the Wretham Outlets. 

The place is like a small “village”, formed by outlets of big brands. Some of the shops weren’t outlets though, as we would come to find very soon thereafter. They told us we had time till 2.30 pm. 

Then, each student or in pairs or threes went on their own, visiting shops and buying whatever they wanted or needed. After buying stuff and having lunch in the various trucks all around the village, we went back to the bus and returned to SHS, where our families were waiting for us. 

Finally, we spent the afternoon with our families.

September 20, 2023 - Tree Top Adventures

 TREE TOP ADVENTURES

by Mario & company

We started the day by going to class, as usual After travelling for an hour, we arrived at FREE TOP ADVENTURES, where there were zip lines. 

We spent 2 hours having fun. After reaching Scituate, everyone was with their families and we spent our  afternoon and evening with fire at the beach.

September 18, 2023 - Franklin Park Zoo + South Shore Plaza

 Day 9: Franklin Park Zoo & South Shore Plaza

by Ushuaia Alba, Ainhoa Dieguez and Olatz Beotegi 

On 18th September, like any other day, our partners' families or our partners themselves drove us to school. It was a dark, rainy day, but we had good news; our American siblings were coming with us to the zoo. We were very happy about it because we could spend more time with them. When we arrived at school, we went to the first lesson. Then, like every day we got on the bus to the zoo. We didn't see many animals because of the rain, but our favorite were the gorillas, they were very big and hairy.

Later on, after visiting the zoo, as it was still raining, we all went to mall. We took advantage of the rain and most of us bought a lot of things in the many stores there. Some of us also went upstairs to the top floor where we could find some restaurants to eat and drink something. Time flew and we had a lot of fun with our friends. Finally, we met at the entrance to take the school bus back to Scituate.

September 16 & 17, 2023 - Family weekend

 Days 7 & 8: Family days & Welcome party

by Gorka Iturregi

Saturday 16

In the morning I really didn't do anything special. I just stayed at home until we left to Claire's house in the afternoon. There, we made a lot of cookies and played a bunch of board games. When there were pretty many people, we decided to watch a movie. After it, we cooked a Spanish omelet, and, obviously, we ate it. After that, we just stayed a little longer talking to each other until I went home.

Other students went to Jane's house because it was her birthday and she had a party.

Sunday 17

Today it was time for the welcome party. All exchange students and our host families were invited to  Sabana's house. In the morning we were with our families - having different activities, and in the afternoon we all went to the party. We had plenty of food, music... We enjoyed traditional Basque dances and the Americans also danced! Then we went to the beach as the house is in front of it, and some people went into the water. 

It has been an amazing day!

September 15, 2023 - Plimoth Patuxet Museums

 Day 6: Plimoth Plantation  & Mayflower

by Nora Garrido, Naia Aguirre & Ane Díaz

Today we started the day by going to school with our host siblings. After the firs class session, we had a picture taken with the yellow school bus.

Then, we took a bus to the Plimoth Patuxet Museums. There, we were told us the story of the Pilgrims and the native people of Plymouth and how their stories were integral to the founding of the United States of America. 

Afterwards, we returned to the high school and escorted our exchange students to their last class of the day. We all started to get ready for the American football match. The theme of the game was gold, so most of us bought some gold accessories. 

We had a lot of fun and the Sailors (Scituate High School team) won the game!

September 14,2023 - HARVARD

 Day 5: Cambridge - Harvard University

by Leire Frosini & Unai Jourdain

Today we started our day at 8.15 am by accompanying our host students to their first period class. After that we took a bus to Cambridge and went to Harvard University, where we met our tour guide. His name is Victor and he is a recent Scituate High School graduate and a student at Harvard. He showed us around campus, we saw the university’s buildings and the big gardens. He also took us to the Harvard merchandise store that had a lot of books, postcards and Harvard sweaters & stuff, but then he had to go to class so he left. 

Then, we visited Harvard Natural History Museum and we saw the expos there: the mineral one where we could see minerals and jewels, and the Glass flowers one where we saw ultra-realistic models of plants made from glass. After that we had free time to buy things and to have lunch at Harvard Square, the square right outside the uni that’s full of shops. 

At 2..15 pm we went back to the school bus and we returned to SHS to meet our host families, and many of the students stayed after to watch their host sudents’ sport practices. 

September 13, 2023 - BOSTON STATE HOUSE & FREEDOM TRAIL

 Day 4 -  : State House & Freedom Trail

by Arane Malatsetxebarria &Maialen Bárcena

Today, Wednesday 13th, we had a trip to Boston. We went with our partners at first hour to high school, but on Wednesdays students have a late start, so most of us were shown the building. At 9.15 we took the yellow school bus to the city and after an hour and a half trip, we arrived in Boston. We had an interesting tour through the State House,  we had fun and the building was beautiful and smart. 

After that, we had some snacks in a park and we started with the second and last tour of the day. The tour guide was dressed up as a 18th century woman and she pretended to be Phillis Weatley, the first American slave, the first person of African descent, and only the third colonial American woman to have her work published. This woman explained us some history from Boston, but sadly she didn’t make it really interesting and catchy, so most of us got a little bored. 

Just before the tour ended, it started to rain, so we didn’t have the chance to have a walk by the freedom trail, but we had a lovely lunch inside a building and we didn’t get wet. 

Then, we got the not-that-confortable bus back to the high school and our host families came to take us back to our houses.

Later in the evening all of us met to have a tasty ice cream at  Marshfilled Hills and we ended the day having so much fun.

September 12, 2023 - From NY to Scituate

 Day 3: September 12

by Ushuaia Alba, Olatz Beotegi and Ainhoa ​​Dieguez

At 8 am Eric (the best driver in the world) was waiting for us to put all the suitcases in the bus as were not  returning to the hotel. 

We left the hotel and we went to the boat to see the Statue of Liberty. We spent a while looking at the statue and taking a lot of photos, and some students made some shopping to take home. 

Afterwards, we went to Chinatown and Little Italy and we continued shopping. 

To end the day, we took the bus from New York to Massachusetts and despite being 2 hours late, we finally arrived at our destination. The American students were waiting for us with posters and balloons, and then, each one left with their family. 

September 11, 2023 - New York, New York

 Day 2: September 11

by Ane Garaizar & Leonora Alonso

As soon as we have breakfast, we have taken our bus to go to the Radio City Music Hall to attend a tour with  guide whose name was Ryan. He told us the history of the theater. It was really interesting.

After that we went to Whole Foods, a kind of supermarket, to buy our lunch and we went to Central Park to have it while we were listening to some musicians that were playing some of the Beatles songs. Then we went for a walk and we took some photos there. An hour later we went to the American Museum of Natural History, and it was super interesting. 

To end the day we had dinner at Hard Rock Cafe. Later, we went to see an off-Broadway show that was really amusing. The show was about some blue guys that were experimenting about human things. before going to the hotel, as it was September 11, we visited the World Trade Centre, where the Twin Towers were and the S11 Memorial. 

By the end of the day we were so tired that we went directly to bed.

September 10, 2023 - USA: Here we go!

 
Day 1- Travelling

By Uxue Alonso & Malen Llona

On September 10, we met at Bilbao airport at 4:50 a.m.to fly to Amsterdam and the to NY, where  landed at about 1:30 p.m. After taking our luggage and getting on the bus we went straight to the heart of the city: to Times Square. 

There we were given some free time, so most of us went to M&Ms and Reeses stores. After meeting our teachers and tour guide, we walked along different streets in the area. We enjoyed at a video game room before having dinner at DallasBBQ, Our dinner (chicken and chip) was delicious!

To end this long day, we enjoyed the marvellous views from the Top of the Rock. At 21:30 we arrived at our hotel in New Jersey, and as we were exhausted, we went directly to bed..

APRIL 15th: Cabárceno (Cantabria)

APRIL 12th: San Juan de Luz and San Sebastian

Today we woke up and took a bus to San Juan de Luz in France. We walked around the cute little town and went into a French bakery to get a chocolate croissant which was so delicious. We also sat on the beach and shopped around some stores. Then we went to San Sebastián where we went to an aquarium and then walked around the town. We got an ice cream and layed on the beach because the weather was beautiful. We also saw the “peine de los vientos” sculpture on the ocean. Then we took the bus back to Getxo and spent time with our families.

by Jill Ross

APRIL 11TH: Diputación and Sailing the river

Today, we had a slightly shorter day.  First, we all went to one class at Julio Caro Baroja High School.  It was very interesting to compare and contrast the school to Scituate High-school.  Then, we all met in the lobby in order to walk to the metro, in which we took into Bilbao.  In Bilbao, we went to the Diputación.  It was a very beautiful building for the outside, but it was even more amazing on the inside.  There were elegant red carpets and marvels pillars covered in bronze.  There were ornate paintings on the walls that gave insight into Spain’s past.  For example married women wore long hair and head scarves while in married women wore short hair and no head scarf.  After leaving the Diputación, we had some time to explore La Gran Vía.  Next, we walked to the river in order to catch our boat ride.  We all started on the top of the boat, but one the rain started to get worse, we all decided to come down.  The ride was very relaxing and we were able to see the whole entire city.  We also went under many bridges.  To finish up our day, we had a little bit more free time to explore the city of Bilbao before riding the metro back to Getxo.

APRIL 10th: Gernika, Bermeo and San Juan de Gaztelugatxe

We went to Santimamiñe which is a cave that was discovered with drawings from prehistoric cavemen. Next we went to Guernica and learned the history and the symbolism of the bombing. After we went to Bermeo to look at a coastal spanish town. To end our excursion we visited the San Juan de Gaztelugatxe bridge that is in Game of Thrones.

by Liam Higgins

Today we visited the Santimamiñe Caves where we learned about the earliest inhabitants of the Basque Country. While we weren’t able to go very far into the caves, we were able to see a video of the famous mural paintings, depicting bisons, horses, goats, and deers. After the caves, we headed to Gernika for a guided tour of the Museo de la Paz and then to the Casa de Juntas. At the museum, the simulation of the bombing was especially moving. It recreated the fear and vulnerability of the citizens of Gernika and it made many of us emotional. The Casa de Juntas was also very interesting as it served as a meeting place for the political figures of Vizcaya to hold general sessions. The Tree of Gernika, which represents the withstanding nature of the Basque people was also great to see, as it is an extremely important symbol for the Basque Country. We then went to Bermeo after driving by the surfing town of Mundaka. Bermeo, after suffering damage from many storms, erected a massive sea wall to protect the town. It was also unique because of the bright use of colors on all of the buildings. We learned that some of the boats had come all the way from Africa and that many of the residents were fishermen. Our last stop, per request of Mr. Matisoff, San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, was the best stop for many of us. This location is the site where parts of Game of Thrones was filmed. The hike was difficult and there were hundreds of stairs but the view at the top was incredible. Today in general was tiring but definitely worth it.

by Thea Malerbi

SANTIMAMIÑE CAVES,  PEACE MUSEUM, BIZKAIA'S ASSEMBLY BUILDING, GERNIKA'S TREE

BERMEO, SAN JUAN DE GAZTELUGATXE

APRIL 9th: Getxo Town Hall, Guggenheim museum, Casco Viejo

Today we took a trip to the Guggenheim Museum and it was one of the most amazing museums I have ever seen. I don’t normally like art museums but this one was fascinating to me. The first thing we saw when we walked up was the giant statue of the “Pupi”; the dog made out of flowers and it was beautiful. We went in and walked through big steel sculptures and then went to the third floor to see the pop art section which was my favorite. We also saw the Jenny Holtzer exhibition which was very eye opening. Afterwards we took a walk down by the river and made our way to Casco Viejo. 

by Grace Maier

Today we visited the Casco Viejo in Bilbao. Bilbao is an amazing city with a rich history, literally and figuratively. The small winding streets are home to various historical buildings, shops and sights to see. The buildings surrounding Unamuno plaza caught my eye, the reds yellows and greens of the apartments were so unusual and pretty to me.

by Emily McKerrow

APRIL 8th: Bilbao Town Hall, Fine Arts Museum of Bilbao and Welcome party

On Monday morning we took the subway to the Ayuntamiento, or  town hall, of Bilbao. We learned a lot about the government of the Basque Country as well as the history of the area. Our tour was in Spanish, so although it was a bit difficult to understand at times, it was a positive experience to immerse ourselves in the Spanish culture and language. The building was very beautiful and had architecture and decorations ranging from traditional neoclassical style to an Arabic style of architecture called “mudejar”. Next, we went on a long walk down the river to the Fine Arts Museum of Bilbao. It was organized in a very creative way, as each room was characterized by a letter (in alphabetical order) that represented a word which represented a theme of the works in the room. Some of the pieces of artwork were made by Basque artists, while others were made by artists from around the country and the world. It was very interesting and our tour guide was very useful in helping us understand the meanings behind the pieces. 

by Avery Carriuolo

When we got home after our long and fun day at Bilbao, we got ready for our welcome party. We all relaxed for a little bit, and then walked down to the school where it was located. All of the students and their families brought many different types of food for us to eat. But, before eating, we got a big workout because all of the Basque students taught us all of their different dances. At first, we just watched them perform some of their dances and listened to some amazing instruments played by them. Then, all of a sudden, we got pulled up by our partners to try out all of their traditional dances. We danced in circles while holding hands, and even did some partner dancing. It was so much fun and all of the Americans learned (or tried to learn) many of the dances that the Basque students know. After we had done about 5 of their dances, the Americans thought it would be fun to try to show them some of ours. We showed them dances such as the cotton eye joe and the cha cha slide. We danced for a really long time and had to be stopped by the teachers so that we would have time to eat. We also played a lot of fun activities such as soccer, tug of war, and basketball. We then went inside and started eating a lot of food, such as pizza, eggs with ham and cheese, bread, and many desserts, such as brownies and cake. All of the food was delicious and we all ate a lot. We truly felt welcomed after this party and had such a fun time with all of the music, karaoke and dancing. The welcome party set such a good and fun vibe for everyone involved in the exchange and we all bonded together really well as a group.

by Emily Davis

Getxo Scit 2019 Welcome Party

April 7th: WELCOME TO GETXO

Day 15: Friday, September 14th 2018

PLIMOTH PLANTATION / GOOD BYE SCITUATE

by Maialen & Oihane

Today was our last day in Scituate, so we got up earlier to finish our suitcases. After that, we went to our last class in SHS. We were there for an hour with our exchange partners.

When the bell rang, we took the bus and went to Plimoth Plantation. The first thing we did when we arrived there was to see a short film about life in the 17th century in this town. Later, we visited the place where there were actors dressed like the Indians who lived there in that century.  One of them explained to us what he was cooking, it smelt so good! Near there, there was another village, the English village, where the people were dressed like many centuries ago.We saw and entered their homes and we also learnt about their jobs. There were animals and they were so cute! We sang with two girls who lived there, it was fantastic! 

On our way back to Scituate we were supposed to visit the 'MAYFLOWER” ship, but they are repairing it, so we couldn’t see it. To finish, we arrived at SHS where our partners were waiting for us. We took our suitcases and we said goodbye to them. This was the end of our trip!

Day 14: Thursday, September 13th 2018

WRENTHAN OUTLETS and FAREWELL PARTY

by Iker and Diego

Hi, we are Iker and Diego and today we are going to talk to you about our last full day in Scituate. 

As the day before, we stayed for an hour in the high school having the first lesson with the Scituate students. 

Then we got ready to go to the shopping center called Wrentham Outlets by2 bus. We stayed there until approximately two o'clock and then we left the school in search of our partners.
Mayla and Oihane did something different in the morning. They helped a teacher give her Spanish lessons in a very small school. They talked to her students and tell them about their life in the Basque Country. It was a great experience!

As soon as we returned from the outlet, we came back to our partners' houses until the time of the farewell party. Once it was time for the party, we all got together and enjoyed an afternoon playing games, talking to each other, and jumping on the trampoline. 

Finally, each person went home and prepared the suitcase for the next day.

Day 13: Wednesday, September 12th 2018

OUR THIRD DAY IN NEW YORK

by Irene and Hegoa

Hi, we are Irene and Hegoa and we are going to explain our last day in New York.

First of all, after packing our luggage, we took the bus and got a ferry to visit Ellis Island and its museum, which was about the immigrants who arrived at that island and wanted to get into the USA.

Then, we took the ferry again for Liberty Island. There, we saw the Statue of Liberty and took a lot of pictures. It was huge and we were amazed!

After that, we walked around the financial district of Manhattan. While we were walking around Manhattan, we saw very interesting places like the Stock Exchange building, Abraham Lincoln's Statue, the Wall Street Bull...

Once we had lunch, all the group went to the waterfalls of the 9/11 memorial; as you know the anniversary was just the day before. These waterfalls were in the place where the towers of the World Trade Centre were before being destroyed. It was very impressive. Then, we entered the 9/11 Museum. Inside, we got surprised: we could see all the photos, testimonies, phrases, memories and recreations of the tragic day and we were absolutely touched. We didn't have time to visit all the museum, but we would have liked.

Finally, we had to say goodbye to New York and got into the bus. We were a little bit sad, because we didn't want to leave this amazing city.

Bye NY! 🗽🇺🇸💜

Ellis Island & Liberty Island

Wall Street & 9/11 Memorial