Life is Healthy

This week started rockier than usual, as there was an issue with the venue in Salamanca so we were moved at last minute to Zamora, I also had a personal issue to deal with; so not the best start. However we sorted what we could and got on with delivering the program.

The hotel wasn't really to my liking. New building situated in an old run down part of the town. The hotel also had an industrial / post modern look and design to it which I'm not sure worked very well. The staff were friendly and helpful but the typical issues of being moved from room to room occurred again.

There were a few strong personalities this week, and although they had a lot of energy and ideas they needed to understand that things are done in a certain way for a reason and it’s a tried and tested method with years of practise that does work if you give it a chance. The levels were quite low which meant they really needed to work hard to get the most from the program, the higher levels were able to focus on their own weakness’ and it was good to see they were that self aware.

Sadly, I felt like a teacher, having to pull people up for constantly being late and talking when instructions were being given. The time we share together is very short and the Spaniards have paid a lot for the attention of the group and I find it very rude that people can't be where they need to be at a certain time.

The theatre was a little hard on the first day even though the sketches were simple – the Spaniards were looking at it as if it were class even though they were told to sit back and relax. I know it’s very hard when you know you have a low level of comprehension and want to understand everything, it's the same for me in Spanish. As the week continued and the theatre got harder they seemed to understand it better and maybe even understand the concept behind the purpose of the section.

All in all the week went well and the people enjoyed it but it wasn’t without its problems, what with the initial change from Salamanca, the food being below par (in my opinion). The food was very repetitive and not offering much at all in terms of variety and to top it all one of the Spaniards lost his iPhone.

The karaoke went well even though it started off slow. As for the party that too went very well as the hotel have a purpose built disco area set up which I took full advantage of: lights, music and smoke! Although it started off very complicated to arrange, we eventually sorted it out.
The photos of the weeks events can be found below

Vaughan Town - Zamora - Program 154