Hello everybody!
Responding to your petitions, I‘d like to clarify some points:
About the students’ blog:
In the project we wrote that we’d open two blogs, one for teachers and another one for students. As you know, our blog is already open but we should open another for our students so that we could load the quizzes and the essays on it.
About the quiz:
The idea of a quiz wasn’t mine but I understood it was a way of introducing each other. We haven’t written the questions yet (last week I was really busy and I am still writing my annual school planning) but I had thought to ask some questions like these:
· How many languages are spoken in Spain? And in Galicia? Where do they come from?
· What is the most popular folk instrument in Galicia? Could you describe it or load a picture of it?
· Why is Santiago de Compostela a holy place for Christian people?
The questions should be very easy to solve because we wouldn’t like them to spend a lot of time looking for the solutions.
When all the schools have our own 20 questions ready, we’ll load the six quizzes on the students’ blog simultaneously. The school that solves all the questionnaires first will be the winner, but without a prize.
Students will be able to load everything they want on their blog in order to show their country: music they like, food, photos…
About the essay competition:
I think we should fix the basis. For instance,
Write a letter (minimum 150 or 200 words) to a friend describing your own country or telling what your daily life is like.
Teachers from each school will select the 3 best essays and load them on the students’ blog and then students will vote and choose the winner.
As students don’t usually like writing very much, we could encourage them by giving a prize to the winner: a film, a book, a music CD… from one of the countries involved in the project.
About the hotel
Of course, it is up to you which hotel to choose, but I have some experience from previous Comenius and I recommend you to choose the cheapest option because you are going to spend 6 or 7 days here and, furthermore, you will have to travel four times more.
I have never spent a night in Hostal La Salle but a colleague of mine’s sister works there and I was told it is a clean place. You won’t have many facilities (only TV and a hairdryer) but it is in the centre of the town and very close to the bus station. The train is nicer but I think there are more buses than trains connecting Padrón and Santiago.
Bruno, I believe you can check the prices of the hotel Rúa de Villar on the webpage.
About the airport
We are planning to pick you all up at the airport and take you to the hotel, but just in case we won’t be able, Labacolla Airport is about 10 km from Santiago and there is connection both by bus and taxi. I’ll send you information as soon as I can.
About being hosted in families
Although I know -because I have been to Turkey- that you Turkish people are really hospitable, I had not considered the possibility of hosting teachers in families because we have funds coming from Europe to pay the expenses (accommodation, meals and transport). Anyway, I can speak to my headmistress and to my colleagues and ask whether any of them would be interested. Most of us may find it difficult to accommodate one or two teachers during school and working time, since we’ll have little free time available; another problem would be the lack of room and/or privacy (the flats are not very big) and the language, as most members of the family won’t speak English and will perhaps feel uncomfortable.
About expenses
People from The National Agency have advised me that I should clarify the subject concerning expenses, especially to those partners who have not taken part in a Comenius project previously.
Each of the participant schools is receiving a grant so, when we travel to take part in a meeting, each of us will have to pay all our expenses with our own grants (travelling fares, accommodation, meals, etc.). The school that organizes each meeting can invite the other partners to a welcoming party and, obviously, will pay the excursions and visits that will be organized during the stay.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletePaloma
ReplyDeletethank you for your information.
student's blog: let me know if I have to open it. Maybe we can try to open a website, even if we have to pay something, because it would be nice if every country had to be in charge of their part of it.
quiz and essay competition: is OK
hotel: I couldn't find anything about prices in the website of hotel "Rúa de Villar" that you linked to our blog; there are many links like: "ofertas", "últimas ofertas" "consulta nuestras ofertas", "ofertas disponibles", but no prices at all, except in one page (http://www.hotelruavillar.com/es/hotel/media-pension-y-pension-completa.html) where there are two prices, but no explanation about single or double room. Anyway the hotel seems to be the most expensive among the other hotels in other website (http://www.booking.com/hotel/es/santiago-de-compostela/rua-villar.en.html)
airport and expenses: OK
families: We would have liked to be hosted by a family, of course, but we understand your problems to find so many families: It's up to you. Anyway you solve the problem is OK.
Hotel Rúa do Villar is really more expensive:
ReplyDeletesingle room: 75 + 8%
double room: 90 + 8%
triple room: 130+ 8%
breakfast included
I have just received a mail from the hotel.
Thank you for informing us about the quiz and essay. I have informed my students about the details and we are working to do everything on time and in the best way. When they are ready we'll publish them on the blog or on the web site. As for the question whether to open a blog or a website, I would prefer to open a website unless it doesn't require too much technical knowledge about web design. If it is more or less the same as a blog, website would be much better.
ReplyDeleteAbout The Date
The period of time (7 days / 6 nights) is ok for us. Both options for the dates are possible for us.
About The Airport
I haven't done much research about the flights yet but as far as I know, we only have direct flights to Madrid and Barcelona from Istanbul. Can we have connected flights to Labacolla Airport? What is the best way to go there from Istanbul? If you know, you can advise me about the flights. If you don't know, I will already learn it once I have the opportinity to do some more research about that.
Host family
Dear Paloma,
Thank you for considering the possibility of staying with a host family for a very short time. I can guess how difficult it can be for working people. So please don't try hard to find a host family. It was just a wish. Anyway we are always ok with staying in a hotel. That's very kind of you even considering the option.
About The Hotel
As Paloma recommended above, we prefer to stay in Hostal La Salle. I see that they apply special price to groups. If there are other partners who wants to stay in Hostal La Salle, we can negotiate and book together as a group. Or if there is another group advantage in another hotel, we can also accept that.Because all the suggested hotels are fine. As I had mentioned before we need a triple and a double room.
Best Wishes
Keep in Touch
Taner AYDIN
Blog or website:
ReplyDeletea website, according to me, is OK. I suggest opening one with six sections, one for each country, so that the students can compare their work.
Hotel:
We agree on going to Hostal La Salle as it is the cheapest one and booking together as a group. We probably need a double and a single room.
Period and airport:
Paloma, we appreciate your organization in meeting us at the airport.
I have already talked about the dates to: "meeting in Padrón" if you are interested in verifying
Hello Paloma,
ReplyDeleteThank you for comprehensive information. Now everything is clear.
I think Hostal La Salle is good enough. If students stay with families, we need 3 single rooms.
The date is very good for us. We have the plane from Warsaw to Madrid and from Madrid to Santiago. Only one change :) It would be nice to meet you at the airport. Thank you :)
I'll send more information when I arreange everything with travel agency.
See you soon.
Iwona
Hello everybody,
ReplyDelete24-30 November is ok with us, as for the hotel I would say the same hotel as the others, that is Hostal La Salle.
We are going to be four teachers, three ladies and a gentleman, our headmaster. Paloma, you could book a triple room and a single, if possible,if not, two single rooms and a double one.Our students can stay in the same hotel,if it is difficult to find accomodation in families.How many students can we take? Is the final number three, as we discussed at the beginning?
We have not booked the flight yet, we have the possibility to fly from Budapest to Santiago, but I need to know the exact date. Do all of us agree on 24 November? If we begin our meeting on 24, we should arrive in Santiago on the 23. Right?
As for the essays, our students have already started writing and the best ones will be published on the students'blog. I think we should discuss about the web page when we meet, and decide exactly what we want the page to look like.
Keep in touch,
Nicoleta
Alexandra doesn't want to spend more than 7 days on the trip, so, if the final date was from 24th to 30th, you would be able to fly on these two days, and the meeting would be on 25th (Thursday), 26th (Friday) and on 29th (Monday).
ReplyDeleteBut, anyway, Bruno will arrive at Santiago on 23th and leave on 30th. If you like, you can do the same. It's OK for me.
I understood Taner preferred to get the flight on 24th november, so the days for the meeting would be 25, 26 an 29. Iwona has written to me and she agrees, but I need to know Alexandra's opinion.
Dear Paloma,
ReplyDeletedear partners,
Sorry for our delay, but I am still waiting for an answer from our travel agency about the possibility to fly on 24/11 and 30/11. (You see, for us it is very difficult, because we have to combine two airplanes from different companies to come to Santiago de Compostella.) Anyway, I hope, we won’t have any problem.
About our accommodation:
Because of the importance of the first meeting, we will be four teachers (ladies) and four students (3 boys and 1 girl). If there is no problem with the accommodation of our students by host families and if the prices are € 75 for the double room (breakfast included), we (the teachers) would like to stay in Hotel Entrecercas. In this case we will need two double rooms.
So, since I have to pay the tickets next week, on Monday or Tuesday, please confirm the dates of our meeting and let me know about as soon as possible.
Thank you,
Alexandra