Ice Skating + An awesome lunch

Yesterday morning we went to the Polk State College to take our lessons. We read some chapters of "The House of Mango Street" and we also did a research of different topics, so we went to the library to use the computers.

At lunchtime, we went to the Golden Corral buffet, where we could eat EVERYTHING!!! Pasta, salad, pizza, chicken, fries, fish... But the best was the dessert... A chocolate fountain!!! It was all very yummy and we enjoyed eating that much!!

Once we finished lunch, and although we were full, we went ice skating. Some of us had never been to an ice rink before so, at first, it was hard for them, but the rest helped them a lot and they eventually improved.

At 4pm we had to leave, so we took our van and went to meet our families to spend the rest of the afternoon with them doing so many different things.

Cristina & Anna

                                       Enjoying our time at Golden Corral

                                 Strawberries covered in dark chocolate

                         The Lakeland Center, where the ice rink is located

                                                Here we go!!!!

Sports day at the College

Yesterday, we started the day by doing two debates in class, one about the Bullfighting in Spain and if we were in favor of it or against and the other one, a bit more controversial, about the independence of Catalonia and what were the reasons for being in favor or against. Despite being two hot and controversial topics, we had fun explaining our reasons and we learnt a lot about how to speak in public; after that, we did a reading about eco-communities and finally we prepared our songs for our little final showcase.

After the class we went to have lunch at Salem's where we ate chicken wings and burgers and we drank a lot of "weird" drinks, such as Cherry-Vanilla Coke or Lime Coke and some of us we even mixed all of them to create our own drink.

Right after lunch, we returned to Polk State College because it was sports afternoon and we had the amazing basketball court booked. There we played a bit of basketball and football (soccer for the American) and we had a lot of fun.

As you can see in the pics, the arena was huge and amazing and we had a lot of fun playing there because we felt like if we were playing in the NBA... So, overall, it was a fantastic day!!

MINIONS!!! (Banana!!)

Yesterday morning, we went to Polk State College as usual to have our lessons. It was a very cool morning because we played some games such as a game where we all had to stand on a sheet and flip it without anyone leaving the sheet. We also learnt a lot of different idiomatic expressions and new vocabulary.

During our break time, we were able to go to the amazing basketball court to play some basketball.

After class, we had lunch all together (with Teresa, father Nick and Edu) at a different and cool place: a Cuban restaurant!!! The food was amazing and we had some typical Cuban meals such as the Cuban Sandwich or the Bistec a Caballo.

Then we decided to go to the cinema to see the brand new MINIONS movie. Everybody enjoyed the film a lot because we felt as if we were children again and we laughed a lot with all the characters of the movie, specially Kevin, Bob and Stuart, who are the main ones.

And below, you can see how amazing was our lunch...

Renata & Paula

                               West Caribbean Cuban Restaurant

                           Cuban Sandwich

UNIVERSAL ORLANDO!!

Last Friday we went to Universal Orlando (Islands of Adventure Park) and we had a great time there, riding different rides and seeing so many cool things.

At first, we were a bit scared of some rides but once we got on the first one, the Hulk we left our fears behind. After this ride, which is like Dragon Khan, we went to a free fall, inspired by the villain from the Fantastic Four, Dr. Doom.

Another amazing ride that was one of the best was The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman, which was a mixture between a rollercoaster and a 3D experience.

After lunch, and as the day was very very hot, we wanted to get wet so we decided to ride some water rides, like a Jurassic Park based ride, where you actually entered the park and you could see some dinosaurs, including the most terrifying one, the T-Rex. After that we went to another water ride, most like a river flume.

But the part that we loved the most, was the Harry Potter area (The Wizarding World of Harry Potter), which in this park there is Hogsmeade (the magical village) and Hogwarts; it was like Christmas because everything was covered in snow (all fake, of course). There, we went to a rollercoaster called the Dragon Challenge and inspired by the Triwizard Tournament from the fourth movie. Then, we tried the Butterbeer, a non-alcoholic beverage that appears several times in the books and movies. And the last thing we did, was entering the Castle (Hogwarts), where there was a ride very similar to the Spiderman one and we really enjoyed because it was so cool.

After all this, we had some free time and we rode some rollercoasters again while the girls were doing some shopping.

Overall, it was a great day!!!

Albert & Dani

                          Having fun like superheroes, at the Marvel Island

                                 
                                                  Hogsmeade

                                                   The Hogwarts Express

                                                      Hogwarts Castle
 

                                              The Hulk

HAPPY 4th OF JULY!!!

Today we wanna make a stop in our blog to tell you about our awesome 4th of July, because we have a compilation of our experiences and we wanna share it with you.

"On the 4th of July, I went bowling with my host family and had lunch there, at the bar. In the afternoon we attended a baseball game: Detroit Tigers vs. Blue Jays from Toronto, where the Tigers won. After we watched the fireworks at the stadium. Despite the rain, everyone stayed there to see the big show. Our celebration continued on Sunday 5th, hen we did a BBQ at my family's house with all their closest friends; we had a lot of fun and I enjoyed a lot... Cristina"

"My 4th of July with my family was really great. The family is very nice, funny and cool. On the big day, we went to the cinema to see Max the Dog; then we went back home and chilled in the pool. Later that night, we watched the fireworks display. The next day, we went to some of y family's relatives to have a BBQ and then we watched TV... Miriam"

"On the 4th of July, we went to a resort in Disney, Orlando. We stayed at the pool and we did a lot of cool activities like table tennis, chess and a "eating-a-watermelon" contest. At night, we cooked some colored cupcakes and then we watched a film. After it,we watch a contest where the people had toe at hot dogs as fast as they could... Vicente"

"My 4th of July was very cool. After having breakfast we had a pool party and a BBQ and then we kept playing some funny games and we watched some tennis. Then we went back home and we finished our day eating some Mexican food... Renata"

"Last Saturday it was a big day here in the USA; it was the 4th of July, the day when American people celebrate their independence from the British empire. All the family came to our house and we had a big BBQ. During the afternoon we shot fireworks (this is something they really love) and after we went to see a very cool fireworks display at a lake near our house... Dani"

"On the 4th of July, we went with our host family to Orlando at one of their daughter's house and there we spent the whole evening canoeing, jet skiing, paddle surfing, going on a boat and swimming in both the lake and the pool. At night we were able to have a family meal, but first they read a part of the Independence Declaration. As a dessert, we had an American flag cake that we previously baked and we ended our day enjoying our own fireworks from the top of the pier's roof. For us, it was a pleasure to be part of such an important event, and it's an experience that we'll never forget... Maria & Anna"

"My 4th of July was great!!! Firstly, a friend came to our house and we went to buy fireworks for the night. Then, we had lunch with him and the men of the family; it was one of the best burgers I've ever had. Later that day, we went to that friend's house and lighted all the fireworks. They were very expensive but they were totally worth it the price. Like my birthday had been on the 1st of July, and we still were on what the family called "the birthweek", we celebrated it and had a delicious chocolate cake and had a crazy night... Albert"

"On the 4th of July, my host family took me to Omni Resort in Orlando to spend the big day around there. They rented a cabin and we spent all day in the pool chilling out and swimming. Their granddaughter Hailey, came in the afternoon and then, at night, we were supposed to watch the fireworks but as it was raining, they were postponed and we saw them the next day. We had a lot of fun and I really enjoyed the experience... Irene"

LEGOLAND!!

 Today was a very good day!!! Why? Because we went to LEGOLAND!!! A theme park based on the most famous colorful bricks in the world... But let's start from the beginning.

In the morning, as always, we had classes at the College, but today we did something different, as we met the Polk State College Provost (aka the big boss), Martha Santiago, who really wanted to talk with us and know more about us and our English. We talked to her for about 15-20 minutes and then we continued with our classes.

Lunchtime arrived faster than the light and today we ate at Subway, the famous sandwich fast food place. It all was very yummy!!! And then, it was fun time!! We took our van to LEGOLAND and start enjoying the afternoon...

As you will see in the pics below, LEGOLAND is a theme park based on the typical bricks which one can use to build so many different things, such as houses, spaceships, pirate ships or other amazing stuff.... The thing is that, almost everything in this park is made of Lego bricks, and you can check out the pictures to see how amazing is everything... From the shops, to different Lego statues placed all over the park to an impressive and breath-taking reproduction of different American cities such as Las Vegas, Miami, NYC or Washington.

We really wanna thank Polk State College for this opportunity, as the tickets were given to us as a present, so THANK YOU Martha Santiago and other staff at the PSC for this amazing afternoon!!!

Bowling & Lake Selfies

Yesterday was a very fun day. We did a lot of things and we enjoyed a lot.


To start our day, we attended classes at Polk State College, as usual and then we had lunch at Chik-Fil-A, which is a fast food restaurant very similar to KFC, where they served a lot of chicken, nuggets and chicken salads. It was very yummy and as we don;t have it in Spain, it was a different experience.


After lunch, we went directly to a bowling in Winter Haven called Cypress Lanes where we spent 2 hours bowling, doing strikes and spares and having a blast, as you can see in the picture. After that, we played with some fair games such as basketball, cars races, etc.

And after getting with our host families, we stopped by a lake beside Polk State College where we took some selfies and we enjoyed the countryside.

Mexican Lunch & Pool

So, after the long 4th of July weekend, that we will tell you about it in a couple of days, yesterday we started our daily routine here in Lakeland.

In the morning, we went to Polk State College in Winter Haven to have our 3 hour lessons. We're actually liking it so much, because we are divided in two groups and we have two teachers (one before the break time, and the other afterwards) that teach us very different things, one focusing more on grammar and the other working on speaking, pronunciation and listening.

During the break time, we also have a lot of fun, because we go to the College's Student Center where we can play table tennis, pool or even play videogames.

And yesterday, after classes, we had lunch at a Mexican restaurant called El Olivo, whose owners are Pol's host family and we had a blast, eating tacos, fajitas and enchiladas... Right after lunch, we went to Winter Haven's Pool, that was right beside the restaurant and we had a dip and some of us even jump from the trampolines.

At 6pm, all our host families came to pick us up and we continued to enjoy the evening with them.

Welcome to FLORIDA!!!

Hello parents!!!

We are thrilled to tell you that yesterday we arrived to Lakeland and that the trip went really, really well...

First of all, our 10-hour flight to Miami was pretty smooth and as we had little screens in each seat, we watched some movies and the flight wasn't that long. Once in Miami, we had to enter the USA and we queued for nearly an hour to get our approval. Then we had to take our luggage again and pass through the security controls and once we did it, we had some minutes left before boarding to our next flight; Miami - Orlando, which was really short as Orlando and Miami are only 1 hour away by plane.

The minute we arrived to Orlando, we collected our suitcases and then.... Our host families were waiting for us alongside with Teresa, the coordinator. We all met our families face to face and started speaking English!!! Some of them received us with big banners and American flags... It was a great way to start our American experience.

And today we have the day off to spend with our families and to get to know each other better, to unpack and, more important, to rest and have a big breakfast to take all the energy we need.

Móvil USA (P. Nicolás y Edu)

Apreciados padres, 

A continuación os dejamos el número de móvil americano que tendremos durante este mes.

Apuntad: 863 397 2915.

Un abrazo, 

P. Nicolás y Edu

Hola a tod@s

Un año más, y ya son 51, Idiomas Padre Manyanet, inicia su andadura en los diferentes Cursos de Inglés, con el deseo de que todos los objetivos marcados se hagan realidad para todos los estudiantes inscritos y tengan la plena satisfacción de haber profundizado y ampliado sus conocimientos y su facilidad de expresarse en dicho idioma. Con ello creemos se lleva a cabo nuestro lema: Conocer idiomas, una puerta al mundo.

Deseamos que la estancia en cada uno de los diferentes lugares, sea muy satisfactoria y enriquecedora en todos los aspectos, y que estos blogs sean también un  complemento  y vehículo muy positivo de comunicación entre familias e Institución.

¡Que pasemos un feliz verano! ¡Hasta pronto!

P. Antoni Sorribes

Director

Apreciadas familias,

Cerramos un capítulo más, un año más, de nuestros Cursos de Idiomas Padre Manyanet y... ¡ya van 50!

Quiero agradecer desde aquí, la dedicación, la profesionalidad, el interés y el trabajo bien hecho de todos y cada uno de los Directores y Monitores de los Grupos en los diferentes países.

Así pues, con el deseo de que los objetivos propuestos se hayan cumplido, espero que se haga realidad en cada uno de vuestros hogares el ideal de San José Manyanet: que cada familia sea como la de Nazaret (“Un Nazaret en cada hogar”).

¡Que paséis en familia un feliz verano!

¡Hasta siempre!

P. Antonio Sorribes

Director

Last day in NYC!!

Monday was our last day in NYC and we enjoyed as much as possible!!! It was a very relaxed day and we did nothing but walk around... Here are the last pics!!!