Happy New Year!!

Hello Everyone!

I hope your break was wonderful, and now it is back to the school year.

I hope that you will continue contacting your PenPals this semester and continue to take advantage of this fun opportunity!

And as always if you have questions or concerns, please let one of us know!

Happy New Year! Feliz Año 2013!

Thanksgiving

Hello everyone!

I hope those of you in the USA had a great Thanksgiving holiday, also I thought it would be a fun time to tell your partners about what Thanksgiving is, how your family celebrates it and what you typically do for that weekend. Maybe you can talk about the winter holidays coming up as well!

Here is a fun article on "how to celebrate thanksgiving". 

Photo from elGabacho blog

Spanish students, it would be great to talk about your Innocent Saints day on December 28th (Spain's april fool's day) and Dia de los Reyes in January, because we do not celebrate either of those days in the USA (well most of us don't.).

 Aquí son los 15 mejores bromas del día 28 de diciembre. 

Photo from Roler blog

Also, make sure you are responding to your partners, and have sent your first emails, if you no longer wish to participate you need to let one of us know so that we may partner others with your partner.

Happy PenPalling!

Raelynne

Hostess cakes close for good: Strike USA vs Strikes Spain

Hello Everyone!!

I have been thinking for a long time about the difference between strikes in Spain and in the U.S. We do things very different here and there. Perhaps you could explain the differences and how your country does strikes!  The U.S. has an all for nothing tactic, in which the workers don't go to work until things are changed. Spain uses an organized much more less dramatic tactic, with planned strikes on specific days.

How do you think this affects the business', the societies, the general people? Keep in mind what would happen if Spain's public transportation system shut down for a whole day- and that more than half the population in Spain use metros, buses, or local short distance trains to get to work.

I have attached here a New York Times article about the Hostess' business closing and their attempt to blame it on the strikes.

Hope you enjoy!
Happy PenPalling!

An old advertisement photos for the infamous Twinkies.

Fox news article:
Hostess to close, lay off 18,500 after "crippling" union fight. ("cripping" strike)

Be sure to watch the videos at the top of the news article.

What do you think? Is it the workers fault? Is it an excuse to shut down and for the big shots in the company to keep the liquidation money? Is it good that companies that sell unhealthy foods, and business' like this one- who cut workers wages and lay off their staff to save money- be shut down?

People striking to get their wages and jobs back from Hostess Company

For more reading on this topic.

Chicago times article:
Hostess shutting doors: ending of an iconic era

The Early Weeks

Hello Everyone!! CONGRATULATIONS on getting started!

I have heard from both groups and some students have sent their first emails!! 

In the first few weeks, remember to be patient, have fun, and get to know one another!

Spanish and American Students:
If you do not receive an email response after 3-4 days, remember to check your SPAM and Trash folders, to double check that your email did not block a "suspicious" email that is actually your partner trying to contact you.

And as always, if you have any questions let Señor Cuni, Eduardo or I know.

Happy PenPalling!

Raelynne

The Beginning: Guidelines, Suggestions, and a lot of FUN!

Hello everyone!

I am extremely excited about this new exchange between North Kansas City High School in Kansas City, Missouri and Instituto de Educación Secundaria el Burgo de las Rozas in Madrid, Spain!

This is a wonderful opportunity for students from Madrid and Kansas City to connect and exchange culture, language and their experiences with one another.

A few guidelines to help make this exchange run smoothly:
 1. Email in your foreign tongue.
     (KC students: email in Spanish; Madrid students: email in English)
 2. Email at least once per week.
 3. Help one another learn Spanish and English: you do not need to correct one another
     grammatically, but help each other learn fun phrases or sayings, and anything else
     you think your partner would find interesting.
 4. Ask questions: do not be afraid to ask each other questions; this is a
     POSITIVE learning environment, no one should be making fun of anyone's errors.
 5. Be respectful to one another, if you have any problems or issues with your partner,
     please contact your professor -Señor Cuni or I- immediately.

(If we find that you are not following guidelines 4 or 5, you will receive a warning and then be removed from the exchange)

A few suggestions to help you get started and have things to discuss:
 1. Introduce yourself and get to know your partner; hobbies, likes, dislikes, travel
     experiences, future plans, dreams etc.
 2. Take full advantage of this exchange; take the initiative to find things to talk about,
     new things to learn or share with your partner.
 3. Use this blog for ideas and topics! If you found something interesting that you and
     your partner liked, share it with the others in the exchange by posting it on this blog.
 4. Use articles, interesting cultural events, songs, music videos, movies, or any medium in
     your native language to connect with the other students.
         (KC students: anything from the United States in English that you find interesting;
          Madrid students: anything from Spain in Spanish that you find interesting).
 5. Use articles or music or things that you have found in your foreign language that you
     do not understand, or simply found interesting to ask questions to your partner.
          (KC students: articles, music and culture about Spain you found interesting or have
           questions about;
           Madrid students: anything about the United States you want to know or talk about;
           Both students, remember that your partner is from a specific part of their country
           and may not have answers about every single cultural event or place as they may
           never have visited there).

Most importantly, remember to HAVE FUN! This is an exciting opportunity for you to get to know someone across the Atlantic ocean, and that is already a really awesome opportunity!

I hope that you all enjoy this experience and make the most of it!

Good Luck!
Profesora Raelynne, Profesor Eduardo and Señor Cuni