ASA: Academic Study Associates 2008 Programs

Our last full week was quite busy! On Wednesday we went to Marbella, a beautiful city along the coast. We walked around the center and along the beach and visited the town hall and one of the older churches. In the afternoon your children had some free time to walk around the city, soak up the culture and go shopping. On the way back to Nerja, we stopped in Puerto Banus. Your children were very impressed to see all of the expensive cars lining the streets and the elaborate yachts in the port.

On Thursday we had a pot-luck dinner in the Casa ASA. It was delicious! Each student prepared their favorite Spanish dish from the summer (so be sure to ask your children to make it for you when they get home)!

In class we finished our very own newspaper complete with articles, editorials, and interviews. On Friday your children listened to, and even learned from each other’s oral presentation in class. Afterwards our creativity flowed as we finished our Libro de Verano (a student-created booklet commemorating our time in Nerja). A sort of yearbook, the Libro de Verano contains pages on activities, excursions, local culture, and other important aspects of our summer. It's always exciting to see the unveiling of the final printed copies, which are distributed at our final dinner.

Yesterday we went to a balneario – a spa and had a wonderful time pampering ourselves in the different pools and saunas. Today your children will be spending some with their families and friends and getting ready for their final exam which is tomorrow.

What an exciting week it’s been! It started with classes and activities as usual, with the addition of a basketball game against the Spaniards. The highlight of the week however, was definitely our overnight trip to Granada! On Wednesday we arrived at the hotel and met our tour guide who took us on a walking tour of the Albayzin district, a neighborhood traversed by a maze of narrow pedestrian streets that is famous not only for its Moorish roots but also for its Gypsy population, which attracted foreign tourists to the neighborhood as early as the nineteenth century. The guide gave a wonderful explanation of everything. Your children were paying such close attention to the guide that some of them even memorized some of the newly learned facts! After some free time to eat lunch, shop, and walk around to soak up the culture, we went to the important Capilla Real, where the Catholic Kings, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, who are accredited with unifying Spain, are buried. Afterwards we went back to the hotel (click here to go to the hotel’s website) where your children swam in pool, relaxed in the roof top jacuzzi or rested in their rooms. At night we ate in an Italian restaurant and at midnight we all sang Happy Birthday in Spanish to Robert!
The following day we visited the Alhambra, a sprawling walled city which in medieval times functioned as a self-supporting royal palace. The Alhambra is a wonderfully preserved example of Arab architecture in Spain, with ornate wall carvings, Arab baths, and interior plazas with fountains that would have helped to cool the buildings. Washington Irving was amazed to discover the Alhambra in the nineteenth century overtaken by wanderers and bohemians, and he himself lived there for several months, producing the classic book Stories of the Alhambra, full of tales of sultans, knights, and princesses. We had the same guide from the previous day who everyone loved listening to. Your children really enjoyed the guided tour through this spectacular palace. Afterwards we went to the center of Granada and had some more free time to eat lunch and go shopping (which is especially fun in the summer due to the “rebajas” or “sales”).
Today we had classes as usual and tomorrow your children can participate in an optional volleyball tournament. Next week in class your children are going to interview important figures of the community (the police, tour guides, business owners, etc.) and then publish a newspaper, which will include these interviews in addition to editorials and articles! Right now they are working on their oral presentation which will count as part of their final grade. Their teachers assigned each child a specific topic relating to Spanish society and culture. In addition to this they are also putting together a summer book, which is a sort of yearbook for the month filled with pictures, writings and fun memories. As you can see it is going to be a very busy week! We’ll keep you posted. Hasta pronto!

Things in Nerja are going great and we have been so busy it's hard to know where to start! Activities are lots of fun, and in ceramics class we are making masks....it's amazing how well the pieces turn out. In gym class we had the unique experience of a flamenco cardio workout! In scuba diving class, the students are learning a lot and moving from theory to practice, applying what we've learned in class in the water. We also had a great time playing soccer and almost all of the students participated. On Thursday, we had a group outing to sample some local tapas, typical local dishes shared among a table. The whole group had a fun time eating and socializing.
On Wednesday we went on an excursion to the vibrant city of Malaga, which was founded by the Phoenecians, passed through the hands of the Moors and the Catholic Kings and later became an important industrial center as well as a tourist capital. After a panoramic tour on the bus, we took a guided walking tour among Malaga's pedestrian-only historic center. Next we went to the the Picasso Museum, honoring the artistic genius of Malaga's most famous resident, and we saw where the students asked lots of questions about the variety of paintings.
Classes have been really interesting; today they interviewed some Nerja locals about their childhood and games they used to play. In the second part of class they actually learned how to play these games and played them. It was a blast and very educational as well!
On Saturday we went on a multi-adventure excursion in Rio Verde outside Nerja. The students had a great time rappelling amongst waterfalls, hiking among rock walls, and swimming in the river. Needless to say it was a fun and challenging day! 

This week we have an overnight excursion planned to Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain which was not won by the Catholic Kings until 1492. There we will see the famous Moorish castle and fortress of the Alhambra, one of Spain's most breathtaking and treasured monuments. Check back soon for updates on the trip!

Can you believe it has already been a week since your children embarked on their journey to Spain!? It has been an exciting week filled with new experiences. On Wednesday we arrived in Tarifa, where the students met their Spanish families, settled in over some home cooking, and later took a tour of the town with the group. Classes began on Friday after a placement test, and there are lots of interesting language activities planned. Afternoon activities also started last week. The students really enjoyed their first scuba diving class, which was a theoretical class. Next Thursday they will actually dive underwater! The gym class was also a big hit as your children successfully completed a spinning class conducted solely in Spanish. Today marks the start of a soccer tournament involving many of the students as well.
On Saturday we took a trip to a nearby town called Frigilana. With only about 3,000 inhabitants and a subtropical climate, this town is prized for how it has preserved its Moorish heritage and Arab arquitecture which includes narrow streets filled with whitewashed houses beautifully adorned with colorful flowers. Later on we visited the “Cuevas de Nerja,” the Caves of Nerja, which date back 5 million years ago. Offically recognized as an historic and artistic monument, these caves are one of the most important prehistoric archaeological sites on the western Mediterranean.
This upcoming week will also be filled with many exciting activities and a trip to Málaga. We will keep you posted!

Can you believe it has already been a week since your children embarked on their journey to Spain!? It has been an exciting week filled with new experiences. On Wednesday we arrived in Tarifa, where the students met their Spanish families, settled in over some home cooking, and later took a tour of the town with the group. Classes began on Friday after a placement test, and there are lots of interesting language activities planned. Afternoon activities also started last week. The students really enjoyed their first scuba diving class, which was a theoretical class. Next Thursday they will actually dive underwater! The gym class was also a big hit as your children successfully completed a spinning class conducted solely in Spanish. Today marks the start of a soccer tournament involving many of the students as well.
On Saturday we took a trip to a nearby town called Frigilana. With only about 3,000 inhabitants and a subtropical climate, this town is prized for how it has preserved its Moorish heritage and Arab arquitecture which includes narrow streets filled with whitewashed houses beautifully adorned with colorful flowers. Later on we visited the “Cuevas de Nerja,” the Caves of Nerja, which date back 5 million years ago. Offically recognized as an historic and artistic monument, these caves are one of the most important prehistoric archaeological sites on the western Mediterranean.
This upcoming week will also be filled with many exciting activities and a trip to Málaga. We will keep you posted!

Welcome to ASA News & Updates! As you finish off the school year, ASA will keep you posted with important information through this feature to prepare you for your time in Spain. Once you arrive at program, staff onsite in Nerja will post updates to the site regularly, reporting back to those at home on all of our travel and cultural adventures, including photos.

Please make sure you subscribe to 'News & Updates' now so as not to miss any pre-program details. Encourage family and friends to subscribe as well so that they can see all that you're up to in Spain this summer.

Also make sure to complete all of the ASA forms that are due before departure. If you are not sure what is missing from your file, please log on to your MyASA account, where you’ll be able to check the status and download any necessary forms. Thank you, and look out for the next update!