By Beth Klemick
Not many are aware that Biarritz is a city that is immersed with the "surfing" culture, and often referred to as the surf capital of Europe. The "surfing spirit" is a daily occurrence in the city and its region. But did you know that Biarritz is host to many professional surf competitions like the Biarritz Surf Festival, which brings together the worlds greatest names in surfing for one week in July!
Attention all novice and experienced surfers have you ever considered the "hang ten" approach to learn a language? AmeriSpan offers exciting Language and Sports programs to blend your interests while learning and exploring. So grab your surfboard and head for the breaking wave!

By Kayla Allen
When I got on the plane to Guatemala, I really had no idea what to expect. I felt the same way when I had been packing the night before and any time I had thought about my trip in the preceding weeks. I knew I would be staying with a host family and learning Spanish. I had done some reading in guidebooks and had done tons of internet searches but still, sitting on the plane I felt pretty clueless; what would it be like?
After landing, Guatemala quickly took shape. The first person I met was Jorge, the driver that would pick me up at the airport in Guatemala City and take me to my host family in Antigua. He put me immediately at ease. He was friendly, quick to laugh and genuinely trying to understand my small talk in broken and I'm sure almost completely indecipherable Spanish. We talked and I laughed a lot because I'm sure I sounded like an idiot and we were quickly in Antigua, in the middle of a Semana Santa procession in fact, and I was in love.
Yes I admit I fell quickly for Antigua, but I had every reason to. From the sights and sounds of the street, to my host family, the teachers, my fellow students and the staff of the school, everyone was so welcoming and communicative, I quickly felt at home.
I was taking 4 hours of private Spanish classes a day. Four hours of almost anything can start getting boring but when you're having interesting in-depth discussions about religion, gender roles, politics, poverty, racism and also finding things to make each other laugh, the time goes by almost too quickly. And it was probably to my benefit that my side of the conversation was slightly limited by my Spanish level because it afforded me the opportunity to learn how to listen both for language comprehension but also to what my teachers were saying. They were really amazing people who had led very interesting and varied lives and I felt very lucky to get to talk to them. Learning Spanish was my focus but it also became a happy side effect to some good conversation.
The same was true for my host mother. At every meal but especially at dinner we'd sit and talk for an hour or so after eating, she being so patient and waiting for me to put my slow sentences together and use every word and verb I'd learned in class that day correctly. It's amazing how much can be communicated using simple sentences and gestures. It was nice to be able to converse, if haltingly, with someone other than an English speaker, to see and hear the world from another perspective. The most surprising part to me was how familiar people can seem in such a short time and how very different lives can lead very different people to very similar conclusions about the world.
I didn't just talk the whole time though. I went dancing a few times with people I met at the school and a group of us also took an unforgettable trip to Tikal. We climbed the Temples, took walking tours with really knowledgeable tour guides and saw the sunset and sunrise in the jungle with howler monkeys, toucans and various jungle creatures close enough to see. It was an amazing experience and I had great impromptu traveling companions to share it with. At school you can't help but meet people. There are so many activities and many students have their lessons outside so everyone becomes familiar and you can very quickly become friends.
In retrospect I think I know why I felt so clueless before leaving. For me what makes a place come alive are the people you meet, the conversations you have with them, their faces and their lives and those things can be difficult to get a sense of before you hop on a plane but probably the most rewarding. Guatemala is a place I will definitely be visiting again. I've got more Spanish to learn and more people to meet.

By Kayla Allen – Having just spent ten days in Antigua I was lucky enough to witness first hand some of the many traditional festivities preceding and culminating on Semana Santa, or the week before Easter, in Guatemala. These celebrations are varied and rich and you'll find if you travel from city to city or from pueblo to pueblo that each location will celebrate in their own unique way.
Entering Antigua on a Sunday before Semana Santa is like stepping into another world. One where the very streets you trod on are a wonder to behold. You'll see whole families working together in the street in front of their homes to create ridiculously intricate and beautiful alfombra, or rugs, made out of flowers, colored sawdust and pine needles. The family will work sometimes for 24 hours creating these masterpieces and complete them just in time for the procession to walk on them and in the process destroy them.
In the weeks preceding Semana Santa the largest local churches each take a turn hosting the vocaciones and processions. Antigua, though it is small is home to around 25 churches a good many of which are awe inspiring both inside and out. When you fill an already gorgeous church with music, song birds, colorful painted tableaus, candles and an enormous alfombra complete with bread in the shape of 3 foot crocodiles, whole fruits and vegetables and a community of people worshiping and rejoicing you can't help but be drawn into celebration.
The procession of men in their purple robes, carrying large floats depicting Jesus and other religious figures leave from their respective churches, full orchestra in tow and bring music and incense to every street they visit. The children get to be a central part in the celebration as well in the procesion de los ninos, the boys dress in purple while girls wear little white dresses. The floats are so big it seems impossible that children should be able to carry them, the boys carrying Jesus and the girls carrying Mary, with a full orchestra not far behind.
While I'm not sure of the cultural or historical significance in making the alfombras and then destroying them, they speak to me of the impermanence of things and that the beauty in life lies in the moment and the process of living and not completely in the product. In Latin America, a world where the people's fate is so subject to its environment it makes sense to me that impermanence and process would be so celebrated, in a developing country your fate is not always yours to determine.
Another thought is that there is beauty in the destruction. That nature and its forces are a sight to behold. That we are at the mercy of our environment and that is how it should be.
As is evident in my ramblings, Semana Santa is a holiday that will make you think, delight your eyes and make you revel in all the variety this world has to offer.

By Alexa Boyce – Spain has a rich and vibrant culture full of celebrations and festivals, particularly those centering around religious holidays. Each of these is exciting and fascinating, but none more so than Semana Santa, or Holy Week. Spain's predominantly Catholic society ensures that the week leading up to Easter is filled with processions and celebrations. Each city and town has its own unique traditions, but some of the most famous take place in Valencia, Cuenca, Valladolid, Murcia, Zamora, Malaga and Cordoba.
Semana Santa celebrations take place in the eight days leading up to Easter. They begin on Palm Sunday (Domingo de Ramos) and end on Easter Monday (Lunes de Pascua). These celebrations consist of artistic, spritual and emotionally touching scenes. They are displayed via a mixture of sights, sounds, smells and tastes. All of these celebrations include sacred dress, colors, lights and processions through the streets. By far, the most notable festivals take place in the region of Andalusia. Of those, Sevilla is the most renowned for its fabulous displays and emotional processions, or pasos.
The origins of the Sevillan pasos can be traced back as early as 1248 when King Fernando III reclaimed Sevilla from the Moors. Hermandades, or brotherhoods, were organized to rescue the injured soldiers and bury the dead. The Catholic church began to reestablish its dominance in the area and by the 16th century, Sevilla's hermandades organized processions that symbolized the journey of Christ to Cavalry.
Today, a Sevillan Semana Santa will include many traditional festivities. On Domingo de Ramos, a statue of Christ is paraded through the streets. This figure is over 370 years old and was carved by Juan de Mesa. This is an extremely emotionally moving experience for the Sevillans who confess, cry, laugh out loud, adore, and touch and kiss the image as it moves through the streets. Another procession is the image of the Virgen de la Macarena, to which people sing rhymes and flamenco songs known as saetas. The most important Sevillan celebration takes place on Good Friday, when the city explodes in sounds, instruments and songs and the pasos culminate at the cathedral.
Semana Santa is a week that can be written about and viewed through pictures, but cannot fully be understood until one actually experiences it. It will push the envelope of the senses and bring out emotions ranging from the deepest sorrow to sheer ecstasy. No words or pictures can fully explain this fantastic celebration.