Ltt Carlet "Care or Scare" Wednesday 15th November Improving the quality of life

Wednesday 15th November 2017

Once upon a time on a beautiful Wednesday morning with an astonishing Spanish sun the amazing group of international students gathered for the 3rd day in a row in the cosy canteen of IES 9 Octubre... 

After a little delay they were treated to a very interesting lecture on biomedical engineering by four students from the British school of Alzira. Their project ‘stand again’ won a prize in the politécnic university of Valencia because of the highly innovative level regarding the price reduction. (...)

This inspiring, in-depth presentation was followed by a transnational tournament for the students. It didn’t take long before they were semi-experts in the regional game of colpbol. 

After a delicious coffee break the teachers were taught bachata by a swinging student. It was obvious that compared to Mediterranean hip shaking Joan the international teachers still had a lot to learn. It was an interesting experience to see the cultural differences, such as jumpy Rutger from Holland in a pair with Hürriyet from Turkey trying to convince him to shake his hips like a belly dancer. 

Some Spanish students organized an activity to entertain the elderly at a nearby nursing home with an origami folding workshop. They counted on the international delegation to help them help the elderly. It came as a shock to some of the international students and teachers when they realized that some 90 year olds were able to fold origami a lot better then them. Luckily, it was also very interesting to engage in a conversation with these lovely people and they weren’t forced to stick to origami. That way they learned about what life in Spain was like some years ago and about the variety of different cats that live in the garden of the caring home. 

Lunch time was perfect for the headmaster to once again show off his cooking skills. Within the blink of an eye he threw off his suit and appeared in an apron. Impressing us with the Fideua on Monday wasn’t enough, he went for a second round and prepared paella for everyone. 

After lunch both students and teachers had time to relax a little bit and enjoy the sun or prepare the last parts for their presentations. Some teachers went for a digestive walk and discovered a work-out park.

After lunch the Aquaponics project was presented. Aquaponics is a system that combines conventional aquaculture with hydroponics. By combining both systems, synergy effects can be exploited, and fish and plants then benefit from one another.

The group could see how much work and effort the host school put into this project.

To maintain the vibe of the day (and maybe a little bit of the Spanish culture) the school presentations also started a tiny bit later. The Romanian delegation hit it off with a level of interactiveness that should win a  prize because they made everyone experience what it is like to live with a seeing or hearing impairment in a fun and active manner. The Dutch followed with some very practical solutions to improve a walking cane and a sling. 

The bar was set high by these groups but the Italian students who followed weren’t intimidated and delivered a great in-depth presentation about inclusion and the technical tools which make life of disabled or older people easier.

The Spanish students closed the presentation round with a very interesting demonstration of the (...) project.

These were the last presentations of this week, but even though it all happened in a relatively short time they became pretty famous. In fact, even Spanish students who don’t participate in the project did everything he could to be able to attend them.