Anuncios de la Oficina

AIFS IN BCN NEWSLETTER
Anuncios de la Oficina
Edición 304
Miércoles, 15 de
octubre de 2014
Inside this issue:
¿A qué no lo
sabías?
2
Grades
2
¡Qué mal me encuentro!
3
Andorra
3
Grammar
3
Safari
Fotográfico
4
How to change... 4
1. STUDENT COPY of
your TRANSCRIPT–
AIFS will mail you a photocopy of your transcript
to your home once the
semester is finished. We
will receive your transcript at the end of February. Do not expect
your University to receive
it any earlier!
2. TRANSFER CREDIT– If
you are worried about transferring credit from this semester back home, remember to save all your materials–
syllabus, books, notes, etc.
3. TRAVEL LOG: IF YOU
ARE LEAVING BARCELONA OVERNIGHT
THIS WEEKEND, BE
SURE TO SIGN IN TO
THE TRAVEL LOG AND
LET US KNOW WHERE
YOU ARE GOING, BUS,
TRAIN OR PLANE INFO
AND HOSTAL.
4. Cooking class: Students
should sign up for this
before Thursday, October 16!!! This is a great
opportunity to learn how
to cook local food to be
able to recreate a taste of
your study abroad program back home! We will
be making paella and
crema catalana.
5. ON LOCATION: AIFS
is interested in hearing
about your study abroad
experience. Short essays
about your trips, daily life
in Barcelona, your
classes, etc. can be published in the AIFS website. Contact Inma for
more information.
¡Queremos leer tus experiencias!
6. Make sure to like the
AIFS in Barcelona to
receive updates, tips on
what’s happening in Barcelona, and photos from
our recent AIFS excursions!
https://www.facebook.com/
pages/AIFS-in-Barcelona/
DAY LIGHT
SAVINGS ENDS
Next Sunday, Oct.
26th marks the end
of daylight savings
time in Europe. At
3am on the night of
Saturday to Sunday, all clocks will
“fall back” one hour
to 2am.
Actividades Culturales
 Pirineos: Bergueda y Andorra. October, Fri. 17th–
 Girona and Besalú: Saturday, November 8th meet
Sun. 19th. Meet at Plaza Universitat at 9:45am.
at Plaza Universidad. We are leaving at 9:45am.
Spend a weekend at the Pyrenees.
 Safari Fotográfico: Oct. 27th to Nov. 3th: A very
peculiar photo contest– prize for best photo 75€
for use at Mussol Restaurant or the Baños Árabes.
 Cooking classes: November, Friday, 7th: Learn how
to cook a “paella” and the typical “crema catalana”
and the “pan tomaca”. Sign up before: Thurs. 16th.
 Thanksgiving dinner: November, 27th. Dinner to
be held at a local restaurant. All students who
plan on attending this dinner should sign up in
the office by Friday, November 14th. (Vegetarians
should let us know.) If you have any friend or family visiting and they would like to join us for dinner
– sign them up and they can pay directly at the
restaurant.
Page 2
AIFS in BCN Newsletter
España y ¡Olé!
Top ten things you didn’t know about Spain (or maybe you did)
(sources: www.state.gov; www.wikipedia.org; www.ine.es; www.bbc.uk; Spain for Dummies, 2003, The Rough Guide to
Spain, 2004)
10. España is the world’s largest producer of olive oil– a fact that surely won’t surprise you. Andalucia produces so much aceite
de oliva that they sell it to other countries, like Italy, who in turn bottle it and market it as their own. (Next time you’re at a Soup’er
Salad check out the bottle of Bertolli.)
9. Antoni Guadí, the famed and eccentric Catalan architect dedicated 43 years of his life to building La Sagrada Familia– the legendary, unfinished church in Barcelona. Considered the master of modernism, Gaudí spent the last 10 years of his life living in a
little room next to the Sagrada Familia. After he died, there was a fire and all Gaudí’s plans for the building burned and were lost.
8. With over 52 million tourists entering Spain every year, it is the most visited country on the planet. The actual population of
Spain is just over 44 million Spaniards. Tourism is such an important industry that it has its own Ministry (the US equivalent to a
Secretary and Department). Turismo is a university major and tour guides are licensed- you can be fined in Spain for explaining
a monument or site without a permit.
7. Euskera, the language spoken by the Vascos in the north has puzzled anthropologists and linguists for hundreds of years. No
one can positively identify its origins. Yet the language is remarkable for another reason: It has no swear words. Even those
completely fluent in Euskera have to dip into Castellano when they want to curse their heads off. ¡Jo-er!
6.Spain is the second largest per-capita consumer of seafood in the world (behind Japan.) It is the largest per-capita consumer of
bleach.
5. Pablo Picasso painted his searing black and white portrait of war, Guernica, in protest of the 1937 Nationalist bombing (carried
out by Nazi warplanes) of the small Basque town of the same name, during the Spanish Civil War. (Guernica is located just outside of Bilbao.) Picasso refused to allow the painting to be exhibited in Spain until after Franco died. Guernica remained in the
NY’s MoMA until 1980. In 1991 it was moved from the Prado museum to the new Reina Sofia museum.
4. At 194,884 square miles, Spain is Europe’s fourth largest country after Russia, Ukraine and France. This is about the size of
Arizona and Utah combined.
3. Spain maintains sovereignty disputes with neighboring nations over several territories: Spain considers Gibraltar Spanish but
according to the natives “Gibraltar is British because Gibraltar wants it to be British”, the town of Olivenza (Spain) on the border
of Portugal and Badajoz (Spain) is disputed by Portugal and the island of Perejil (Spain) in the Mediterranean is disputed by Morocco.
2. Spain’s greatest author Miguel de Cervantes died in Madrid on April 23, 1616; coincidentally William Shakespeare also died
on that date, but not on the same day, Britain was still using the Julian calendar, whereas Spain had already adopted the Gregorian calendar. In honor of this coincidence, the UNESCO established April 23 as the International Day of the Book.
1. The most important newspapers in Spain are El Pais and El Mundo, both of which are liberal in outlook. But Spaniards read
fewer papers than almost all other Europeans– and the best selling newspaper in the country is Marca– dedicated to fútbol.
Pyrenees Packing List
Grade Translations
10 SOBRESALIENTE Y HONOR translates as an A+

9-9.99 SOBRESALIENTE translates as an A

7-8.99 NOTABLE translates as a B

5-6.99 APROBADO translates as a C
0-4.99 SUSPENSO translates as an F
AI- Asistencia Insuficiente translates as an “I” Incomplete
NP- No Presentado translates as an “I” Incomplete
Please note that your transcripts will not include the
numerical grades, only the words and letter translations.




Your PASSPORT!
Comfortable walking shoes, such as
sneakers, for a light hike
A warm jacket—it will be cold at
night!
Normal clothes for sightseeing, such
as jeans, t-shirts, and sweaters
Pajamas
Personal hygiene items: toothbrush &
tooth paste etc. Shampoo and soap
will be provided in the hotel
Money for lunch of Friday, snacks,
and souvenirs
Edición 304
Page 3
Andorra: The country of the Pyrenees!
Welcome to Andorra, the country of the Pyrenees. An independent state with an area of 468
km2 and more than a thousand
years of history in the southeast
of Europe, between Spain and
France.
Known internationally for its ski
resorts, shops with very low taxes and its modern hotel and
service infrastructures, each
year the country receives nearly
8 million visitors.
Andorra is also a paradise for
nature lovers: 90% of the country is forest.
than 1,000 shops and 7 large
shopping centres | Days of
the year when the trades
close: 4
Andorra in figures
Population: 78,000 inhabitants |
Annual visitors: 8.000.000 | Hotel establishments: 315 | Hotel
places: more than 39,000 | Ski
slopes: 300 km of marked slopes | Shops and trades: more
Algunas notas….en catalán
Hoy vamos a aprender a presentarnos y poder
preguntar información sobre las personas en catalán:
Español– Catalán:
¿Cómo te llamas?- Com es dius?
¡Me llamo Pepe!- Em dic Pepe!
¿Cuál es tu apellido?- Com et dius el cognom?
¿Dónde vives?- On vius?
Vivo en el Eixample– Jo visc a L’Eixample.
¿De donde eres?- D’on ets?
Soy de Estados Unidos– Soc dels Estats Units
¿En qué trabajas?- De qué treballas?
Soy estudiante– soc estudiante.
¿Cuántos años tienes?- Quants anys tens?
Tengo veintiuno– Tinc vent-i-u anys.
¡Qué mal me encuentro!... Help for cold and flu symptoms
Colds and the flu are going around. A few precautionary
measures can spare you a lot of € on pañuelos:
 Don’t go outside with wet hair.
 Dress warmly– don’t underestimate the weather. The
natives have good reasons for not wearing flip-flops,
shorts & t-shirts in cool weather!
 Wear good shoes– especially in the rain!
 Try to eat lots of vitamin C– fruits and leafy green
veggies. You can buy “Vitamina C” supplements in
the farmacias.
If you already have a cough (tos), sore throat (dolor de
garganta), catarro (cold) or flu (gripe) a good idea is to
stop by the farmacia to purchase some meds. Tell the farmaceútico your symptoms and ask for a recommendation.
Some suggestions are:
Frenadol or Ilvico (for general flu symptoms),
Frenatós, Pectox (for cough)
Mucovital (for runny nose and cough)
Couldina (for colds)
If you have a fever or persistent cough you should see a
doctor. Stop by the office. We can make an appointment
with the doctor to see you. Just please remember that
the doctor’s office does not open after 1pm. To see the
doctor you should stop by the office o email me ahead
of time so I can make the appointment for the next day.
The cost of the doctor is 70 Euro and
you should have exact change.
SAFARI FOTOGRÁFICO
AIFS
IN
B ARCELONA
We bring the world together.
Carrer Caps, 37 Pral.-8ª
08010 Barcelona
Phone: (34) 93 667 44 49
Emergencies phone: 638 90
77 71
Email: iarenas@aifs.co.uk
It is time for our favorite AIFS in Barcelona contest!–
el Safari Fotográfico.
We are depending on you for its success!
1. Form a group of 3-4 AIFS students. On Lunes, 27
de octubre, stop by the office to let us know who you
are and pick up your instructions. We will provide
you with a list of 10 places you should find and take
pictures of (yourselves included in the picture). Here is the deal– the pictures should be as creative and catalogue-ready as possible. (This is a way to
get into the AIFS catalogue– all pictures will later be submitted to Stamford
– but sorry, you will not be eligible for the Stamford contest with
these shots!! You must enter their contest with your own photos.)
2. You will have until LUNES, 3 de Noviembre @ 4:30pm to turn in all
your pictures. Bring your camera and USB cable to the office and download your pics onto our computers.
3. AIFS staff will then pick the “best” group– the one who put the most
energy into their pictures, who did the best job at following the “ruta” and
handed in pictures that say “AIFS students having a great time in Barcelona
studying abroad”. We look for color, clarity, fun, happy people, great recognizable background,
4. First prize for the most voted picture= 75 Euros for use at either the
Arab baths or toward dinner at Restaurantes Mussols (catalán cuisine).
PLEASE NOTE: We need at least TWO groups to HAND IN pictures by
Monday at 4:30pm or the contest will be cancelled. Best picture will be annunced on the newsletter on Wed. Nov. 12th.
CHANG I N G T HE DATE O F YO U R FLI G HT HO ME
Some of you have inquired about changing the date
of your flight home in December. First, log in to your
personal account on the AIFS website
http://www.aifsabroad.com/login/
And log in your AIFS account. Now on your page, on
the left hand side “Request a return flight date change”
– this will then take you to a page which will con-firm
your current flight arrangements and will give you the
space to enter 3 preferred date options for change and
then reconfirm your e-mail address so that you can be
contacted directly by the AIFS flights department in
Boston.
Please note:
1. Only date changes are accepted. The airline will not
permit any itinerary changes.
2. Corresponding fee: AIFS Administrative fee plus
Air-line fee is $300. (If your request cannot be accommo-dated, your credit card will be refunded.)
3. Your departure is very close to the holiday season–
a very busy travel time. Availability will be limited. So make your FINAL plans soon.
4. Let our office know if you’ve changed your flight
home.
If you can't remember your aifs account login, let us
know– we'll find it for you.