We have talked on these pages before about education in Spain and what to look out for so that the kids feel at home. What we haven’t talked about is how to integrate the kids into the local community in the best way. Believe it or not this is easy because kids in general are so garroulous and adaptable they will fit in anywhere. However Spain has made it easier for kids to fit in by having loads of places they can go and do stuff.
The New Planned Benicalap Sport Centre
The main meeting place for kids is not on the street corner but in the sports centres. Spain has a huge affinity for sport, just look at the success of the country in so many sporting areas since the Olympics in Barcelona in 1992, and they have built facilities to envy in virtually every small town in the country. My town of just 15000 has two full sized artificial grass football pitches, they actually take a stud, and classes are organised throughout the evening all year during school time and every day during the holidays to make sure that the full usage of the pitches takes place. The sports centres where these pitches are situated are usually multisports centres where every evening there are hundreds of kids and adults practicing their chosen sport or pastime (Ballroom dancing, chess and a whole lot more are done too) and mixing and talking in the bar later.
With so many things to do the only problem is choosing which activity to do over another. Why is this useful? Well, the community spirit and friendships that build up at the sports centres spill ou onto the street later. Not only very sociable but also quite healthy.
Fallas Models Are Built In The Neighbourhood
Here in Valencia there is another way of getting into a group of friends and that is coming up to its yearly end right now. Each Barrio (Neighbourhood) and town has its own Fallas model and the Fallas Association (Casal) will spend the whole year fundraising, designing and building their Fallas model so they can burn it on the night of the 19th of March. To do this they have events all year and if your child is of a more artistic bent rather than sporting then this is a great way of getting involved in the community. Needless to say their Spanish, and possibly Valenciano, gets a whole lot better when surrounded by others yapping away all the time in the language.
So don’t stay home and spend all the time watching Sky TV. Get out and enjoy Spain. The kids will thank you for it when they are telling you that they won’t be back home until about 2am and the best thing is that mostly you will not be worried about that.
Also have a look below at me talking about what I was going to do, and actually did, last weekend. I forgot to mention that Javea is by the sea so the kids had a great play on the beach. That is one cool advantage of living in Spain in February.
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