After the success of last year edition, the OLÉ Spanish Culture Day was back on June 21st, 2024! New students have come with new personalities and goals, but the same idea remains: to open the doors to everyone and make people enjoy and celebrate Spanish rich culture and language. Inspired by the hopes and determination of last year’s students, there was no way this year would pass without this exciting event! New fun activities and games awaited everyone, and those who completed them all were rewarded with Spanish tapas and drinks to enjoy!
The system was simple: a ticket was given to everyone arriving to the event. Completing an activity awarded a stamp on the ticket. After reaching two stamps, you could claim a beverage. After gathering all five stamps, you got to try the Spanish tapas plus an extra drink! Tongji students from all over the world could taste bread-based tapas with extra virgin olive oil, topped with chorizo, jamón serrano, manchego cheese, olives, and more, including halal and vegetarian options.
There were numerous simultaneous activities, so you could start in any order you preferred. The photocall, right at the entrance of the building, was probably the most visual. You could dress up in traditional clothes such as Flamenco dresses, chulapo clothing, and bullfighter outfits. You could also recreate the famous painting of the Meninas by Diego Velazquez with your friends by peeking your faces through the holes! Then there was the “Learn Spanish 101” stand, where the goal was to teach some basic words or expressions through flashcards. There were also some slang and colloquial expressions for those who wanted to learn more!
Then we had the football challenge, where you needed to score goals through holes. There were some easy ones and some more challenging! Depending on which hole you scored, you resembled the iconic Spanish football player depicted next to the holes. The art stand was one of the most impressive and popular. An introduction to Spanish paintings was given, showing samples of artists like Miró, Sorolla, Picasso, Goya, Dalí, and many art styles like Cubism, Surrealism, Impressionism, and so on. The task was to recreate some of these artworks or paint a new one with the same stylistic features! It resulted in many beautiful and impressive paintings made by the students. Last but not least, the Flamenco stand. People learned some basic flamenco dancing skills, how to do the typical clapping rhythms, use the castañuelas, and enjoy the music.
These were the five main activities, but there was more. A new extra challenge tested the students’ cooking and creative skills. The tapas competition was on its way. The crowd was divided into six groups, and Spanish ingredients were placed in the centre of each table. The goal? To create the best tapa. There was a brief introduction on how tapas are normally made, but we didn’t want to bias them towards making the typical ones, so we let them experiment and unleash their creativity. The results? Some of the most creative and beautiful tapas. Some recreated a girl, others made a tower, but without a doubt, the best tapa and winner of the competition was the rose-shaped one! The group responsible won the first award and received prizes for each member!
At the end of the day, it was time to wrap up all the fun, the new experiences, and the new memories made today. From the Sino-Spanish Campus, we thank everyone who came to OLÉ. We hope you had a good time having fun, learning, and socializing. Even with the grey rainy day we had outside, where we initially planned the event, it felt sunny inside thanks to all of you. Very special thanks to the volunteers from International School at Tongji, who provided extraordinary support.New memories were created, new friends were made, and some people who are going to Spain were able to learn a bit more beforehand. Those who had already been to Spain enjoyed a glimpse of what it was like. In the end, all these beautiful memories will be cherished, and when we look back, an inevitable smile will emerge, thinking of this unique moment and space we lived together.
