Learning goes way beyond the classroom at IH Valladolid and having fun is inevitable. Enthusiastic students and staff members are responsible for keeping a daily selection of things to do. Students go on excursions to surrounding cities and even to other provinces. They visit local points of interest, go out in the evenings, and have parties in homes, at bars, or in the school. The University of Valladolid is full of life but doesn't have a social program of its own, so many of the university students come to participate in the IH activities, boosting the life and reputation of the group events. Many times it isn't even necessary to leave the school to participate in local cultural activities. The following events can be seen from the school's balconies:

January 5 - CABALGATA, 'Three Wise Men' celebration and parade to mark the next day's holiday.

February - CARNAVAL, The Spanish Mardi Gras, with costumes and activities in the surrounding streets.

April - SEMANA SANTA, A week of processions, ended on Good Friday by arguably the best Easter week procession in all of Spain.

May - FESTIVAL OF STREET THEATER, a week of free plays and shows of all types and sizes throughout the city. The most elaborate are in the Plaza Mayor. June 23 - NOCHE DE SAN JUAN, " Night of the Witches," when all the students celebrate the end of the academic year and burn their school papers in giant bonfires.

July through September - FESTIVALS, This is festival season. There are festivals and celebrations in the city and in the surrounding villages. The most important festival is of the city of Valladolid, which lasts an entire week in early September. There are activities everywhere and concerts every night in the Plaza Mayor.

September - PARTYDANCE, 18 flat-bed trucks filled with dancers and House music in an evening parade ending in a massive party in the middle of the Plaza Mayor. (Comparable to the Berlin Festival.)

November - SEMINCI, International film festival, dating back to 1955.

December - CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS AND DECORATIONS. Each year there is something different. There has been everything from an elevated train for children to an outdoor ice-skating rink. There is always a giant nativity scene in front of Town Hall.

THE IH INTERNATIONAL PEÑA

PEÑAS are a fundamental part of traditional Spanish social culture. A peña is simply a group of friends that go out together under a common name and image. I H Valladolid has its own peña, marked by yellow IH bandanas, and can be seen in summer months participating in village festivals that are truer to Hemmingway's vision of Spain than the festivals of Pamplona. It's worth noting that the running of the bulls in Pamplona is just one of several such outings Included in the Social Program.