Pete Rowlett - Spain 2018

Our group arrived at the airport while the sun was still rising, but we were all wide awake.  The anticipation of our visit to Spain had woken everyone up and prepared us for a long day of flying across the Atlantic.  After saying our goodbyes, the group went to check our bags before heading through security to the terminal.  We first stopped briefly in North Carolina before taking our seats on a plane that would be our home for the eight-hour trip.  The intercontinental flight left us jet-lagged and exhausted by the end of it, but we perked up again when we met our host families in Salamanca.  Harrison and I would be staying with an active retiree named Genoveva, who would soon become like a grandmother to us.  She had two even more active dogs named Mari and Pocholo.

Harrison, Genoveva, and me in the apartment

We also took in the city for the first time.  Its historic nature is obvious as soon as you enter the Plaza Mayor and explore the surrounding area.  In the United States, a couple of centuries seems like a long time for a building to stand, but in Salamanca, we saw buildings over eight centuries old.  After dropping off our luggage at our new home, we all regrouped in the Plaza Mayor to discuss our stays.  We soon returned to the apartment for a home-cooked meal and a night of rest.  The following day started off well.  Our breakfast included copious quantities of chocolate in the form of Nutella and hot chocolate.  We quickly started for school with Genoveva there to guide us.  The city had a powerful rhythm that seemed to pull us along.  Upon our arrival we were greeted by our new teachers and some of the other students.  Our morning consisted of welcomes, a placement exam, and a review of the rules.  The morning was for class, but the afternoon would be allotted to us as free time.  After exiting the building, our exploration of the city began.  I discovered that ice cream, orange juice, and Fanta are all better in Spain.  In Picasso Park we found our new haunt- a basketball court.  We soon lost ourselves in the city, mentally and physically.  One of our first experiences using Spanish in everyday life involved asking for directions to the Plaza Mayor.  We took a convoluted route there, but it helped us to get a sense of our location and see parts of the city that we would have otherwise missed.  That night everyone returned home content and fulfilled.  Our expectations had been surpassed and our excitement had not been unfounded.  The next day was our first day of class.  The first part of class consisted of grammar review, while the second segment was a cultural conversation.  After lunch and our afternoon free time the group met back at the school for the evening activity.  On that particular day we learned the Salsa.  We soon got to know not only the other students but also the teachers on a personal level.  The first week went by quickly as we discussed our experiences in the United States and Spain, art, movies, and literature.  That weekend we had our first excursion to another location in Spain.  Our group traveled to the Alba de Tormes, an area with a beautiful tower that overlooks the Spanish countryside.

On the tower in the Alba de Tormes

The following weeks seemed to fly by even more quickly.  We played more basketball, explored, and chatted with local schoolkids.  During our exploration we discovered the wonder of churros with chocolate, bread with tomato sauce and olive oil, and other Spanish foods.  We also enjoyed the World Cup, rooting on the Spanish team with everyone else in the Plaza Mayor.  The restaurants surrounding the Plaza put up televisions so that customers could watch the game and enjoy themselves. The next excursion was to Segovia, an even more beautiful, if smaller, version of Salamanca.  A 2000 year-old aqueduct constructed by the Romans remains standing there today, a feat of human engineering if there ever was one.  A castle stood atop a hill with steep cliffs on all sides.  Olive trees were visible near the town below.  During the evening activities we prepared a salsa.  One day we visited a museum of Spanish anthropology and played the parts of different types of people.  Our final excursion was to Zemora, a place with a rich cultural history.  We visited another museum with everything from curios to large horse-drawn carriages.  That was our last day with the program.

A Roman aqueduct- 2000 years old, 720 meters long

After a sad goodbye to our friends, teachers, and adoptive mothers, the MBA students left for Sevilla.  Our train ride was comfortable but long, and at the end of it we lugged our camping backpacks to the hotel.  We were lucky, however, because the weather was far cooler than usual.  Afterward we were rewarded with a dinner of tapas at a local restaurant.  At the end of the day we visited the Plaza of Spain, one of the most beautiful structures that I have seen in my life, especially during the evening.  The trip back to the hotel was especially challenging.  Sevilla consists of large stone buildings packed tightly together with small plazas interspersed, making it easy to get lost.  We eventually found our hotel and rested for the upcoming day of exploration.

The Plaza of Spain

In the morning we returned to the same restaurant for a breakfast of coffee and toast with tomato and olive oil.  Our morning activity was to visit a nearby castle with gardens and a maze inside.  There was a mix of Spanish and Arabic architecture that made it unlike any place I had ever seen.  Peacocks roamed the grounds and fountains were sprinkled throughout the area.  Our second location for the day was a massive cathedral in the center of the city.  We were able to climb its tower all the way to the top.  From there the entire city was visible below.

The view from the top of the cathedral

A nearby restaurant was our chosen place for lunch.  I had the opportunity to try dogfish with lemon, a dish that isn’t very common in the U.S.  For dessert there was nata, a small egg-based pastry.  During the afternoon we were permitted to explore the city, and explore we did.  We traversed the streets and alleys, constantly finding new stores and restaurants with fresh aromas wafting outside.  Our activity before dinner was to watch a performance of the Flamenco, a dance originally from Sevilla.  We regrouped for dinner at another tapa restaurant.  The highlights were duck on a slice of baguette with olive oil drizzled over it and fresh tuna with peppers and oil.  While the Iberian pig liver was not my favorite item on the menu, I don’t regret tasting it.  It was a worthwhile part of the cultural experience.

The next morning we ate an early breakfast at a local cafe.  We had peach juice and sandwiches with ham- one more thing that is better in Spain- and tomato sauce.  Most of that day consisted of travel from Sevilla to Granada, but in the late afternoon we went out into the city.  After a long climb, we found ourselves at the top of a mountain.  I have no qualms with calling the view sublime.  Set among snow-topped mountains stood a grey stone castle, below which the city itself was visible.  

Granada- the castle and city

After taking it all in for a while our group headed back down the mountain for a restaurant with a selection of fried fish.  Our dessert was a type of smoothie called an horchata made with cinnamon and rice, a new experience for all of us.  After a night of watching soccer and resting in the hotel, we visited the castle that we had seen the day before.  It contained gardens and pools with the occasional stray cat among beautiful architecture.  At lunch we returned to the city.  That particular lunch was the most memorable of the trip.  We had a salad with olive oil followed by an omelette with tuna as an appetizer and first course.  The second course was a cold soup called gazpacho, and it tasted especially good on that hot day.  I had rice with milk for dessert.  The rest of the day was reserved for exploration before traveling to our final destination in Spain, Madrid.

The next day consisted mostly of travel, but we did get a first look at the city.  It was far larger and more fast-paced than our previous destinations had been.  In order to explore the city, Sr. Paolicchi had us complete a scavenger hunt.  It required walking all across the city with a teammate, which allowed us to get to know it as well as we could with the time that we had.  We saw the Gate of the Sun and the Main Square in Madrid along with many other features of the city.  We ended the hunt at the Temple of Debod, from which we could see the Royal Palace, the place we visited next.  It was truly magnificent with its bright white stone and wall of columns.  The following day we visited Toledo, a medieval city.  After seeing a cathedral, we were split into two groups to choose restaurants for lunch.  This was another creative way to encourage us to see the whole area.  Our final day in Spain found us back in Madrid to see the Guernica and Las Meninas, two historic pieces of art.  After seeing all these incredible things in such a short period of time, I had to remind myself of their extraordinary nature.  I know just how fortunate I am to have had the opportunity to visit these places and develop relationships with so many new people.  I could feel my Spanish comprehension and speech improving steadily.  I would like to sincerely thank the Wilson family and Montgomery Bell Academy for this phenomenal experience.  I know that I won’t ever forget it.