Spain 2019 - William Myers

Salamanca (May 26-June 15)

On May 26 after nine hours, our flight finally arrived in Madrid, and John and I began our adventure in Spain. We took a bus to Salamanca, our home for the next three weeks, and met our host, Genoveva, for the first time. While in Salamanca, we ate all of our meals with Genoveva and would have many discussions about our day, lives, and other things like Spanish politics. For each meal, we had typical Spanish food and ate at the typical time in Spain. Breakfast was smaller, usually bread with jam or chocolate spread accompanied by milk and was around seven or eight in the morning. Lunch was the largest meal of the day with soup and another dish like pasta and was at about two. Dinner was later in the evening, eight or nine, and was a smaller dish like the Spanish potato tortilla.

Everyday, John and I would walk from Genoveva’s apartment to Estudio Sampere where we
attended classes for three hours. One class was focused on grammar, and the other class
focused on conversations. These classes helped me improve on grammar like the subjunctive
tense, and also boosted my conversation skills. Each day, we would also have an activity with
Estudio Sampere in the afternoon. In these activities, we learned about the rich history of
Salamanca and explored its neighborhoods. We also had cultural experiences like cooking
Gazpacho and going to a dance class.

University of Salamanca

We also had a lot of free time to explore Salamanca on our own. Almost everyday, John and I
went to the park and played basketball. Playing basketball was definitely my favorite way to interact with local people. Salamanca truly came alive at night, so every night, John and I would go to the Plaza Mayor to hang out with some of our friends from Estudio Sampere. We also went to many events at night in Salamanca. Our first week, there was an arts festival, so there was a different concert to attend each night. Our last weekend in Salamanca, there was a light festival, and we sat in the Plaza Mayor to watch a competition of projections on the main entrance.

John and I on the roof of Salamanca's Cathedral

Each weekend, we went on excursions outside of Salamanca with Estudio Sampere. Our first
weekend, we traveled to the small village of La Alberca and explored the skinny streets of this
village in the mountains. Afterwards, we went to an Iberian ham factory and learned about the
process of making Spain’s famous ham(one of my new favorite foods). The next weekend,
we went to Alba de Tormes and climbed the remaining tower at the ruins of the Castle of the
Dukes of Alba, went to the livestock market, and walked around the town while taking in the
view of the Tormes River. Our final weekend with Estudio Sampere, we traveled to Caceres and
toured the old town which was full of ancient building and surrounded by a massive wall with
many towers. Later that day, we went to Granadilla, an abandoned town said to a place of
supernatural activity.

Alvaro, my Estudio Sampere teacher, and I in Granadilla

Seville (June 16 - June 18 )

After three weeks, we met with Sr. Paolicchi in Salamanca’s train station to begin our week of travelling. We arrived in Seville and started our experience of eating in Spain’s spectacular restaurants. Our first meals were at two tapas bars, and the experience was phenomenal. Not only was the food great, but the people were nice and the environment was fun. I enjoyed learning how to truly eat like a Spaniard. Our first day, we went to the Plaza de España, a large plaza created to show the identity of Spain, and at night we watched the beautiful sunset over the Guadalquivir River. The next day, we toured the Cathedral where we saw Christoper Columbus’s tomb and climbed the bell tower for an astonishing view of the city. Afterwards, we went to the Alcazar, one of Spain's Royal Palaces, and explored the buildings and the breathtaking gardens.

Plaza de España

Granada (June 18 - 20 )

On June 18, we left Seville and took a train and bus ride to Granada. While in Granada, we enjoyed very good food, and the seafood was especially delicious because of Granada’s location near the Mediterranean Sea. Our first day, we walked through the city and enjoyed the views and sunset from the Plaza de San Nicolas over the beautiful city of Granada. The next day was spent touring La Alhambra, an ancient Arabic fortress and royal Spanish palace.

At the Patio de Leones in the Alhambra

Madrid/Toledo (June 20 - 24)

On June 20, we took a train to our final destination, Madrid. Our first day was spent exploring the streets and plazas of Madrid. In the morning on our second day, we did a scavenger hunt through Madrid, and after successfully completing it, we toured the Royal Palace. Later that afternoon, we toured the Plaza de Toros de las Ventas, Madrid’s largest bull fighting arena. The next day, we went to Toledo, a small city outside of Madrid. We toured the Cathedral and later had lunch on our own. On our last day in Madrid, we went to two museums in the morning, La Reina Sofia and El Museo del Prado to look at works by artists like Goya and Picasso. In the afternoon, we toured Real Madrid’s soccer stadium, Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Our final night, John and I had dinner on our own, so we went to the market and enjoyed many different small dishes.

La Plaza de Toros de las Ventas

Royal Palace

On June 24, we said hasta luego to Spain as we took our final metro ride to the airport and boarded our plane home.

Gracias

I would like to thank the Wilson family for giving me this opportunity. Not only did I have an amazing time, but I also learned a lot and met many new people. I improved my Spanish in many fields like vocabulary, speaking, listening, and writing. I was also able to explore a foreign country and become immersed in Spanish culture.  I would also like to thank Sr. Paolicchi for planning everything and showing me around Spain for a week.  Thank you Wilson family for sending me on a trip I will never forget.