John Gould:Spain

Orientation in Madrid

                As I arrived at JFK, and nervously made my walk towards the terminal where I would be meeting my group, I had no clue how great of a month awaited me. After meeting my group, getting to know everyone, and unsuccessfully trying to get any sleep at all on a 7 hour flight to Madrid, I finally arrived in Spain. Despite the entire group being completely sleep-deprived, we were all so excited to explore Madrid that our tiredness hardly showed. We immediately began to walk through the capital, eating at local tapas restaurants, Toledo, went on scavenger hunts throughout the city, and wandered aimlessly around Madrid, almost trying to get lost, just for the challenge of finding our way back. Overall, Madrid was a great start to the trip, and during the orientation I felt as if I really got to bond with everyone in my group, and got to get a taste of the culture and language of Spain.

 

View from my house at my home stay

Home stay in Vilagarcia

                After a 6 hour train ride into Galicia, a province in northwest Spain, I finally met my new family. At first, I was nervous about living with a new family but as soon as I got into their car, they were extremely welcoming and constantly keeping me involved in conversations. When I got to their house the first night, I realized how much they love soccer in Spain, because I had to painfully listen to their cries of agony as we all watched Spain lose to Brazil in the final of the Confederations Cup which is a major soccer tournament.  Over the next two weeks, I enjoyed daily trips to the beach with my host family, games of basketball and soccer with my host brother and his friends, American TV shows dubbed over in Spanish, and nightly dinners that wouldn't even begin before midnight.

Local beach

My home stay family

                My favorite part of the home stay was definitely getting to know my host family and truly experiencing what it is like to live in Spain, especially in Galicia, whose culture is miles apart from that in Madrid. I remember staying up late every night, either with my family or my host brother and his friends comparing cultures and talking about our daily lives in our respective countries. Although about half of the conversations I had were simply me trying to convince everyone that I didn't own a gun, didn't live on a farm, didn't ride a horse to school, and didn't personally know Hannah Montana, I still really enjoyed getting to know so many interesting people, who without this trip, I surely never would have talked to.

El Camino de Santiago

Bridge on El Camino

                For the final week of the trip, my group and I trekked El Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage route that begins in France and continues all the way to the city of Santiago. In total we walked 111 km over the course of 6 days and the walk was absolutely incredible. People from all over the world walk El Camino and during my trek  I met people from Belgium,  South Korea, Australia, Sweden, and even the United States.

Walking from village to village and staying in hostels not only helped my language skills grow, but it allowed me to meet amazing people and not only learn about the Spanish culture, but cultures from around the globe. I had an remarkable experience during this part of the trip, and had an experience that many people will never get to have.

Santiago

                For the final day on the trip before I returned to Nashville, my group and I stayed in Santiago, the capital city of Galicia. The city is fairly large and has an unbelievable history and culture behind it. I was able to see a mass in the cathedral, shopped in local shops, ate some pulpo (octopus), and spent a great last day with my group in Spain.

Cathedral in Santiago

Thanks to the Wilson Family

          I would like to say thanks to the Wilson family for making this trip of a lifetime possible. The experiences I had, the people that I met, and the memories that I made will be with me forever, and none of it would have been possible without the Generosity of the Wilson Family, as well as everyone involved in this process at MBA. Thanks a lot for everything and for the best summer ever.