Madrid – Day 1
After a long day of travel, my group and I arrived in Madrid, Spain. The first activity on the agenda was lunch at a nearby restaurant, where I had my first truly Spanish meal, which consisted of macarrones a la carbonara and huevos con jamón. We then went on a walking tour of the city, where we visited the Palacio Real and the Plaza Mayor, among other locations. We finished our marathon of a day with a dinner of traditional tapas and some much needed sleep.
Madrid – Day 2
Feeling a bit more rested, we began our second day in Madrid with a trip to the world-renowned Prado art museum, where we saw a range of masterpieces, including works by such artists as El Greco, Velázquez, and Goya. Next we participated in a scavenger hunt activity in which we had to interact with the local residents of the city by asking pre-determined questions about Madrid, like “What are the positive aspects of living in Madrid?”, for example. This exercise gave us the opportunity to practice our Spanish speaking and comprehension skills in a real-life situation. Afterwards I tried my first “churro con chocolate”, which is a fried-dough pastry that is dipped in thick hot chocolate. That night we went to a flamenco dance show at an intimate venue, where we sat only a few feet away from the stage.
Madrid – Day 3
Now recovered from our jet lag, we were able to pick-up the pace a little. The day began with a visit to the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, where I got to see one of my favorite works, Picasso’s “El Guernica”. After the museum, we took the subway to a youth community center, where we spent the remainder of the day with some Spanish youth who were just as eager to learn about where we came from as we were to hear about their own life experiences. We split up into three groups and took turns doing different activities: hand-painting, basketball, and Bollywood dancing. Although I’m certainly no dancer, the Bollywood portion was the most fun for me. I admit, I was a little out of my comfort zone at first, but our awesome instructors made it a great experience. Just as we were settling into Madrid, it was time to pack our things and move into phase two of the trip: Toledo.
Toledo – Day 1
I had seen pictures of Toledo on the Internet before going to Spain, but I can honestly say that they do not do it justice. As we drove into the city, I looked out the window and was blown away by its beauty. We took a couple hours to walk around and get a feel for where we would be staying for the next few days. Our first stop was the Sinagoga del Transito, a historic building noted for its rich stucco decoration similar to that of the Alhambra in Granada. After the tour, we returned to our hostel, where we met five Toledo residents who would be accompanying us during our stay. We then walked to the central plaza in Toledo and watched two engaging performances: Arabic drumming and whirling dervish dance. The dancer spun around and around for longer than any human possibly could, symbolizing the idea that everything in the Universe revolves. Feeling slightly nauseous after the performance, we walked back to the hostel and went to bed.
Toledo – Day 2
At 5:30 am, two friends from my group and I woke up to go on a run through the city. I’m not exactly a morning person, but I am so glad I made myself get out of bed because the run was probably the highlight of my time in Toledo. There was absolutely no one on the streets apart from the three of us. We were free to explore the sites ourselves. Even though I almost coughed up a lung from not having run since track season, seeing the ancient city for what it was and without all the tacky tourist shops was a memorable experience to say the least. After a satisfying shower and a quick breakfast of tostada con tomate, we headed to a nearby park to meet up with our Spanish friends. There we broke into groups and discussed our individual communities. More specifically, we talked about the problems with which youth are faced where we live and how such problems can be dealt with effectively. That evening we spent some time in a henna workshop tattooing each other with the dye of a plant originating in the Arabian Peninsula. After my time there, it’s pretty clear that I don’t have a future as a tattoo artist, so I can go ahead and check that off my list of possible career paths. Luckily for the people I drew on, henna comes off after two to three weeks.
Toledo – Day 3
Our last day in Toledo started with a walk around the outskirts of the city along the river. Led by a knowledgeable nature guide, we spent roughly two hours learning about the science behind Toledo’s location and use. After the walk, we gathered on the bank of the river to meet a group of young volunteers who were helping to clean the river and the paths winding around it. We joined them for a bit, aiding them in moving brush wood and picking up trash. For lunch, we walked up the hill to an actual castle and ate some delicious paella. Afterwards, we went swimming in the outdoor castle pool. The view from the pool with the castle in the foreground and the entirety of Toledo just down the hill is one I will not soon forget. We then rode to another park, different from the day before, to have one last dinner with the Spanish youth we had been with for the past three days. We were served a plate of couscous with vegetables and chickpeas. It was then time to say our goodbyes and prepare ourselves for the next phase of the journey: the homestay.
Úbeda –Homestay
For the next nine days, I lived with an actual Spanish family in the town of Úbeda in southern Spain. During this time, the group of American Experimenters was split up, as we each became a part of a different family. My family consisted of my host mother and her three daughters, ages 19, 20, and 21. There were not many planned events and activities like there were in Madrid and Toledo, however there was a certain routine that the family followed most days. Every morning I got up around 10:00 am and ate tostada con tomate and cola cao for breakfast. After breakfast I typically hung out with friends and went swimming or played basketball. Whatever it was that I was doing, it had to stop at about 2:00 pm so we could eat lunch together as a family. My host mother always prepared amazing dishes, including paella, gazpacho, and tortilla española, to name just a few. After lunch came the siesta, an afternoon rest that is taken during the hottest hours of the day. During that time I did a variety of things, including watching The Simpsons in Spanish and talking with my host sisters. At about 7:00 pm most nights, I would leave the house with my Spanish friends and hang out in a park in the middle of town. We had a lot of fun conversations in that park that boosted my speaking and listening skills significantly over the course of the week. Later in the night we would walk to a restaurant or bar and eat tapas together. During my stay in Úbeda, my Spanish abilities improved immensely. For the first couple days, I struggled with the Andalusian accent. The people of southern Spain are notorious for speaking incredibly fast while leaving out sounds at the end of words. Despite the challenge, I soon found myself able to understand and reply without having to translate to English first. That feeling isn’t one that comes easily in a classroom setting, where a student only has 45 minutes to “be in language”. My time in Úbeda was unforgettable.
Estella – Community Service
Our week in Estella was spent doing service for the community. Our schedule changed a little bit each day, but the overall structure remained the same. Every morning we did one of two things: played with Spanish children at a local day camp or cleaned the Iglesia de San Miguel. The camp began with drawing time. We sat with the kids of ages 4-9 and spoke to them as they drew. It was a great opportunity to get more practice speaking Spanish, but also to teach the children some English. After that, we rushed outside to play games, sing, and eat a snack. At 2:00 pm we stopped working to have lunch at our hostel. We then participated in some kind of group activity. These included a photo scavenger hunt similar to the one in Madrid, swimming, hiking, caving, kayaking, and visiting the Truffle museum. We built some strong connections with the kids even in that short amount of time, which made the goodbyes even harder as we now headed to Barcelona.
Teaching the children of Estella the Macarena
Barcelona – Day 1
Exhausted after a long train ride, we arrived at our apartments just after noon. We took a walk through the city, looking at various statues and buildings along the way. Our guide then set us free to explore the city on our own. A couple friends and I went to a famous market called La Boqueria. An hour later, we met back up as a group and took a trip to the Picasso museum. The museum featured works from each phase of his career, enabling me to witness his development as an artist. By the time we left the museum, it was fairly late, so we made our way back to the apartments and hit the hay.
Barcelona – Day 2
On our second day, we got up early and walked to La Sagrada Familia Cathedral by Gaudi. Construction started in 1882 and isn’t projected to stop for another 15 years. The structure was one of the most physically impressive I’ve ever seen. Its sheer size, grandeur, and overall “gaudiness” was enough to take my breath away. From there we walked to another one of Gaudi’s famous works, Casa Milá, better known as his apartments. As a lover of architecture, these two excursions were a highlight of the trip.
Barcelona – Day 3
On our last full day without travel in Spain, we went to Parque Güell, a garden complex with architectural elements designed by Gaudi. Near the entrance of the park is a multicolored salamander / dragon. It is rumored that anyone who takes a picture with his or her hand in the lizard’s mouth will return to Barcelona in the future. I’m not one who falls for that kind of story, but I made sure to get the picture anyways. After the park, we had lots of free time, which the group and I used to go shopping. That night we went to an amazing fountain show in downtown Barcelona with beautiful lights and music. It was the perfect way to end the trip.
I’d like to sincerely thank the Wilson family for their generosity in providing me with this incredible opportunity. I recently completed my third year of Spanish at MBA and took the Spanish Language and Culture AP Exam. All year I read about different Spanish traditions and dishes, but it was only with my trip to Spain that I was able to fully understand and digest what I had been taught in the classroom. Without your benevolent grant, none of that would have been possible. I would also like to acknowledge Connor Kamm and Daniel Paolicchi, my teachers, for instilling in me a love for Spanish over the past two years and also for trusting me to be a good ambassador for Montgomery Bell.
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