Will Peters: Spain

Week 1: Castilla y León

Day 1: Arriving in Spain

On June 29th, I departed from Nashville by myself, ready to embark on this new journey. Upon arriving in Boston, I met for the first time the 14 other americans who would become my family over the next 5.5 weeks. From Boston, we flew together to Madrid, and arrived at 6:30 AM on June 30 with little to no sleep, leaving us all very jet lagged. And so our journey began. We began the trip by taking a bus to Támara de Campos, a tiny town in Castilla y León surrounded by farmland, stopping along the way in Tordesillas, a small city, for coffee and toast, the typical Spanish breakfast. Upon arrival in Támara, a town of only 80 people, we had our first group lunch and began to get to know each other. After a quick group activity, we took our first siesta of the trip- an activity that proved to be a necessity as the heat increased and the days got longer. Following our siesta, we adventured around the tiny town and met many of the 80 locals. Although the first day was long, we had a nice beginning to the trip.

One of 3 churches in Támara, this one constructed in the 15th century

Day 2: Bull Training

Each day during the first week we took excursions from Támara to different parts of Castilla y León. The following day, we left from Támara early in order to arrive on time at our first excursion of the week: a visit to a farm where they practice for una corrida de torros (a bull fight). We watched a rajoneador (horseback bull fighter) practice with a young bull for about an hour before we were give the opportunity to run around the ring with a baby bull. Using the tips we learned, we tried to have our own bull fight, but we clearly were inferior to the professional. During our visit we learned a lot about the controversy over these bull fights, and how many young people do not think of the fights as a good tradition, but instead of unnecessary cruelty. 

Watching the Rajoneador practice

Running down a trail through the surround farmland

Day 3-4: Valladolid and a visit to a cave

On day 3 of our trip, now feeling very comfortable with my close knit group of americans, we visited an urban area for the first time. However, instead of visiting one of the bigger, bustling cities of Spain, we visited Valladolid, a medium sized city in north central Spain. In Valladolid, we started the day by meeting a professional chef in a fresh produce market and purchasing all of the ingredients we would need to make our lunch for the day, which was made up of salmorejo (a tomato based cold soup), croquettes, salad, Paella and flan. Under the tutelage of this chef, we cooked our own lunch, and had quite the feast. Following our 3.5 hour excursion with the chef, we were free to explore the city, visiting a park, some old cathedrals, and even a couple authentic, locally-owned shops. To conclude the day, we had an early dinner at 8 PM of tapas. The two meals I ate in Valladolid were definitely two of the five best meals of the entire trip, and are ones that I will never forget. Not missing a beat, the next morning we got up early yet again to visit a cave about 1.5 hours outside of Támara and went spelunking. On the way back to Támara, we stopped at the ruins of a great roman estate and had the opportunity to tour the villa rustica. We rested more on that day, arriving back in Támara in time for another siesta and some free time.

A plaza in Valladolid

Using my knowledge of latin, I analyzed this villa rustica

Day 5: Paco Díaz (Final day in Castilla y León)

On our final day in northern Spain, we spent the day with a world-reknowned musician in Paco Díaz. He taught us much about his passion for music by giving us a tour of his house and all of his exotic instruments. We played a few instruments and even had the pleasure of watching him perform. Following our initial visit with him, we visited a Bodega (wine cellar) 30 minutes from his house and learned about the old methods of fermenting wine. Following our visit to the public bodega, we had the opportunity of spending time with Paco in his private Bodega, where he fed us a lunch of Paella and chorizo and led us in some singing. After about four hours of dining and festivities, we left Paco behind with full stomachs and tired vocal cords.

A barrel for holding wine in the bodega

Weeks 2-4: Aracena

Days 6-27: The Homestay

On Sunday, July 5th, we said goodbye to the quaint town of Tamara de Campos and made our way to the town that would be our home for the next 3 weeks: Aracena (Huelva). After the 10 hour journey by bus, we arrived in Aracena, a small town of 7000 in the Sierra de Huelva, and met our homestay families. Right away my family accepted me with open arms and incredible hospitality. My family was made up of a father, Fernando, a host brother of my age, Fernandito, and Pedro, Fernandito's older brother. Although I was unbelievably nervous, they took me in and we spent the entire first night sharing stories and meeting Fernandito's friends. Even though my family spoke slower and clearer at first (but not for long), I found out quickly that the accent in rural southern Spain was incredibly difficult to understand. It took me about a week to adjust to the accent and the rhythm of speak, but nevertheless I immediately felt welcome in this wonderful community.

A view of Aracena from the Castle in the middle of the Pueblo

The main plaza in Aracena, where we regularly ate ice cream

Day to day in Aracena:

Settled in and adjusted to the new living situation in Aracena, I quickly developed a schedule that I would follow for most days for the 3 weeks of homestay in this town. On any given day, I would get up around 7:45 AM to go for a morning run. Although the town is essentially situated in the mountains, the running in Aracena was incredible, with many different options everyday. Following my run, I would eat breakfast with my host brother while my host father went to his job on his farm. Three days a week, following breakfast, I would head to a different farm, La Communidad Tierra de Esperanza, to spend my time helping the small catholic community that lived there with their daily tasks. On the farm, I packed hay bales, weeded gardens, fed rabbits, pigs and a cow, picked potatoes, and even helped install a pool by digging trenches, transporting gravel and tearing down a wall with a  pickax. Although the work on the farm was not easy, I formed some great relationships with the directors of the community, ones that I will never forget and continue to maintain. I worked on the farm from 10:00 AM until 1:00 PM, when I would bike back home for a 2:30PM lunch.  After our long, classically large lunch, Fernandito and I would usually take a quick siesta, varying in duration between 30 minutes and three hours. Following the siesta, most days, we would either go to one of multiple pools in the town or just hang out with some of Fernando's close friends. Then, around 8PM we would usually have a change of pace, whether it be a trip back to the house, a stop at our favorite ice cream shop, Rufino's, watching or playing soccer, or sometimes a second run or swimming workout. We would eat dinner at around 10:30 PM, as the sun was setting each night, and following dinner we would go out to hang out with friends in plazas until about 1 AM, when we would finally return home, ready to sleep and do it all again. Even though it was exhausting, learning and living the authentic daily life of the spaniards in this small town was an absolutely incredible experience, as I learned so much about the culture and lifestyle of the people.

A view from a road I ran down, overlooking a small town, Linares, nestled in the same mountain range

My host  family: Fernando, Me, Fernandito

 Excursions

While in Aracena, when we did not have our internships(my farm work) to go to, often times the LITA group leaders would organize excursions for either just the american students, or the students and their host siblings. These excursions varied from hiking to another town, Linares, going to the beach, going to a lake, visiting a ham(jamón) factory, visiting surrounding pueblos and old cathedrals, or even just visiting the castle and cave that are located within Aracena. All of these experiences proved to be very fun and provided opportunities to learn and grow in the language. Also while in Aracena, I had the opportunity to go on excursions with my family, such as beach trips and picnics at the farm. All of these opportunities allowed me to grow closer with all of the people around me and allowed me to form some friendships that I will carry on for years to come.

The Walk to the beach in Matalascañas

El Rocío, a wild western type town with an important cathedral 

Week 5: Cádiz and Sevilla

Hiking Trip

Saying a difficult goodbye to our host families and the lovely town of Aracena, we set off to do some hiking in the beautiful Sierra de Grazalema. Led by our guide, Sergio, we hiked roughly 10 miles each day, crossing through mountains and some rigorous terrain.With all of the clothing we needed for three days on our back, we hiked from town to town each day to find lodging, starting in Benaoján, hiking to Grazalema, then to Benaocaz, and finally to El Bosque. All three of these towns were beautifully nestled into mountainsides in the Sierra de Grazalema. After a long day of hiking, we would typically arrive at our destination around 2 or 3 PM, when we would take siestas or go swimming (if possible). After some relaxation and recovery, we would meet as a group around 8:30 PM to go to dinner, breaking the typical Spanish schedule of later dinners. After dinner, we always seemed to find some ice cream, and then proceeded to sleep relatively early, as each morning we got up at roughly 7 AM to start it all over. The hiking portion of the trip was challenging for some, but easily one of my highlights.

Sergio leading the way

Near the top of one of the mountains we crossed. 

Vejer de la Frontera: Beach days

After a challenging 3 days hiking, we were rewarded with 2.5 days in a bigger, beach town, Vejer de la Frontera. Traveling from El Bosque, we stopped in a large port-city, Cádiz, for the afternoon to have lunch and explore a big Spanish city. After venturing through Cádiz, we got back on the bus and arrived in my second favorite town of the entire trip (second to Aracena, of course), Vejer. Although it is still considered a town, or pueblo, Vejer was relatively large, having 24,000 inhabitants in the summer. Located 5 miles from the beach, many people go to Vejer on beach vacations, just as we did. We went to two beaches while in Vejer, and had many incredible group meals. The first beach day, we visited a beach located at the site of some roman ruins, which we also toured. We spent the entire day out on the beach and even ate at a chirringito, or beach bar, that served us fresh caught fish, some of the best I've ever had. The following day we visited Tarifa, a city on the beach located not too far from Gibraltar. We were able to eat lunch on our own, shop, explore the city, and then ultimately go to the beach again. These 2.5 beach days were some of my favorite of the trip. 

Roman ruins on the beachfront

A view of Africa from Tarifa

On top of an enormous dune with two of my American friends, Logan and Cameron

Sevilla and the return

To finish the trip, we spent our last 2.5 days in Seville, a large city in southern Spain and the capital of Andalucía. Upon arrival in Seville, I immediately fell in love with the city, making it easily my favorite in Spain. While there, we learned enormous amounts of cultural information over Seville's history, the moorish and christian influence on the city, the architecture, the importance of catholicism in the city and the way people live in the city. Our first full day there, our group leader and american, Meredith, gave us a walking tour of the city, as she not only lived there for two years, but also is engaged to a man from Seville. Later that day, Meredith and I had the opportunity to go to Mass in Seville. That mass proved to be the prettiest I had been to during the whole trip. On our last day in the city (and in Spain), we spent a lot of the day meeting people of our choosing in the city and taking pictures with them. We also spent the afternoon with some of our Spanish friends who came from Aracena to visit. As a group, we shared our final dinner together, and wrapped the trip up as it came to a sad, but rewarding end. The following morning, we left our apartments at 5 AM, and headed to the Sevilla airport to begin our journey back to the states.

La Giralda, the steeple of the cathedral and tallest building in Seville

LITA Spain South Group

View from the top of La Gerald

A retired Spaniard that my friend Trevor and I met in a Seville Market

Thank you

To end the blog, I would like to say thank you to everyone that has made this trip possible. First, to Jordan, Michela, Zac, Meredith and the entire LITA program for organizing the trip and being with us for support every step of the way. Secondly, I would like to thank Sr. Paolicchi, Sr. Kamm, Sra. Victoria, and all of the language program teachers that pushed me to take this opportunity and helped me decide where to go. Your help was invaluable. Finally, I would like to give a big thank you to the Wilson family for making these trips possible. This trip has definitely been one of the best experiences of my life, and I can't put into words how grateful I am for having had this opportunity. I have bettered my self in countless facets of my life from this trip, from my Spanish language use, to my cultural knowledge, to my interpersonal skills. Thank you very much for this great experience!