MADRID: ORIENTATION
After about a seven hour flight, my
group and I finally landed in the beautiful city of Madrid.
Even though many
people from our group had a great amount of jet lag after the long flight, our
three day stay in Madrid was fantastic. We immediately immersed ourselves in
the Spanish culture, eating tapas at traditional Spanish restaurants and
visiting famous landmarks such as the Puerta del Sol and the Bueno Retiro Park,
where we enjoyed cruising around a lake with rented paddle boats. The next day
we went to the Prado Museum to learn about the works of Diego Velázquez and
other distinguished artists. We also toured the Royal Palace, where the
monarchy of Spain used to live, which was very interesting and the most exciting
part of our stay in Madrid. I think that our orientation in Madrid was a great opportunity for our group to bond and served as a great introduction to Spanish culture.
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| The Royal Palace |
TOLEDO
After our three days in Madrid were
over, we traveled by bus to the city of Cordoba. On the way there, we stopped
at a small town named Toledo. To reach the main part of the city, we had to
climb about eight flights of escalators. The beautiful mountain scenery and a
panoramic view of the city’s subdivisions awaited us at the top. In the center
of the city, we also toured a huge cathedral that had been built in the late
1400’s. Even though we were too late to participate in a mass, it was very
interesting to see the traditional high ceilings and giant altars inside of the
cathedral. From Toledo, we continued on
to our destination, Cordoba.
CORDOBA
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| Four new friends in Cordoba |
In Cordoba, our group had four hour
long classes almost every day to prepare us for our host stays. During each one
of these classes, we were given surveys and questionnaires to ask citizens of
Cordoba. These conversions with people on the streets not only reflected the
amiable nature of the people of Andalusia but also showed us how much passion
people had for topics such as the history of Spain and its economy. One of the
best conversations I had during these activities was with four thirteen year
old Spanish boys.
After my two partners and I finished our survey, we continued
talking with them about the differences between the Spanish and American
cultures, favorite soccer teams, and many other topics. In addition to these classes, we toured one of the most famous landmarks of Cordoba, its mosque. The mosque really taught us about the history of Spain due to its relationship with the Catholics and Muslims, because it has a variety of many architectural features from many cultures. So, our daily activities that
required us to go and speak with actually Spaniards greatly prepared the group and
me for easily the best part of the trip: the home stay.
After my two partners and I finished our survey, we continued
talking with them about the differences between the Spanish and American
cultures, favorite soccer teams, and many other topics. In addition to these classes, we toured one of the most famous landmarks of Cordoba, its mosque. The mosque really taught us about the history of Spain due to its relationship with the Catholics and Muslims, because it has a variety of many architectural features from many cultures. So, our daily activities that
required us to go and speak with actually Spaniards greatly prepared the group and
me for easily the best part of the trip: the home stay.
GUADIX: THE HOME STAY
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| My brother's artwork |
When I first arrived at Guadix, I
was very anxious and nervous because I was not sure that I would be able to
fully communicate with my family. However, all of my fears washed away after I
met my host brother. After picking me up from the bus, we immediately struck a
conversation about La Liga, the top soccer league in Spain. Later that
evening, he even invited me to go play soccer with him and his friends. My
brother was definitely one of the most interesting people I have ever met. It
seemed that he did a little bit of everything. He was a fantastic painter, an
ex-kick boxer, and he was rated the best goalie in all of Andalusia in his age
group. My family was the same. They readily welcomed me into their home and
made me feel like a part of their family. They introduced me to all of their
extended family members and also took me to visit their olive fields. I also
had fun with my mother and sister going grocery shopping with them and visiting
the cave houses of Guadix, in addition to having long conversations with my father.
It was definitely one of the best experiences I have ever had. After a fantastic two weeks and a tearful goodbye,
we headed back to Madrid, where we flew back to the US the next day.
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| My family |
THANKS TO THE WILSON FAMILY
I want to thank the Wilson family
for giving me a grant and allowing me to go on this fantastic trip. I will
forever cherish the memories of the experiences I had and the friendships I
made on this trip. None of these amazing experiences would be possible without
the generosity of the Wilson family. I want to thank them and everyone else who
was involved in the process at MBA. This experience is one that I will never
forget. Thank you.
