College Language Trip to Spain

After a long and tiring 30 hours trip to Spain our group of Year 11 and Year 13 students finally landed in the capital city of Madrid. We were ready to spend the next two weeks in four different cities immersing ourselves in the culture and language of the country.

On our way to Granada we stopped at Toledo, a small medieval city famous for its ornamental weapons made of Toledo steel. After a short tour most of the boys spent their money, buying ornamental weapons such as pistols and swords! You can imagine the horror in customs coming back and the worry on Mrs Martinez’s face!

Our first major city was Granada where we met our homestays who could not speak English, but were able to make us feel at home with the typical two kisses on the cheeks and a warm welcome. Granada is a city that had over 800 years of Muslim occupation and history and it’s the home of the Alhambra. It is also where the Catholic Queen Isabel and King Fernando gave Christopher Columbus the permission to sail and discover the ‘Americas’.

While in Granada, we had the chance to visit a Spanish high school. This was a standout experience for many of us, as it was a unique opportunity to experience Spanish school life. We spent the day in Spanish classes, in a school very different to Saint Kentigern. We all really enjoyed this day as it was a chance to talk and interact with Spanish people our own age.

We also visited the gypsy caves in Sacramento where we had a flamenco dance lesson and were treated to a live show and a tapas dinner. Tapas are small portions of a variety of delicious foods that are shared within a group. No visit to a city is ever finished without a very rewarding afternoon of shopping, and so we spent hours in the many clothes and shoe stores in Granada.

We stopped over Almunecar where we spent the day doing kayaking, surfing, beach volleyball and relaxing by the beach side.

Nerja was next. Nerja is a beautiful beach town opening out to the Mediterranean Sea. This is where our next homestays were once again waiting for us. We went to the Nerja caves, famous for its widest naturally formed rock column. However, our grand adventure in Nerja was canyoning in Rio Verde, as we jumped down nine metres into water and abseiled down waterfalls.  

We travelled back up the coast, where we spent a night in a hostel in Cordoba. Although just an hour away, the weather took a turn for the worse, and it was time to pull out the winter clothes that we had packed, but not had a chance to wear. After exploring Cordoba and its ancient Cathedral, we took the high speed train back up to Madrid where we met our final set of homestays.

Back in Madrid, we explored the Royal Palace and The Senate, as well as taking a bike ride around a beautiful central city park. Another highlight for the girls, as well as the boys, was visiting the football stadium ‘El Santiago Bernaveu’ which took three and a half hours to explore. We were all in awe of the huge size of the stadium and could only imagine what it would have been like to be there during a game.

On our last day, we visited the Warner Bros theme park. This was a huge step up from Rainbows End and a great way to finish the trip on a high note with a bit of fun!

However, even after all the amazing experiences, one aspect that made the trip unique was the connections we each made with our homestays, the opportunities this gave us to practise our language and the memories that we will have after living with them in their homes.

A special thank you goes out to Mrs Martinez, Miss Cunningham and Mr Fryer for giving up their holidays to take us on such an incredible journey and to our parents who made it all possible.