“Spain has been our beloved home for the past month, and I could not be happier with this fact. It is imperfect, but it is wonderfully unique. It is where we have ventured from all over to find and learn. And most importantly, it is our home.
We came here as a group of strangers and leave here united as family by the wild adventures of Spain. From the twirls of flamenco, to the sinking feeling of sand between our toes, to the sweet rush of relief following our conquering of the Segovia steps, to the aromas of a medieval fair, to the laughter of our home stay families, we have experienced a summer we can never forget.
In the beginning of our journey, I was nervous for what lay ahead. When we arrived in Salamanca, I quickly realized that my idea of Salamanca, which had been based off of a previous three day visit during a school trip, was completely wrong. It is a peaceful university city that will enchant you with its Spanish charm and influence you into becoming more open minded, not a touristy city with a nice Plaza Mayor. At our language school I was forced to emerge from my comfort zone when it came to speaking. Before, I would over-think every aspect of the sentence I was trying to say, and then stammered during the actual execution of the sentence. However my class had students from Italy, Switzerland, Germany, the United Kingdom, China, and France. We could only truly communicate in Spanish. By having a conversation class that injected a sense of humor into an interesting examination of culture, such as the examination of stereotypes, I found myself finally able to speak freely in Spanish. Also, the mix of cultures in our classroom inspired me to promise myself that in the future I will be at least bilingual!
The other major component that fostered growth in Spanish speaking skills, was our home stay family. There was a night where we chatted for three hours at the dinner table, long after dinner was over. Our home stay family naturally brought out our Spanish and made speaking so much more comfortable for me. Now, I can not imagine not chatting with them for hours about movies, the economy, and just sharing a laugh every hour. They truly made us feel as though we were members of their family and my roommates. I missed them dearly after we left Salamanca. Even there we found a mix of cultures, as we had international roommates from France, Italy, and Germany. From these conversations, we gained a perspective for how each culture sees the world. And now I know that I will never see it the same way I did before, ever again. They say travel opens your mind: travel to Salamanca and experience what we have, and your mind will expand like a sponge.
Beyond language arts, the culture of Spain took us by storm. Flamenco classes with Montse left us fired up and singing “Marcha, Marcha!” as we enjoyed the gracefully complex dance. Gerardo the ceramics artist welcomed us right into his home and encouraged us with his motto “every work of art has a piece of the artist’s soul in it”. Our one salsa class left us breathless and wanting more salsa classes. El Día del Apostol in Santiago de Compostela amazed us with music fit for a Hans Zimmerman movie score, a fireworks show that makes the starry sky pale in comparison, and special lighting effects that remind one of the movie Inception. The Cies Islands presented the hidden beauty of the Spanish isles, though it burned us a bit in the process.
We have now returned to the US and I can say that we have all left a piece of our hearts behind us there. Spain has granted us a month of fun, learning, laughter, friendship, culture, and memories. I learned that when you take a chance, and try the road less traveled, you may just be amazed with what you find there. I know that I was. Spain, do not believe for a moment that this is the last that you will see of us. I now want to thank everyone who was involved in planning this trip and making all the behind the scenes magic happen to create this trip. Thank you to our parents, for supporting us in taking this opportunity, thank you to Magellan for a perfect trip organization and the constant support from the staff and thank you to my fellow group members, for making this trip as amazing as it was. Viva España!!!”
By: Julia Pilkington