One of the largest groups to travel with the program in its history, 26 Spanish language students visited Spain to immerse themselves in the culture and language from March 30 to April 16.
Spanish teacher Javier Zaragoza and Receptionist and SAT/ACT Test Center Supervisor Nathaly Blanco chaperoned two freshman and 24 sophomores. Zaragoza has been leading student trips to Spanish-speaking countries since 1991, said that they allowed more than the typical 22 students to attend due to the increased interest this year.
“I really liked learning about Spanish history and culture in Spanish with my friends,” AP Spanish student Emily Wesel ’19 said.
Participants toured four different cities to visit historical sites, experience Spanish culture and attend language schools.
In Madrid, travelers visited tapas restaurants and El Prado, a museum. They also went on excursions like a soccer game, shopping and going on a scavenger hunt in Sevilla.
Students also took classes at the Aula Language Institute in Toledo and the Cadiz Institute in Cadiz, where they lived with host families.
“I very much enjoyed communicating with my host family about Spanish culture and politics,” Wesel said. “I feel that I gained a perspective that was new and different.”
Zaragoza said that understanding the culture better and being forced to think completely in Spanish allowed students to develop their own personality in the language. “If they were not asleep, they were with the family, with us, in school [or] were traveling, so there were a lot of opportunities to [be immersed in],” Zaragoza said.