Over April vacation, 12 Walpole High students traveled to Spain to learn more about its culture and enhance their learning of the language in a new way. The students were accompanied by Spanish teachers, Srta. Elizabeth Flaherty and Srta. Jennifer Hugueley. The group left from Boston on April 13 and arrived back from Spain on April 21. In Spain, they ventured to Madrid, Toledo, Granada, Gibraltar and Seville, all while immersing themselves into the arts and culture of these various Spanish cities.
The trip originated with Flaherty and Hugueley, who are both avid travelers and wanted to provide opportunities for students to learn more about the culture behind the language they are learning in school. After talking to Sra. Kathryn Bacon and Sr. Richard Sturges, who both led a successful school trip to Spain last year, Flaherty and Hugueley decided to try to organize a trip of their own for this year.
"[On last year's trip] everything was fun, easy and the kids really had a great time and they got a lot out of it, so we thought we might as well try. And people signed up, and it was great! We loved it," Flaherty said.
On the trip, the students ventured to the Prado Museum in Madrid and saw Picasso's art and various Renaissance paintings. The travelers then visited Madrid's grand Royal Palace, all the while being introduced to the arts and culture of Madrid through a tour guide. The students also got to experience the different types of tapas around the city.
"They were really good. We ate Spanish ham and tortilla espanola. It was amazing and so delicious. A Mariachi band came in and performed while we ate," sophomore Renee Abbott said.
As well as visiting Madrid, the group also ventured to the British territory of Gibraltar, on the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula. Their visit there was different than in any other city because everyone spoke English, which gave them a familiarity to the region.
"You would go into stores and pick up what people were actually saying, and that was kind of refreshing because if you went into other stores, it was just all Spanish," sophomore Danielle Abril said.
As well as going to Gibraltar, the group visited many other cities in many different parts of Spain.
"All the cities were very different which was why I liked all of them, so I couldn't really choose a favorite," Abril said. "There's a lot of diversity in each of the cities because they're in different regions which made it really interesting, and that way we got to experience different parts of the culture in different ways."
The teachers also enjoyed experiencing the diversity of the different cities throughout the country, so they can bring back their experiences to share with their classes.
"I just always learn something new, and it makes what I do here more interesting because I have more information on something that is unexpected and different," Flaherty said.
The students not only got experience a new culture while they were in Spain, but they also formed new friendships with their classmates through the experiences.
"My favorite part of the trip was probably getting to know the other high school students I went on the trip with. I didn't really know most of them beforehand, and I created amazing memories with all of them," Abbott said.
The trip to Spain provided a new and exciting experience for both the students and teachers involved. The experiences they shared together opened their minds to a new way of experiencing a new culture and country with other people.
"It was a great way to travel, it was a good excuse to travel; sometimes I say next year or during the summer I'll go, and then something happens and [the trip] never happens," Flaherty said. "But you just have to plan it, and then it happens."