SDA Goes to Spain

Fifteen SDA students, Spanish teacher Ivonn Barriga, and her husband enjoyed their time in the Spanish cities of Leon, Salamanca, and Madrid during the second half of a student exchange over spring break.

During their first stop in Leon, students got to be reacquainted with the Spaniards that had visited SDA in the beginning of March and stayed with the SDA students’ families. For junior Remy Grossman, her experience with her host family “was really good. They were really nice. My host mom was really sweet and she took care of me.”

Junior Wyatt Clay also enjoyed his time in Leon, he sees it as “my new hometown away from home.”

During their seven day stay in Leon, Grossman said, “We all would hang out in Central, the center of town where all the Spaniards hang out after schools or the weekend, and talk with everyone.”

Clay said “Spaniards stay out very late at night. Some of them don’t have curfews until 5AM, even on school nights. So we stayed out, we got tapas, and explored the streets of Leon.”

SDA students also attended classes at the school the Spanish students attends. “I went to an English class there and they learn english just how we learn Spanish. The teacher made them talk to us in English. It was interesting to see the other side of things,” said Clay.

During their day trip to Salamanca students saw the University of Salamanca, the Old Cathedral of Salamanca, and the Plaza Mayor.

While in Spain, students got to get a taste for all kinds of traditional foods, from tapas and tortillas de patatas to paella mariscos.

The highlight  of the trip for Grossman was Madrid. “There was just so much. It was a city, while the other places were more rural.” Clay said, “it’s a very modern city but they still a lot of old things. It was nice seeing all the different cultures of Spain.” He also said, “I saw this guy in Madrid, he was a street performer. He was dressed like an astronaut and riding a motorcycle hovering over the ground. I don’t know how he did it,” when commenting about the culture.

Clay said, “I think they are important because it gives a lot of perspective. There are a lot of differences: the cars are smaller, the streets are different. The way you live your life is different in a foreign country. In America, we lose sight of that a lot, but I think it is very important for people to have perspective.”