Typically, Rotary programs in every country organize some sort of trip available to all the exchange students for that year. Spain's trip began March 8 in a Madrid bus station, where 36 of us gathered with distinct expectations and a common anticipation for the nine days ahead scheduled out with quite a lot of bus travel time, about a dozen stops all around Southern Spain and Portugal, and of course, keeping with the Spanish culture, relaxation time pre-planned into the itinerary. We were accompanied by a tour guide named David aand a bus driver named Jose, both of whom immediately earned our respect as easy-going and caring guys; David showed up in a hot pink t-shirt with a lightning bolt on it and a safari hat, with a general appearance very much resembling that of Peter on Family Guy. You've got to ask yourself, how could you go wrong?
Never have nine days passed by so quickly. I'll give a recap of each of the places and include pictures further down in the blog, the Spanish sun greeting us at nearly every stop with an incredible stroke of luck in the weather. As most of the world had one of the coldest winters it's ever experienced, Southern Spain experienced it's version with more rain than they've had in nearly 50 years so we were prepared for the worst. Not one day was under 55 degrees and we even had sunburns on some of the fairer skinned. It was great travelling with a group of exchange students because, unwillingly or not, we've all been cultured and matured over our months abroad. They say that one of the advantages of joining advanced placement classes or honors clubs is that typically, the people that enroll are there by choice and out of their interest or desire to learn and experience. Exchange works very much the same way. No one would put themselves throuh nine months of uncertainty and confusion unless they were convinced of the rewards at the end and had a certain amount of appreciation.
Bus time was filled with action packed UNO games and cans of Fanta pop, lots of naps on windy mountain passes, and out of nowhere, deep, heartfelt conversations about future plans and past hardships. Exchange students are usually packed with personality and eccentricities... where else could one pick up singing Hakuna Matata and have 35 other voices chime in without hesitation or emabarrassment? Maybe because it's American, or maybe it's just the cheapest option, but every restaurant we entered, we were given some type of meat (usually fried) and french fries. By the end of the trip, half of us were claiming to be vegetarians just to taste a little lettuce or tomato. We left each other at the end of the trip in disbelief at how time passes and with a new appreciation for each other, we've all made it this far and we all got along so darn well through the whole thing. It was a once in a lifetime adventure and I owe millions of thanks to Rotary for making it happen.
Small recaps on each of the places that we went... and PICTURES of course!
Granada, Spain is the capital of the Southern providince of Andalusia and houses the great Alhambra, a moorish palace constructed in the fourteenth century. The buildings were originally built under Islamic influence, which is very apparent in the greatly detailed inlay work, but even after the Christian inquisition, the buildings and accompanying gardens were never destroyed.
Some of the inlay work in the Palace... Imagine the hours put in to make it just right
The next stop was only a short bus ride away, about two hours, to Cordoba, an ancient Roman city that houses what should be considered one of the seven wonders of the world. In Spanish it's called a Mezquita, in English a Mosque but it is basically a giant structure that was originally built as a mosque and later, when Christianity rolled in, was converted into a Cathedral. The difference in this case was that, instead of tearing things down, the Christians simply added on and pieced together their ideas, resulting in a giant building comfortably housing two completely different religions and sets of ideas. It was beyond words amazing.
Sevilla was the next stop and it was a warp to the past as I had been there with my best friend Sam Estenson, my mom, and my aunt Laura two summers before. The small, old city is walled in and is a labryinth of tiny streets, monuments, tree-shaded cobblestone, and a sense of history.
My good friend Emma in La Plaza de America
La Plaza de Espana, parts of Star Wars were filmed here
The Cathedral of Sevilla
A couple that came out of their little shop to dance the traditional Flamenco for us
The Moorish Palace in Sevilla
We then drove across the border into Portugal and arrived on La Costa de Caparica where we were pleasantly surprised with a darling, beachside hotel and solid relaxation time after jampacked sightseeing.
Joe, Jesse, and Sam running into the freezing Atlantic Ocean
Emma, Me, Andrea, Margeaux, Valeria, and Devon
We figured since we were already in Portugal, we might as well visit Lisboa, the capital :) We were given mostly freetime in the city after being briefly toured around in the bus. We saw sights such as the 25th of April Bridge, which was modeled after the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the downtown center and an open shopping market on a Saturday morning, and salsa dancing nightclubs with a 1:30 am curfew. Our friend Andrea rolled in her birthday in Lisbon... not many can say they've done that.
Oh the treasures and colors of street markets...
A momument next to the 25th of April Bridge... Ahh exchange students
Here we are on the farthest Western point in continental Europe... the closest we've been to home in 7 months
As we drove up the Portuguese coast, we passed through several small towns, all with distinct personalities, and all very proud to be Portuguese. People preferred we spoke to them in English rather than Spanish... They want it to be very clear that even though they're on the same penninsula, they are NOT Spain.
My buddy Alex and I on a balcony in Sintra
Sintra
Estoril
Estoril concluded our travel around Portugal and we headed back into Spain just north of Madrid, in an area known as La Extremadura where we visited ancient Roman ruins.
We moved on to stay the night in the town of Salamanca, famous for it's University, the third oldest in Europe founded in 1218. It is famous for it's two cathedrals built next to each other, one old and one new, and on one a frog is hidden. If you find it, it's said to bring you good luck. We finished up our last night of the trip out on the town, none of us ready to head back to Madrid in the morning.
The builders of the new cathedral inserted an astronaut among the ancient carvings to show the difference in time periods
My friend Devon and I
The beautiful plaza in Salamanca at nighttime
Out on the town in Salamanca
I might include a different blog later with just solid pictures that various friends took. Some of them could definitely pass for professional. There is no doubt in my mind that this trip was a one time thing, something none of us can hope to replicate again in the future. We all counted our blessings on that last trip back to Madrid, signing flags and saying what could be our final goodbyes at the bus station. It's humbling knowing there are only two months left in my exchange and it sure feels good.
More to come, 1beso, Sami
