Valladolid Homestay: Sunday, Jan.. 12 by Ellie S.

Today was our first full day in our home stay families.  When I first arrived, I was nervous beause the Spanish dialect was somewhat different than the Spanish that I am used to in school. 

Regardless, from the moment I met my host family at the train station, they were incredibly welcoming! As the day has passed, I have begun to understand them with greater ease, and it seems like they can understand me better as well. 

I had written in my host family letter that history was one of my favorite classes, and luckily for me my host family lives very close to a famous historical site.  Where most of the Harpeth Hall students have host families in Valladolid, my host family lives in Tordesillas, a city slightly southwest of Valladolid.  This is the same town where the Treaty of Tordesillas was signed 525 years ago, "dividing" the world between Spain and Portugal.  Though the clauses of the treaty are not upheld today, it is a very important history, especially for Spain, who ended getting much more territory from the treaty than Portugal because much of South America had yet to be discovered at the time of the treaty.  It was such a cool experience to see a document that I have studied in history classes in person!  During the same outing, I saw the place where the tower where Juana la Loca, the mother of the first king in the Hapsburg dynasty) was, which was also very exciting, despite the fact that the original building is no longer standing and there is currently a street through that site.  Finally, we toured an ancient convent.  It was beautiful, and I was very surprised to find that the nuns still live there today!

After our history visit, my host sister, Julia, took me to her friend's house in a pueblo called Berceruelo to teach me how to play a Spanish game called Jugger (pronounced yog-gher).  The general premise is that you either have two foam swords, one foam sword and a shield, or one long sword.  The other people playing will have one of the combinations you do not have.  The goal is to hit everyone else without getting hit.  It reminds me a bit of fencing but with more running and action!  Afterwards, Julia's friend's mom made us all a tortilla, which is like an omelette made to serve multiple people.  It is a very traditional Spanish food, and I am glad I tried it!

Overall, I fell like I'm getting into the groove of homestay!  Tomorrow, I am going to school with one of my host sister's friends because my host sister is a few years younger than me.  I can't wait to see what other new experiences are just around the corner!

Madrid to Valladolid: Saturday, Jan. 11 by Lizzie C.

This morning we went to meet our tour guide, César, for a walking tour of our Madrid neighborhood.  In Spanish, he explained the history and significance of different buildings, monuments, and statues.  We saw Plaza Mayor, an old jail that had once housed the French king Francis I, and heard two ghost stories about a nearby building.

¡Hasta luego, César!

Afterwards, we split into two groups and found different lunch places.  My group ate jamón sandwiches and potatoes.  We met back at the hotel to check out, then pulled our luggage a few blocks up Gran Vía to meet our bus to the train station.  After security and a wait, we boarded the train for the hour ride.  We were very nervous on the train to meet our host families, but also excited.  Our families greeted us with signs and besos at the train station before we left with them to start the homestay portion of our trip!

Madrid: Friday, January 10 by Lydia C.

Friday in Madrid was a very eventful day.  The first thing we did as a group was walk to the Parque del Retiro.  The park was beautiful, and there were many people there that morning, including lots of families.  There is a central lake in the park where people took out row boats.  We walked around the park and ate some crepes at one of the food stands.  

Parque del Retiro

After visiting the Retiro, we walked to the Museo del Prado, where we met our guide for the trip, César.  The Museo del Prado is considered to have one of the world's most extensive collections of art.  We got to see works by Francisco de Goya as well as Bosch and Rubens.  After spending lots of time with the artwork, we made our way back to the hotel for a siesta and to get ready for dinner and our long-awaited surprise that señora Allen had planned for us.  We split into groups of five and chose places within each group to go for dinner.  After that, we met at our central meeting place on Plaza Santa Ana and walked to our surprise.  It was a flamenco dancing show!  Flamenco is a type of lively, disciplined and loud dance that is very popular in Spain.  The show was fantastic.

Waiting for flamenco en Tablao Villa Rosa

After the show wrapped up, we went to go get some churros con chocolate at Chocolatería San Ginés, a place that Profe Herring's friend had suggested.  Overall, it was a very busy but amazing day.  

Madrid: Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020 by Emma D.

At La Cocina de San Antón with Caroline Hoffman '13

Geographic Center of Spain!

Oldest Restaurant in Spain

Today we visited the Palacio Real with our guide, César.  First we spent some time between the Palacio Real and the Catedral de la Almudena.  We learned that the palace and the church are facing each other to symbolize the alliance between the monarchy and the church in Spain.  After taking a few pictures, we went inside the palace where César explained many statues, color choices and furniture in the Palacio Real.  The palace contains thousands of rooms, but may are closed to the public.  The rooms we visited are very colorful and had amazing artworks on the ceilings.  Then, we split into two groups and chose our own restaurants for lunch.  After eating our groups competed to find four sites our teachers sent us to find.  We then went to eat dinner with Caroline Hoffman '13 who now teaches in Madrid.

With César overlooking Campo del Moro

Palacio Real Madrid

¡Hola de España! (Jan. 7-8) by Reid H

Today we arrived at the Nashville airport at 7:45 in the morning  Since we got there early, we had time to go get breakfast and hang out with all of our friends departing from Nashville before we left.  We got to Philadelphia around 1pm and had about six hours until our connecting flight departed.  During this time, we explored the Philly airport, which was a fun airport for a layover  due to the various restaurants and stores.  Finally, around 8pm, we took off for Spain.  During our flight, we watched movies, listened to music, and even ate the luxurious airplane food.  Everyone tried to sleep on the airplane because of the huge time difference.  Once we arrived in Spain, it was 8:30am.  We went straight to our hotel, checked in our baggage and left for the Reina Sofía, where we saw works by famous artists like Dalí and Picasso.  We were so tired from the jet lag, that when we had a break in the museum from the tour, we fell asleep on the floor. 

Once we finished exploring the Reina Sofía, we came back to the hotel and took a siesta until 6pm.  In Spain, dinner is served very late in the evening.  We left our hotel to eat at 8:15pm at Restaurante La Catedral, where we tried many tapas including our group's favorite, jamón.  Following dinner, we came back to the hotel and went straight to bed.  We can't wait to share what other adventures we will experience!!

Nuestra misión

During our immersion in Spain, we will strive to practice responsible behavior by respecting both the Spanish culture and each other.  We will prioritize broadening our horizons by putting ourselves out of our comfort zones and taking advantage of every learning opportunity.  We will also have fun!

¡Bienvenidos a nuestro blog!

¡Vamos a España!  

Stay tuned for daily updates on our adventures in Madrid, Valladolid and our homestays.