Friday Headlines
the weekly newsletter from EHS
Spanish study trip to Salamanca a success
20 April 2018
In the very early hours of Tuesday 27th March 2018, eight girls studying GCSE and A Level Spanish, accompanied by Mr Flox and Miss López, left from EHS to board a flight from Gatwick Airport to Madrid, to be later transferred to the Spanish university city of Salamanca. After arriving in Salamanca in the late afternoon, the girls met their host families and had a first opportunity to get to know them and practise their Spanish. Despite their tiredness, some girls went out with their host families to experience a procession as part of the Holy Week festivities.
On Wednesday morning, after a delicious breakfast consisting of chocolate con churros, the girls were taken to the ISLA language school where they had intensive Spanish lessons for the following four days. Lessons took place in the morning, and after eating lunch with the host families, the girls experienced a range of cultural activities which included a tour of Salamanca, micro-theatre, karaoke, a visit to the cathedral, a tapas tour and a salsa dancing lesson. There was also a photographic competition, in which all girls were asked to take four creative photos around Salamanca. The winners of the competition were Risha Karavadra and Natasha Carmichael, whose winning picture “Una Catedral Sabrosa” has now been entered into a wider competition organised by the language school. The photograph can be seen in the following link: http://rallyfotografico.com/foto-votacion.php . We would be very grateful if you could support the girls in this competition by accessing the link and voting for their picture. It would be a great achievement if they could win the overall prize. Certainly a first for EHS!
On the last full day, we had the opportunity to go on a daytrip to visit some very traditional villages in a beautiful natural area called Sierra de Francia. We visited the astonishing villages of Mogarraz and La Alberca, with their well-preserved old buildings and houses, full of history and character. It truly felt like a journey back in time, not only because of the visits to the villages, but also because of the hour-long trek through the countryside which brought back many memories of Duke of Edinburgh expeditions, though not all of them pleasant!
On Monday 2nd April 2018, we left Salamanca for Madrid. First we visited the Reina Sofia Museum where we were able to admire the most important works by Joan Miro, Pablo
Picasso and Salvador Dali. We then walked through the historical centre of Madrid, always guided very expertly by Javi, from ISLA.
After a very long day, we arrived back in school in the evening, feeling rather exhausted but happy to have spent an excellent week learning about the Spanish language and
culture in an authentic setting.
Below are some of the girls’ thoughts about the trip:
“I felt the Salamanca trip not only helped my understanding of Spanish, which was its purpose, but allowed me to get closer to girls I didn’t know very well previously. And of course it wouldn’t have been the same if we didn’t have the amazing Señor Flox and Señorita López to keep us company”.
"The Salamanca trip was one of the best experiences of my life as it gave me even more confidence to speak Spanish, while also broadening my knowledge of Spanish culture. It was so much fun!"
“I really enjoyed the trip to Salamanca. I found staying with a host family really useful as it helped me to improve my Spanish because our Spanish mother didn't speak much English. I found the lessons really useful and I think that they really helped to improve my Spanish. I really enjoyed all the activities we did because we also learnt new things about Salamanca and Spain and they were really enjoyable. I would definitely recommend this trip as it was really helpful and I learnt lots from it. Thank you to Miss López and Mr Flox for taking us”.
Our first trip to Salamanca has been a great success, and we are now looking forward to organising a return to ISLA language school next Easter. My most heartfelt thanks must go to all girls for their effort and positivity, and above all to Miss López for her support and contribution to make this trip such a successful experience for everyone.
Mr Flox Nieva
Head of Spanish
Spanish study trip to Salamanca
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