Salamanca

Grace: Once we arrived in Spain, we travelled in a coach for three hours to reach Maristas-Champagnat, the school our exchange students go to.  We were all really excited about seeing our Spanish friends again, who we had bonded with so well when they had come to London the previous summer.  My family were so nice to me, and treated me like one of them.  I honestly learnt a lot from the exchange, and the best way to learn a language is, in my opinion, going to stay with a family.

Jessica: Monday was a day of culture, history and churros! Churros, a traditional Spanish delicacy, are like long doughnuts and are usually eaten dipped in thick hot chocolate. We were lucky enough to have a guided tour of Salamanca and its sites. There was one small problem, however – our guide didn’t speak English. This was soon overcome with the help of Señora Campos and Cirus, and we were soon able to grasp the basics of what our guide was telling us.

Grace: Salamanca is a very historic city, with beautiful cathedrals, and the very famous and stunning Plaza Mayor. During our stay, we visited both Segovia and Zamora, nearby cities with interesting history and buildings. There was an amazing aqueduct, which is 14 km long!

Jessica: Another activity I found really fun was when we visited the school. In twos, we sat through classes, and helped lots of students with their English! We also managed to meet the young children there, who were all really sweet and lovely. On the last night, we had a really fun farewell supper together.  Some Spanish musicians (La Tuna group) played hilarious music to us all and we danced the night away.

Grace: The following morning we had to be at school at 7:30am to get on the coach to Madrid. Our departure was very emotional and resulted in many tears both from us and our exchanges. This exchange was such a great experience. I had so much fun and I know that I will never forget it. Thank you so much to Señora Campos and Cirus for taking the time to come with us and look after us.

Grace and Jessica