Salamanca

At  6:30am, I arose to the hushed murmur of Spanish outside my door. A occurrence that, despite it happening for over a week now, I had not grown accustomed to. We left in the darkness to reunite with the members of the group as they awaited a bus to take us to Salamanca. It had been two days without seeing another Harpeth Hall girl, meaning it had been two days with no English. The girls embraced and laughed as they prepared for our excursion. We arrived in the Plaza Mayor in Salamanca around 9, and were surprised to realize that Plaza Mayores are very common in Northern Spain and all have very similar layouts. After a quick breakfast at a local cafe, we were set to navigate through the streets of an unfamiliar city yet again.

Approaching the cathedral was absolutely breathtaking. The amount of detail and history seen was insurmountable. The inside only continued to impress us as we strolled the halls of the antiquated church. Each alter equally as magnificent as the last. We passed though the 12th century portion as all tourists do, taking way too many photos. As with the castle in Segovia, we had been granted entrance to the tower in addition to the cathedral itself. We scaled the many steps to the first platform. Towering above the city, I could not have imagined a better view of the Salamanca skyline. I would later be disproved.

The four groups were assigned and we broke off in a scavenger hunt challenge. However my team’s first goal was not to find the astronaut hidden in the cathedral door, although we did find that. No, our mission was to find a greater treasure: lunch. Being Americans in Spain meant desperately searching for wifi in every location. I’m pretty sure I checked for a wifi signal in the cathedral. We finally found a cafe with a strong signal and ordered the very traditional  Spanish dish of burgers and fries. After asking the owner where to find various sites we set off. Some gelato, some souvenirs, and nearly all of the items later it was time to return to the teachers.

Our next challenge was to reflect in our diaries about the journey so far. Clutching my new prize from winning the scavenger hunt, I asked Sra. Allen if I might climb to the bell tower as my group had not been able to. Once given permission, I briskly made my way to the cathedral. The numerous stone steps were no kinder to my legs as I sprinted up them for the second time today. By the third flight of stairs, I was panting. If any Spaniards questioned why a blonde girl was alone and dying, they did not vocalize it. At  3:58, I had finally come to the top of the tower. The view from the very top exceeded every picture taken from the first level. Bells hung around me. The old bells coupled with automated hardware creating a glorious juxtaposition. As 4:00 struck, the bells rang. It was worth every step, every trip over uneven stones, every ache I had in my body. I ran, almost fell, back down the spiral staircases all the way to the entrance to the tower. Walking back to Plaza Mayor, I felt truly at home in the cobblestones streets.
-Sarah Grace Kennady

Today our excursion in Spain was to the historic and beautiful city of Salamanca. We all met early in the morning at the bus stop in Valladolid. After an hour and half bus ride, we had arrived in Salamanca. Immediately after getting off the bus, we were greeted by Salamanca's breathtaking streets and the cool, brisk weather. We headed to the Plaza Mayor and warmed up in a cafe. After the much needed pick-me-up, we were ready to explore the amazing city.

Our first stop was to the Cathedral Nueva and the Cathedral Vieja, which are both connected. Although called the New Cathedral, it finished contruction between the 16th and 18th century while the Old Cathedral was built near the 12th century. The inside architecture of both were extremely impressive and ornate, while the outside of both was gorgeous. After that, we were divided into groups of four and handed a paper with instructions for a scavenger hunt for various historic sites in Salamanca. After some time and lunch, we were supposed to report on the significance of our findings.  We then headed to the tower of the cathedral for some more unbelivable views and then split up in our groups to explore!

We were first supposed to find the astronaut within the door to the New Cathedral. After much searching, we were finally able to locate it and found out its significance. During the 1920s, many of the older buildings of Salamanca were undergoing restoration and many adopted more modern aspects which explains why there is an astronaut on the door of an ancient cathedral. Then, we also found La Rana de Salamanca, which is located on the door of the University of Salamanca's Plaza Patio. There is small frog sculpted on top of a skull, and it is considered good luck for students on their exams when they are able to find it. 

After the scavenger hunt, my group and I had a delicious Italian lunch consisting of pasta, pizza, and garlic bread. We even saved room for some ice cream! After that, we walked around the streets some more and explored on our own until it was time to go. We headed to the Puente Romano (Roman Bridge) from which we had a beautiful view of almost all of the university. As tired as we were, we were all also sad when it came time to leave Salamanca.

When we arrived back in Valladolid, I was greeted by my host mother and I was eager to see my host sister at home as it was also her birthday. At home, we had a small gathering with some family friends and her grandmother, where gifts were exchanged and many sweets were devoured! It was a very fun night, but it had to end early since my host sister also had her history exam the next day and had to finish studying. My time with my host fmaily has been phenomenal and we have all gotten along so well. In my family, there are two parents and three daughters, so I always have someone to keep me company as this is also a time for exams for many students in Spain. They have taken me to several historic museums in Valladolid and nearby towns. They have been very courteous about my  religious practices  and dietary restrictions and have made delicious meals for me each day. Everyday with them has been very productive, fun, and memorable!

-Bushra Rahman

Dance class, Visit to Valladolid at night, and Dinner

Today, Friday January 12, all of us attended a dance class. We learned lots of different moves from different Spanish dances including the  flamenco, tango, pasodoble, and others. It was a great way to get moving and lots of fun. The teachers were very engaging and Bushra really loved the variety of Spanish songs. Even the teachers were dancing and showed us their moves. After the dance class, everyone went their separate ways for the weekend with their families. My family took me to the Centro. We went to a restaurant to have "pinchos" (small plates), carne (steak), and coffee. Next, I was shown around the beautiful Centro of Valladolid. My family took me to an old church and we walked around. We also saw a featured art exhibit of many figurines acting out the nativity scene. We did not return to the house until 8. At 10 we eat a dinner of eggs, salad, and kabobs and finished off the night with a movie. It was a great day and I had lots of fun. The city of Valladolid has so much to offer and I can't wait for the weekend with my family. 
-LOGAN MOORE

Cooking Class!

Today the whole group went to a cooking class. When we first got there we had a snack with different types of crackers from Spain and juices. We then started to prepare the ingredients for the "lentajas con chorizo", which is lentils with chorizo in a soup-like dish. People peeled and cut carrots, potatoes, peppers, the chorizo, and an onion.
At the same time we also began preparing the ingredients for the "tortilla de patatas", or Spanish omelet. To do so, we cut potatoes and onions whisked the eggs. With all of the onion-cutting going on in our cooking classroom, even the eyes of people who were standing on the other side of the room from the onions began to sting from the onions. Nonetheless, it was really fun to get to see and learn how two popular Spanish dishes are made.We learned how to make these dishes so we can go back home and share the Spanish recipes with our friends and families, and we also learned how much time and effort goes into making these delicious dishes.

Helping to prepare and cook the Lentils with chorizo and the Spanish Omelet was a really fun experience for all of us and I enjoyed getting to eat both the lentils and the omelet afterwards! Both were very delicious and I am excited to try and make them on my own or with my family when I return to Nashville!

-Bradford Harrington

Valladolid- 10 January

Today, we went on a walking tour of Valladolid with the whole group. We heard about the history of Valladolid, and learned many intersting facts about the city in which we are staying! For example, Christopher Colombus died and was buried here, and Fernando and Isabel were married here! We were outside in the wind and cold for a whie, so we got to stop for some churros and chocolate along the way! Afterwards, we did a scavenger hunt in the area surrounding the “Plaza Mayor”, where we found stores, monuments, and signs with the help of maps, and also by asking locals for directions. We then went our separate ways, in order to be with our families for the rest of the day. With my host sister and her parents, we went to eat “la comida” which is their biggest meal of the day, and in my family, it is eaten around 3:00each day. For this meal, I went to my host sister’s grandparent's house (they live in an apartment very close to her school.) We ate a soup with garbanzo beans, fresh bread, a side salad, and more types of meat than I could count. Her family asked many questions about where I plan to go to college, various customs we have in the United States, and my favorite parts about Spain. After our meal, I walked around Valladolid with my host mom while my host sister had tutoring and basketball practice. We also stopped for some coffee at a local cafe, which was delicious! And after picking up my host sister, we returned home, and the whole family took a quick nap before (we had missed the siesta that they normally take earlier in the day.) We ate dinner at about 9:30 which consisted of pizza with mushrooms and ham, a tossed salad, and a banana for dessert. 

We have had another great day here in Spain, and I feel as though we are getting accustomed to the lifestyle here very quickly, as well as improving our Spanish! 

-Rachel Singleton


Today we all met up in the Plaza Mayor of Valladolid. Once we were all reacquainted, we began a tour of the city and its monuments. Today it was very cold, although it was sunny for the most part. We saw multiple churches, for example the Catedral de Valladolid, and the University of Valladolid as well. We also visited a convent where the nuns sold pastries. Along with this, we visited Campo Grande Park that had peacocks which was very unusual but interesting! To get away from the cold, we took a nice break to enjoy some churros with chocolate and warm back up. After this we continued our tour of the city and began a scavenger hunt to find certain places and things throughout the city. My group was able to accomplish a few of the items on the list, although we had to return to the group pretty quickly because we all had to return back to our families and homes for lunch. Leah, logan, eleanor, sarah, Bradford, Sydney and i all returned back to our school, Maristas, and waited a little bit for our host siblings to get out of school and go home to eat lunch. For lunch i had soup along with chicken and oranges. After this, i chatted with my family for a little while and then i rested for a little while. After this Paula, my sister, took me to the Catedral de Valladolid, expect this time we were able to get a tour of the church and go to the very top of the tower, which had an incredible view, although it was very cold from all of the wind. After this, we went to a few stores to find a gift for her mom because her birthday is coming up. On the way home we stopped at a pastry stop to try a pastry that is very common in Valladolid and it was amazing!! For dinner we had a dish with potatoes, eggs, peppers, ham, and other vegetables along with bread and yogurt and candy for dessert. It was a very busy, but very interesting day and I can’t wait to see what is to come in the next few days!!

-Natalie Simoneaux

School in Valladolid

Today we had the opportunity to attend school with our host siblings. School starts at 8am just like in Nashville and concludes at 2:30pm. Around lunch time, the students eat a snack; however, they do not officially eat lunch until around 3pm. Our classes included Biology, World History, and Spanish literature, and we felt warmly welcomed by the other students. A similarity between Harpeth Hall and the school in Valladolid is that an audible bell signifies the end of class. A difference between Harpeth Hall and the school in Valladolid is that the students have a homeroom and the teachers come to them. I enjoyed this structure. We were so fortunate to have this enriching experience. 
-Sarah Bellardo

Segovia

We woke up late yesterday to head to Segovia. Leaving Madrid, we saw the sun for the first time since we arrived, and as soon as we were out of the city it lit spectacular views of snowy mountainsides. We were all excited to take photos of the landscape, but we had no idea what was coming. 

About forty minutes into our drive we passed through a tunnel under one of the smaller mountains. As soon as we popped out the other side, we entered Narnia. The pine trees along the highways were covered in snow and we could see white ground for miles ahead of us. I spent the rest of our drive staring out the window in awe. 

We arrived in Segovia at about two o’clock to find roads covered in melting ice. We explored the city on our own - taking numerous photos of the aqueduct, the cathedral, and more amazing views - until we met at four to tour the castle. 

First referenced in the 12th century, Alcàzar de Segovia has served has a fort and a castle for 22 kings and is now a UESCO World Heritage Site. It is also believed to have inspired Walt Disney’s vision of Cinderella’s castle. Yesterday it was fairly empty until the eighteen of us arrived. The ornately decorated ceilings were cool enough to tempt us into wanting to live there, but the desire for modern heating in the chilly weather changed our minds. After a long and difficult climb up a dizzying spiral staircase, we found more amazing views to photograph at the top of the castle tower. 

It was one of the most astounding days of my life, and it served as a reminder of how grateful I am for the opportunities at Harpeth Hall. Not one of us ended up disappointed with our change of plans. 

We left Segovia in the evening to finally meet our host families in Valladolid. While we were all nervous to spend the next 36 hours speaking only Spanish - with no Americans in sight - we were excited too.
-Grace Miller

Madrid--Domingo!

Yesterday night, our teachers told us that we could have some free time in the morning before we left for Valladolid. However, we were informed today that the highways were closed due to weather, leaving us with a whole day of free time. We all went shopping, ate lunch, and explored Madrid. At the end of the day, we met up for dinner and split up into our two groups to practice our language skills. Finally, we came together as a whole group to play a couple rounds of Empire while eating Spanish treats. We all enjoyed having the day to ourselves and being independent in a foreign country. Everyone is looking forward to meeting our host families tomorrow!

-Melissa Baioni and Gracie Stambaugh