This past summer, a group of World Languages students took a trip to Spain with PC's Mr. Madsen. The trip took place over nineteen days spanning from June 11th to June 29th. Six students from Park Center participated in the trip; four of these six still attend PC. The students were Rebecca Keniston, Hangatu Omar, Courtney Faeh, Kristine Johnson, Abigail Lutzke, and Dom Hurst.
Throughout the trip, students visited a wide spectrum of cities including Barcelona, Torremolinos, Sevilla, Toledo and the capitol city of Madrid. Sight seeing was done in all cities, but the students had the opportunity to stay with Spanish host families for a period of five days in Toledo.
"I would say being with my host family helped me the most. It taught me a lot about the Spanish culture and how they live their lives," said Kristine Johnson. According to Courtney Faeh, living with a host family helped improve her ability to listen to the language when a native speaker is talking. This part of the trip provided the students excellent exposure to the Spanish language, yet the experience was varied depending on which family you lived with.
Some of the trips highlights included visiting Mont Juit, swimming in the Mediterranean Sea, talking with high schoolers from Barcelona, and being able to see a part of the world that is thousands of miles away from home. One memorable moment for Rebecca Keniston was, "When we went to New Toledo and we walked around for two hours and had so much fun!". Trips to various mosques, churches, and palaces were also very informational.
Although the trip was a great experience, it did not come easily. The 2006 Spain trip cost about $3,000 dollars per person. Although this seems expensive, various fundraisers and stages of planning were used to help students meet the requirement. There was a period of about one and a half years between the notice of the trip and the trip itself; therefore plenty of time was given to acquire the necessary funds.
Did you miss the Spain trip and wish you could have gone? Don't worry, Park Center takes a trip to Spain every two years so you still have another chance! The next trip is planned for the Summer of 2008. Although information on this trip is not yet available, it will be in a matter of time so be sure to stay on the look out for it if you are interested!
