Students arrived in Madrid a little late on the morning of the 21st, and they were ready to go. We caught the subway into Atocha, the train station. A few of the students began to regret having brought bags that were too large (Lesson #1: do without things, or you will regret it!). Anyway, we made it to the train station without any casualties, and we caught the high-speed train to Seville. The guys were staying in a place for backpackers, and the girls were staying with me in a lovely old house that had been turned into a hotel. We agreed to meet that afternoon. When we met (in front of Starbucks), the students were hungry. I pointed out a McDonald’s and a Burger King. They immediately protested. They wanted Spanish food! I was taken aback (a good group, I thought). So, I took them to a Spanish bar for tapas which they seemed to enjoy very much. This first group decision pretty much set the pace for the group. They were very open-minded and wanted to learn as much as they could. That day we did a lot of sightseeing. In the evening Fernando and his wife Mari Angeles took us to some typical bars in Seville where Plava danced and we all sang. The next day we spent in the Park of María Luisa in Seville before going on to Huelva.

In Huelva the students stayed in a youth hostel (I stayed in a hotel). We met for classes every day at the University of Huelva. The students would head for the beach in the afternoons. The first big weekend trip was to Lisbon. I must say that we really saw Lisbon, and the students saw even more of it than I. I remember especially our first meal in Lisbon in a restored convent (beautiful old tiles and the best fish I have ever eaten!). I will never forget the day we spent in the seacoast village of Cascais.

We all enjoyed that. We ended up visiting a Count’s home on the outskirts. The ride home was hectic, but we made it and learned a few lessons along the way. The next weekend we headed for the southern coast of Portugal. One student went kayaking and said that the grottos were the most beautiful that he had ever seen. Anyway, that was a beach weekend. I enjoyed myself in the sidewalk cafés. Our final visit was Madrid. There the students soaked up the art in the Prado and the Reina Sofía (modern art). We also visited the Royal Palace and took a day trip to the Escorial (Philip II’s palace/monastery about an hour from Madrid. That day I was so tired that I couldn’t even have supper with them. Now that I am about to finish this so many memories come flooding in—like the visit to the largest wildlife preserve in Europe. We had our own guide for that, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

              In a funny kind of way, the trip is the sum total of all we did, and it is not. We did a lot, and we learned a lot about Spain. Most of all, we learned about each other and about ourselves. We learned how to travel, what it entails, and what its rewards are. I always learn about myself, and I hope the students do as well. I learned more about my limits, and I learned how to reach beyond some of those limits. I enjoyed this group. I appreciate their acceptance, and I appreciate the opportunity to travel with them. As for Spain, it will always be there—beckoning me and the next group with more of itself to reveal.

Professor Ane Gilfoil, the director of the Spain/Portugal Study Abroad Trip 2008