Nuestro Viaje a Barcelona, Espana(Our Trip to Barcelona, Spain)

 

I believe the majority of us have exhausted our vocabulary when describing to our peers the astounding experience every one of us had in our visit to Barcelona, Spain. With a group of ten, exalted students and one truly wonderful teacher, Mrs. Hema Chenupathy, the entire trip, from day one, was a memory to be cherished.

Organized by the Spain BCN group, we were received at the airport by one of the three coordinators, who assisted us wholeheartedly throughout. Lasting a total of eight days from March 9^th to March 17^th, each day possessed an inundated itinerary full of classes, sightseeing, trips to the beach and even time for our personal favourite, shopping. Our day commenced at approximately nine o’ clock with two hours of Spanish classes and then an hour of cultural history relating to the historical location to be visited later that day. Between our trips for lunch and dinner we were served exquisite, traditional Spanish dishes that were personally made for our group.

Perhaps our most noteworthy exposures were our interactions at a local facility/hospital that houses patients with cerebral paralysis and at the Spanish school. The first of which gave us an opportunity to extend ourselves to people who were physically disabled and let them gain a feel for the Indian culture. We were greatly touched when one of the women there had expressed, “Because I cannot go to India, India came to me.”

Similarly at the school, we were able to proudly present our country’s heritage to all the students, answer their questions in return and even perform a short dance for them. We were rather apprehensive at first but upon seeing their friendly nature and eagerness to see what we had in store for them, we were able to open up and search for common grounds between us. It is experiences like these in fact that show how puny and insignificant language barriers can be.

While the trip was an additional academic benefit for the Spanish students, the others gained just as much in terms of visiting a new country and appreciating another culture. We were able to surpass our communication difficulties and relish a successful and fruitful excursion. On behalf of every one of us, we recommend this to anyone who is willing to open their mind to a world anew.

Mounika Donur XI A IB