Spain Sustainable Communities & Immigration Session 1A 2024
June 29, 2024
Today we arrived in the beautiful land of Spain, specifically Madrid. We took a bus ride from the airport to our hostel, which is quite modern and hip! We got to our rooms and took a 20 minute walk to lunch! We then made our way back to the hostel and to experience some Spanish culture with a siesta! After some much needed rest we made our way to a park right next to the Royal Palace. There we did some icebreakers to get to know each other‘s names. We also created goals for our trip and reflected on our group values. After that we headed to a cute little restaurant for a traditional Spanish dinner, some of us even tried Arroz Negro, a rice dish dyed black with squid ink! We made our way back to the hostel and wrapped up the day with a meeting to share appreciations and prepare for the day ahead.
By Grace & Eliana
June 30, 2024
Today we had a traditional Spanish breakfast at the hostel and then headed out to go on a walking tour of the city! We went to the Plaza Mayor and learned all about the history of Madrid. During the tour we got to try some very tasty churros con chocolate. We continued on our tour learning about Madrid’s past and the history of the Spanish kings and queens. We got a little time to do some shopping before lunch and get some Spanish fashion. We then went and had a tasty bite at an Italian restaurant. We then met up with our guide to go to the Prado Museum and see some amazing art works. Following that we did more icebreakers before heading to dinner. We ended the day at a cave restaurant to try some tapas and headed to get ice cream to finish the day.
By Grace & Eliana
July 1, 2024
Today we woke up and ate breakfast at the hostel. Then, we got on the bus and headed to Segovia. We saw an ancient aqueduct an heard the legends of its creation. After that, we toured the Alcazar, a medieval castle and walked around a Cathedral before enjoying some Sephardic cuisine. After lunch, we shopped around and headed to Amayuelas de Abajo. We had an orientation with Meliton about our service work, learned about the history of the farm, and enjoyed a delicious homemade meal and birthday celebration for our fellow traveler Veronica!
By Charlie and Chloe
July 2, 2024
Today we started our work in the small community of Amayuelas. While some of us worked on the farm, others worked either on salvaging materials from a collapsed house or did some work cleaning the guesthouse we are so thankful to be staying in. After lunch we had our workshops where, some of us learned how to make sourdough bread, pizza, and cookies from scratch. Meanwhile, the others learned how to make adobe bricks for building and mixed the mud while dancing to Cotton Eyed Joe. After a wonderful homemade dinner, we settled down with a rose, bud, thorn activity then talked about our day. Overall, this was one of the best days and we can’t wait for the next one.
By Sara and Jade
July 3, 2024
We began our day by eating a nice breakfast before getting back to our service work with groups rotating to farming and salvaging work as well as helping out around the house. All went well. And we celebrated by eating some delicious chicken. Once finished with our delicious meals, we learned and played traditional Spanish games with our generous hosts. We had a great time bonding and continued the afternoon with some team building games. After that we ate Spanish tortilla and green beans we picked ourselves at the farm. To conclude our day, a group of us took a walk to watch the sunset over the fields. We all had lots of fun and look forward to tomorrow.
By Will and Pete
July 4, 2024
Today we began by eating a breakfast of toast, cereal and fruit to fuel our bodies for the hard work ahead. One group continued to pick up the rubble from the collapsed house while the other continued their work on the farm. Halfway through we stopped to join groups and help our hosts by collecting firewood under a cover to protect it from the rain. Then we went back to the hostel to eat lunch and have siesta time. After that, we all sat in the circle and discussed how we can improve our trip experience. After our discussion, we went to play fútbol with the local Spanish kids and got to know them a bit in the park. We walked back home to enjoy an amazing dinner made by the staff at the hostel. Finally, to celebrate the Fourth of July we had a bonfire and enjoyed the night together in Amayuelas.
By Violet and Ansel
July 5, 2024
Today we finished our last day in the little sustainable town of Amayuelas. We started off with a delicious breakfast with handmade yogurt and fresh baked bread to get energy for our last service work. We split up our group to work on the farm, salvaged and house work.
We have planted carrots, celery and harvest cherry tomatoes that we ate afterwards in our salad.
Before lunch we did a reflection on our five days working and sharing with the community. It was very interesting hearing the rest of the group about their insights.
Later we had a delicious traditional lunch (white rice, egg and a tasty tomatoes sauce).
Then we have our “siesta” time and split up again to do the baking and adobe bricks workshops. We had fun making bread, butter cookies and pizza for the dinner. We all returned home either covered in flour or mud. Today we also watched the Spain vs Germany Fútbol game (Spain Win, yeah!).
After our dinner time with pizza and ice cream we went for a sunset walk to enjoy our last night in the lovely town of Amayuelas.
By Olivia & Marc
July 6, 2024
Today we started bright and early at 5:45 and got all packed to head towards Malaga. The bus ride to Madrid was about three hours with a pitstop for breakfast in between. From Madrid, we took a train all the way to Malaga. Malaga is a beautiful city, bordering the ocean, with scenic views, great shops, and of course, palm trees. We got to the hotel after our long day of travel, unpacked our things and had an hour to shop. As if that wasn’t enough, we attended a cooking class and made cheesy pan rustico, paella, and sangria (alcohol free of course). All of it turned out super delicious. Finally, we went on a walk to the beach to see the sunset and sites on Malaga’s lively coast. We loved seeing the beautiful beach as well as people dancing around the city. We then walked back to the hotel, hanging out with the new friends we have made this trip. And that’s a wrap, buenas noches from Espana! Nos vemos pronto familia.
By Emily and Alexa
July 7, 2024
We began our day with a short bus ride from our Malaga hotel to the beautiful city of Nerja. There, we had the opportunity to explore one of the cities most fascinating landmarks, the Cuevas de Nerja. After walking through the caves, we strapped in to some virtual reality helmets to experience the caves from within. Afterwards, we walked down to the beach to enjoy a traditional Spanish seafood lunch. From there, we spent some time swimming at the beach before we headed over to pick up our kayaks. In groups of two, we explored the city’s beautiful cliffs and waterfalls from the kayaks and had the opportunity to jump into the water and swim around. After drying off, we took a second bus ride to the Fundación Escuela Solidaridad (FES). Upon arrival, we gathered with other children from the community to share a traditional Colombian dinner, play a few games of fútbol, and get to know each other. We ended the day very excited for our time in this community!
By Veronica and Isabella T.
July 8, 2024
Today was our first day at FES (Fundación Escuela Solidaridad)! We enjoyed our first breakfast with our new friends from many countries (Nigeria, Senegal, Morocco, Peru…) and we had an introduction about the project in La casa Africana, a small round space full of carpets and wooden chairs.
We helped rearrange a new dining space and books, for our service today. Then we had a delicious lunch (lentils, big salads, and different fruits) together with the whole community and of corse, we hade our siesta time afterwards.
Many of us went into the pool to cool down, and have fun with the community members trying to communicate in our “Spanglish” language.
And then we had a “get to Know you” meeting called CONVIVENCIA with the host Ignacio and few members of FES. people shared hopes, dreams and crazy stories about their life’s.
After that, we ate another incredible meal around a long table on the patio and had fun with friends, old and new.
Buenas noches!
By Isabella y Livi
July 9, 2024
This morning we started the day with breakfast, including pan con tomate y frutas. When we returned, we had our choice of workshops, including woodworking, baking, making marmalade, gardening, sewing and more. One project we started was the creation of a mosaic. After wrapping up the workshops, we had a Moroccan lunch and a siesta. Some of us went to the pool during our free time and either swam or tanned. The next activity we did was making pizzas that we ate for dinner. During dinner, we joined the community to watch the semifinal in the Euro Cup between Spain and France. After a lively back and forth the night ended with a Spain victory and many olés!
By Will and Tessa
July 10, 2024
Good morning from Spain! We woke up and started our day with a Spanish breakfast. After that, we went to our workshops to learn from members of the community. A couple examples are making a mosaic and making pear marmalade along with some community students. We then had a tasty lunch and got dressed up for our evening of Flamenco. We departed FES and took a Flamenco lesson with a pro, which was very fun. After a few of us performed for the group we walked to a view point to see the Alhambra, had dinner, and finished off with a beautiful Flamenco show. Finally, we boarded the bus and headed back to FES to spend the rest of the night with each other.
By Emily and Grace
July 11, 2024
Today we woke up at eight and headed to breakfast at 8:30 and enjoyed a wonderful meal. Then at nine we went on a bus to Granada to do a tour of the Alambra fortress with our lovely tour guide Gabriella. After we finished touring the beautiful palace we went shopping in the wonderful streets of Granada. After grabbing shopping we ate at a magnificent Moroccan restaurant with our friends from the community. Then we went to Casa Kuna, the store where they sell the homemade goods that they make at FES. We did a secret santa with our group and the members of the community that joined us for lunch. When we got back to FES we exchanged our gifts and got ready for our meals, hosted by families in the community. We enjoyed the different cultural meals of each each household. Then we had a birthday celebration with friends.
By Violet and Ansel
July 12, 2024
We began our last day at FES with breakfast and then headed to the bus for a hike on Ruta de los Cahorros. We hiked across bridges and beside rivers. At the end of the hike, we were rewarded with a beautiful waterfall where we ate lunch and swam. After we got back from the hike, we had some siesta time. Our next activity was making pancakes for the community at FES. We made 150 pancakes! We brought the pancakes to a barbecue party and we ate dinner with the community. We all received handmade gifts at the end of our dinner from Ignacio and our friends at FES. After dinner, we went to check out the town festival that was held in Sierra Elvira where we are staying. At the end of the day our group got together to reflect on our experiences and relationships with each other on this trip. We are all sad to be leaving this trip, but also happy to be going home!
By Isabella and Isabella
July 13, 2024
Our last day in Spain! ¡Que triste! We woke up and enjoyed our last pan con tomate and hot chocolate breakfast at FES. After cleaning the house we said some fond farewells to all the amazing friends we made in the community and took a group picture so we could capture this magical week of service and togetherness. We hopped on the bus and pleaded with the leaders to let us bring one or two friends home but alas we finally said hasta luego and set off for Madrid. When we got in we had our last siesta and then got dressed up for our cena de despedida. Before dinner we got to do some shopping and then we headed to Plaza Santa Ana to eat. It was a delicious final dinner in Spain with many people enjoying entrecôtes, croquetas, and hamburguesas. Finally, we got back to our hostal and closed out the night writing messages to all the amazing friends we’ve made on our trip. Time to get some rest before a big day of travel tomorrow. It’s been a epic trip that none of us will forget any time soon!
By Spain 1A trip 2024
