By Leonardo Rodriguez Carrion
On April 1st, we took a guided tour of one of the biggest cathedrals in Vitoria. They told us some artists from Philly had come to work on it.
On April 2nd, I went on a family trip to a small town, where I met my host’s aunt. They were lovely people. This day ended with me eating some delicious Iberian ham. I remember this is where my host dad showed me; they had an albino niece! She had red eyes and lived in Portugal, if I remember correctly.
Oh, how could I forget! It must have this day instead or one of the other family days. I confused my family days, but we went to Pamplona on this day! Pamplona is the city where they do the bull run and let me tell I walked the path where they do it, and one bull takes up more than enough room! We ate at a restaurant with delicious food where there was a festival with giants parading the streets. I also remember walking near a park with an old castle that had sunken into the ground. My favorite picture, which I must show you through photos I found online, is of one of the main streets where they had statues of kings lined up, all facing each other. A whole generation of Spanish kings with a giant Angel at the end of the path overlooking all of them. A sight to behold! Of all the places I visited, I loved Pamplona the most! I only went there for one day, but I would go back. I loved it so much that I could write a blog about the city. The city had so much red, my favorite color, alongside yellow.
The next day, April 3rd, we went to the wine region of Spain, La Rioja. We went to a small town called La Guardia, where I even got to do some wine tasting. They still made wine the old-fashioned way, using their feet to stomp the grapes into juice.
On April 4th, the Spanish students had to go back to school! We would join them this day and the next day, April 5th, where we presented to them about our high school and our lives in Glassboro.
The following day, April 6th, we said goodbye to our Spanish families and friends as we were about to take a four-hour train trip to Madrid. April 6th was particularly unique for me because I would finally meet someone from my grandmother’s side of the family (my mom’s side). I would meet my cousin Lina and her daughter Isabella (or Isa for short). She took me on a red tourist bus trip around Madrid and had me eat at the Hard Rock café in Madrid. I saw my friends at the end of the day when I had finished my day with Lina and Isa. We took an excellent picture near the center, and she even took me to a market with great smoothies.
On April 7th, I was back with my friends and the two teachers in charge. We toured the Palacio Real and the Reina Sofia Museum, which now holds the real Guernica painted by Pablo Picasso. I don’t remember much here, but our trip ended slowly.
I remember staying in my hotel room with my friends Ray and Jon. On April 8th, we went to the Prado Museum, and at night, we went to a flamenco show, which was amazing!
April 9th, the last day, we came back from Spain. I don’t recall much about the journey back, except one of my friends had developed a love interest and even dated one of the people we went on this trip for over a year. Perhaps I should have written more about this trip sooner, but not to worry, as I remember much more about my other trips. I remember Skyping my family back in Glassboro at least once in a few passing memories. I also remember I never indeed adjusted to the time switch. Jet lag hit me hard with that six-hour difference.
Would I go back to Spain? Absolutely. The contributions and impact of the Spanish and Iberian people are nothing short of amazing in terms of what they have done these past few centuries. As a descendant of their culture and people in Latin America, it is great to have visited the place that came to the Americas and brought so much in such a short time. And the fantastic chocolates the Basque country has! To this day, I have yet to eat chocolates as delicious as the ones I had in Vitoria!
