Removes’ Spanish Cultural and Study Trip to Salamanca

During the February half-term, 24 Removes students accompanied by Mr Urreaga, Miss Prescott-Morrin and Manuel went on a Spanish trip to Salamanca, in north-west Spain.

Each day, we would go to a language school to learn grammar and vocabulary. This really improved my Spanish skills. In the afternoon, we did lots of different activities, such as going around the city and visiting sights. Salamanca has so many amazing landmarks, including the square, university, and two cathedrals, all of which were spectacular. Another afternoon, we visited La Casa Lis, an Art Deco museum. It had lots of dolls and old toys, so it wasn’t what I had expected, but it was a very cool place to visit! One afternoon, we were even taught how to salsa-dance.

Personally, I really liked the chocolate con churros. The food overall was particularly good. For each of our meals, we went back to the host families with whom we were staying. For breakfast, we usually had toast and cereal. For lunch, we had a range of meals. I really liked the paella, which I had never tried before. Our family was friendly too. I improved my Spanish speaking skills by chatting to the host and asking questions. Around 4 o’clock, we had a speaking lesson back at the school. We played a lot of fun games in class, and I preferred these lessons over the morning ones. In the evening, we had free time in la Plaza Mayor, the central square. Everyone enjoyed this as we could visit the shops and talk to each other. We would then go back to our host families for dinner and to go to bed.

On the way back, we visited another city called Segovia, which is just to the north of Madrid. Like Salamanca, Segovia has many sights. We visited the famous Roman aqueduct and saw the impressive cathedral atop the hill. We also saw the Alcázar, which reminded me of the Disney Castle, as it has lots of turrets and towers. We then returned to the airport to go home. Overall, I really liked the trip, as it was good to experience Spanish culture and improve my language skills. Also, we were very lucky with the weather, as it was mostly sunny. I was able to see how life in Spain is so different to in England, as well as visit a city I had never been to before. I’m happy I got to go on this trip and would recommend it to future students.