78
Out of School
Year 10 Spanish Exchange 2013
InMarch I was one of a small number of lucky SWBGS pupils
who swapped the freezing English Spring for Sunny Spain.
But this six day trip was about more than comparing Roast
Beef with Paella.
Everyone gathered on a dreary Sunday morning at the
ungodly hour of 6.30am at the bus stop, nervous and
excited for our first experience of travelling abroard with
Borlase. Six hours later we were inside the El ValleSchool
and on a journey down to the roomwhere our host families
were waiting. As we entered, we received unexpected
applause and confusion was amongst us. We settled down
into our seats and one at a time stood up when our names
were called out so that we could meet our exchanges and
his/her family.
Introductions over, most of us were guided to a Spanish
McDonald’s, with pretty much the same menu except it
was in Spanish. Our first challenge arose: ordering our own
food in Spanish. After having a ‘healthy’ hamburguesa
lunch (go to the back of the class if you need a translation)
I went off with my host to see his home, and immediately
noticed a big difference between Madrid and Marlow
(apart from the blazing sunshine obviously). They lived
in a large apartment and when I told my host we lived
in houses in my home town, he said that was very rare in
Madrid.
The next day, a Bank Holiday, we spent the whole day with
our host families, and got to know them better. We all did
different activities and got a taste of what Spain was like in
general. Many people visited towns nearby and had lunch
in a typical Spanish restaurant.
On Tuesday many of the guys got excited about going to
the World’s richest football club and there was a collective
excitement as we entered through the huge doors of
the Bernabeu Stadium into a world of paradise: massage
rooms, Presidential box and a bigger trophy room than
Borlase, displaying mementos from famous players which
included a pair of Ronaldo’s boots that weighed less
than his socks! Many photos were taken of this heavenly
stadium and all of us felt privileged to get so close to the
actual turf of one of the biggest stadiums in the world.
On Wednesday we experienced what it was like for
Spanish people at school and discovered that they are
allowed to play football in their breaks, probably why they
have some of the best players in the world! Some of our
group did a drama performance for the school which went
down incredibly well and some of us went to the adjoining
Primary school and taught the younger kids the Hokey-
Cokey – a highlight of my trip!
Thursdaywas a day of culture visiting the famousMuseodel
Prado and Museo Reina Sofia. Later that evening we
boarded an underground train which seemed about three
times the size of our Tube, and arrived at a large square
full of shops. True to form the girls descended on them
like a plague of locusts and even the boys picked up the
shopping habit.
The following day turned out to be our last, much to my
amazement, as the week had flown by. That morning we
went back to the main square, and enjoyed a very nice
Spanish delicacy called chocolate con churros. After that
we returned to El Valle and some emotional goodbyes.
The journey home was a bit quieter as we reflected on how
warm and welcoming our new Spanish friends had been.
The trip had been a fantastic experience and although
everyone felt sad, we knew that it wasn’t the last time we
would hang out with nuestros nuevos amigos españoles.
Cameron Hobbs Y10
