Hyla upper school teachers, Tom and Brad sent this dispatch from Grenada, Spain and their “Spain Unchained” Panorama course, a three-week immersive study in Spanish language, history and culture. Nestled in the foothills of the snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountain range of Andalucía, Grenada was once the capital of the Moorish empire in Southern Spain and remains to this day an important and renowned cultural heritage site and testament to Spain’s multicultural legacy. This Panorama course is an intense Spanish immersion with home stays, language classes with local professors, and expectations of ambassadorship. As students use their expanding language skills in academic classes and at home with their host families, they are also developing the craft of ambassadorship as they represent themselves, our school, and our country. Here’s a look at what they’ve been doing so far.

April 18, 2023 Dispatch:

What an adventure it has been for the Spain Unchained Panorama! After a grueling travel day-and-a-half, students quickly settled into their homestays, and are now several days into learning the fine details of the Andalucían accent while getting to know their host families over plates of pasta and Spanish tortilla.

It’s been a whirlwind beginning of the trip programming, with several cultural excursions now under our belt. Our first took us to the impressive Parque de las ciencias, a Spanish science center featuring a planetarium and a range of modern exhibits.  After a literally “illuminating” and immersive presentation on the Granada night sky in the planetarium (no English is spoken for visitors!), we made our way to the biodome, where lemurs and toucans roam freely amongst the museum visitors. In the evening, students sampled their first chocolate con churros on the plaza as we shared new words we had learned during the day.

The following day, we spent almost 4 hours strolling the stunning and wondrous palace of the Alhambra and its breathtaking architecture, gardens, city views and mountainscapes. La Alhambra encases 900 years of fascinating history, testifying to Granada’s Muslim, Jewish and Christian past. With our lively tour guide Carlos leading the way, we discovered why poets and presidents alike have named Granada as one of earth’s most mesmerizing and intoxicating cities.

With the first days of sightseeing behind us, students have now transitioned to the classroom, commencing the next phase of the trip. Classes are officially in session at the Instituto Mediterraneo Sol, where students will be spending the first part of their days in intensive language study. The classes, taught by native Spanish faculty, are specially designed to pick up where Hyla classes left off while providing students with regional grammar, vocabulary and expressions that will enhance and elevate their experience here in Granada. The notoriously fast accent of Granadians, combined with a fastidious European language teaching approach, means that these classes are challenging but high reward experiences. And what could be a more perfect laboratory than walking out of the classroom and having the streets of Granada, and its shady plazas and bancos, to experiment with newly learned words and phrases?

From a language teacher’s perspective, it’s truly been a sight to behold as students embrace opportunities to interact with families, vendors, and program coordinators in Spanish. They arrive each day with more confidence than the previous, hungry for new information and eager to display their progress. The best part is that the motivation comes naturally, since the classroom learning connects so seamlessly with the immediate world around them.

While language immersion was the primary goal, cultural learning has also proved to be important on our trip thus far in the eyes of the students. Spain has one of the world’s highest life expectancies (86 for women!) and students are already starting to develop their theories as to why. “Their culture just seems happier,” “they spend more time talking to each other,” “they carry themselves so well” and “they walk everywhere” are just a few of the observations we’ve overheard so far.

Finally, this dispatch wouldn’t be complete without mentioning that our students are “nailing it” as cultural ambassadors and houseguests. Host families beam with superlatives and when asked about our students- “Bien educados” (well educated/behaved) “Más que respetuosos” (more than respectful) “Bien criados” (well raised) “encantadoras” (charming) are just few of the spontaneous, enthusiastic words of praise we’ve heard from host mothers and family members.

We couldn’t be more proud of this group at this stage in the journey and will surely have more stories to tell.

¡Saludos desde Granada!

Tomás y Brad