Student Experience: Spanish Exchange in Salamanca

18 March 2013

A Level student Dan describes his recent trip to Salamanca, where he stayed with a host family to improve his Spanish conversation skills:

We arrived in Madrid two hours late in complete darkness for a two hour coach trip to Salamanca. At two in the morning we met our individual families who we would be staying with for three days and then shuffled off to go to bed at their houses – which was a little awkward at first.

“We were indulged in the Spanish culture by a welcoming family” – Josh.

The next morning we had our first lessons at ISLA – a Spanish language school for foreigners – and even though everyone was more than tired from the journey, the teachers were really enthusiastic and got everyone involved in the lessons. Five hours of school a day might sound intensive, but the atmosphere was so relaxed that it didn’t even feel like school.

“The teachers at ISLA were really great and friendly” – Abi.

During the hours of free time that we had in the afternoon, we mostly broke into little groups to go shopping and explore Salamanca. The Plaza Mayor – which was basically the shopping and social hub – was amazing to just relax and marvel at the architecture, which was breath-taking at night. Just walking around town, talking to each other in Spanish about which shops we like was amazing practice for our conversational skills.

“The other students really urged each other to speak Spanish at every opportunity” – Josh.

We spent all meal times with the families, talking about whatever was on their mind and enjoying the variety of food they provided; from hamburgers and toast to paella and tortilla española, we really experienced it all.

“The food was amazing!” – Michel.

There were several organised group activities that we enjoyed while in Salamanca ranging from tours of the city to making our own tapas (the palomas were amazing!). The guides were so informative and knew just about anything we could think to ask about. Probably the best view we had while in Salamanca was from the top of the cathedrals overlooking the entire town, although it was a little scary having to climb back down the never-ending spiral staircases.

“It was my first time abroad – everything was perfect! Rosanna and Cristina – the guides – knew everything about the town and the culture.” – Dan.

By the end of the trip, no one wanted to go back home to England. We were speaking so much Spanish that it was a little difficult to switch back to English! It was an amazing experience that immersed us into the culture and language.