Lewis-Palmer High School Students travel abroad to Spain

La+Sagrada+Familia+in+Barcelona%2C+Spain.+Construction+began+in+1882+and+has+plans+to+be+finished+within+the+next+few+years.+%0ACredit%3A+Drew+Wilson+%0A

La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain. Construction began in 1882 and has plans to be finished within the next few years. Credit: Drew Wilson

Madison Skalko, Ranger Review Reporter

Spring of 2022, 12 students from Lewis-Palmer High School traveled to Spain during their Spring break. Lasting a total of 9 days, the students bounced around from Madrid, Barcelona and Toledo. They got to take a deep dive into the culture that is Spain. 

 

One of the many fun activities that seemed the most popular was the tour of La Sagrada Familia: a chapel in Barcelona that started construction in the 1880s and is still being built today and plans to finish in 2026. Recently, it has been held off because of COVID-19. 

 

“The cathedrals were beautiful. They had so much history behind them and the architecture was incredible. Some of it took over 200 years to make and it was insane,” Raegan Wilson 11 said. 

 

It’s one thing to travel and learn about a country’s culture online but it’s another when you can learn from a local. 

 

 “One of the most surprising things about the day trip was the tour guide’s knowledge outside the basic ordinary information.” Thomas Deboxtel 10 said. “Our tour guide knew how to sing church music. So whenever we went to the cathedral, she just started singing church songs.”

 

Regardless of religious belief, La Sagrada Familia will leave a lasting impression on its visitors. 

 

“Even an Atheist like myself gets godly feelings from it. It’s so amazing and it’s beautiful, very grand. Highly recommend,” Drew Wilson 10 said. 

 

The Spanish Students had the opportunity to try a lot of new foods and even make some of them. 

 

“I made fish and tomato bread. Incredibly simple, but it was pretty good,” Drew Wilson said. 

 

It’s always really cool to explore other countries and see what they are all about. It’s also really interesting to see what makes other countries different from your home country, especially in the fashion trends. 

 

“Everything there is perfect, if that makes sense. People are always dressed in the best way,” Regan Wilson.

 

Learning a new language isn’t the easiest thing. It’s even harder to be put in a country where that language is the national language. 

 

“They speak really, really quickly and that completely fried the language part of my brain for about two days,” Drew Wilson said. 

 

After traveling it’s always good to have some advice to share with people whether it was because of a good experience or not. It’s almost impossible to predict everything on your trip, especially weather. 

 

“Bring a raincoat,” Deboxtel said. “It always rains in Madrid.”