Thursday, March 21, 2013

COMENTARIO DE UN ALUMNO IRLANDES SOBRE EL INTERCAMBIO( Aparece escrito en la web de su colegio)


Spanish Exchange Review
by Matthew Roche

I’m afraid this review is going to have to be a long one due to all the great things we did on the Spanish Exchange. We learnt a lot of Spanish and made great friends. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let me tell you what happened.
We were all collected at school at the early time of 8 a.m. We sat through a day long journey on ground and air and when we arrived in Spain I realized that excitement wasn’t the only thing roiling in my stomach. I realized that I didn’t know these people. An ominous sensation washed over me like waves lapping at a beach. We walked through a little security door with our luggage and we were met by the roar of a mini crowd collected around the railings. We were bombarded with t-shirts, posters and screams of welcome. My family drove me home where the first thing we did was dine and I mean plates and plates of food, each one better than the last. My family lived in a cosy apartment about 10 minutes from the school. I went to sleep at 11 o’ clock to my dismay due to the fact that I was wrecked.
In the morning at 10 o’ clock I woke up and due to me thinking I was late I threw on my clothes and rushed out of my room to find no-one there. I broke my fast-silence ringing in my ears and waited. At about half ten someone stirred and came out of the room to find me awake, which surprised them no end. We met at the school to find an Irish flag raised in tribute to us in the square. We took the subway to the amusement park and when we stumbled out, we found a giant towering contraption in the distance. My stomach churned just looking at it (don’t worry it was just for show, no-one could ride it).

We came up to the gates. Got our ticket and sprinted to the first ride we could see which happened to be the magical train ride which took us to the first set of rides. After a day of getting soaked, battered, flung and scared half to death we staggered back to the school to be collected by our Spanish parents.
The third day I was woken by the father who gave me a bundle of his clothes and told me to get dressed into them. After I’d finished I was boiling under all the layers. I ate breakfast and was swiftly bundled into the car. I then (to
my relief) remembered it was family day so I sat back and waited to see what was going to happen. We ended up in the pristine snow up on Mt. Segovia where we had great fun ; sliding in the ice, making snowballs, eating soup and just making fools of ourselves. My family and I came back
soaked, bloodied (my knee) and tired. I muttered some unintelligible words to my family when we reached home about going to bed but then some of their friends came over and we decided to play Just Dance. While playing the game , I did smack my fist against a wall.
On the Monday when the Irish reached the school the Spanish were carted off to class while we were taken around the school. I have to say the school was huge and equally amazing. They even had a facility for building cars. We left the school with our jaws around our ankles. We walked to a bus shelter where we got on a ride around Madrid where a recording told us about the wonders of the city. We got off the bus and picnicked a outside the King’s palace accompanied by massive bubbles and mounted police
officers. We then went across to the playground where we were hastily kicked out. After much drama, we finally found our bus which brought us back to the school. There we found another tour guide with our partners.
By then our legs were aching but this wasn’t called the walking tour for nothing. This was a really educational tour which ended at the Plaza Mayor. By the end of it I couldn’t feel my legs but then we played soccer which was a bad idea on my part.
We arrived at the school on the Tuesday morning to find a class schedule and I got a sudden sinking feeling because we’d travelled so far yet we were back to square one. We attended the classes and then at break we played an epic game of soccer against the Spanish but unfortunately we
lost in the penalties but they did say they were the world champions. We then went to the Imax cinema where we watched a thrilling movie about dolphins and then a strangely plotted movie on dinosaurs. We then went to
Mc Donalds and various other eating establishments after meeting at the school and then rendevouzed back at the school. Once there we set off for the Bernabeu stadium where we saw everything from Christiano Ronaldo’s boots to the sub chairs to every single trophy they had won (which was a lot).
We arrived at school on Wednesday to find another lot of classes waiting for us. At break we ate some churros for charity which lightened my mood. The Irish then went off to the Reina Sofia where we saw some wonderful artwork but outshining them all was the Guernica. We then strolled to Retiro Park where we ate lunch and then set up for rowing. When out on the lake someone got hit on the head and a re-animated dead fish slapped someone in the face. We then travelled back to the school where we met up with
our partners who had just endured a long day at school and we all set off to a shopping centre. We went bowling which was hilarious fun and then we were let roam free through a massive maze of shops.
We got to school today and found a massive coach waiting for us and our partners. It took a while to get to Toledo but when we arrived we were not disappointed. We soaked in the culture like a sponge. The city of Toledo was filled with artisan shops, weapon shops and churches. If I thought the
shop was a maze I was sadly mistaken. I’d say I got lost about 3 times in that city.


By the time we returned to the bus our class combined was effectively a mobile armoury. We returned to school where the families treated us to a final night in Madrid.
We were seen off from the school on our final day in a heroic fashion where lots of crying took place and the swapping of phone numbers. The rest of the ride home was a blur. All I can remember is getting home, saying an incomprehensible word of Spanish to my parents and basically passing out on reaching home. I did learn a lot of Spanish on the trip and think of my Spanish family as a 2nd family. Bring on the next half of the Spanish Exchange, I am more than ready.