The trip to L’Eliana/Valencia was downright fantastic. It was a place with not only a lot of great people but also an overall great experience that I’ll never forget.
We were 36 students and 10 teachers from 5 different countries. Germany, Belgium, Estonia, Spain and of course Denmark. We spent 5 days in Spain to not just improve out English, but also to expand our knowledge of our own intercultural qualifications. The American drama-comedy movie ‘Wonder’ was in the spotlight for a large amount of the time during the trip. We had separately made tasks and assignments before the trip, which we would use for a debate between students divided into groups. Some of the groups had to argue for letting refugees into our country, and others had to argue against.
We didn’t just work on the movie Wonder. We also had lessons about the Spanish language and their culture. We were taught about E-Security, Equality and cyberbullying.
During our time in Spain the festival ‘La Fallas’ was being celebrated. It is held in the memory of Saint Joseph in Valencia and the surrounding cities. La Fallas is basically an extra New Year’s Eve for Spain, because of the constant fireworks and firecrackers being set off constantly.
We lived 2 Danes together with our host-families. They were the nicest people you will meet in a long time. The family was extremely hospitable, and you were almost in an instant told to feel at home and do as you pleased, of course with limitations. The food was very different, but still delicious. As time passed you could easily tell that we were getting used to being along each other.
The Friendship in Spain grew a much stronger than I ever expected. Not only with the people from other countries, but also between the few of us from Denmark. Some of us had barely said a word to each other before the trip. We also became friends with the host-family we were staying with. We were paired up with a family who had a son/daughter about the same age as us. The friendship between the girls grew so strong, that almost all of them shed a tear or two, when we had to leave. I’ll admit that I definitely went home with an ambivalent feeling in my body. It had been an absolutely amazing and unforgettable trip, but I also know that I’ll most likely never get to meet any of these people ever again.
By Sebastian from Denmark
