The Spanish exchange with Colexio Manuel Peleteiro was amazing from the moment I met my exchange in Solfields car park to when we were waving through the windows of the coach as we left Santiago.
During their time spent in England, our Spanish exchanges came to school with us every morning, spending the day at school having their own lessons or on day trips to London and Canterbury. In the evenings, I had fun showing my exchange around Sevenoaks and the area where I live. I also introduced her to all the classic British snacks; her favourite was Percy Pigs. At the weekend, we went to London to do some sightseeing and of course, shopping. I had loads of fun, and it was amazing to see how much she loved exploring London. On Sunday we went to Hastings, to explore a different side of the UK. We had fish and chips of the beach and explored the cobbled streets. We then had to wait a long 10 weeks before we saw our exchanges again in Spain.
I was so excited to be reunited with my exchange and was very welcomed by her family. My host family was amazing, and also helped me practice my Spanish by repeating words or speaking slower. It was great to have the opportunity to practice my spoken Spanish without the pressure of messing up or not understanding, helping me to improve my confidence.
During the days in Santiago, we had a mixture of day trips and days at their school. My favourite day trip was when we went to Pontevedra for the day with the exchanges. We spent the morning wandering around the town before going to the beach for the afternoon to swim in the sea and play volleyball. It was great to relax and have with everyone, and lucky for us the weather was amazing. Another trip which I enjoyed was around the centre of Santiago. One of the geography teachers from their school was our tour guide, giving us interesting facts about the history of Santiago and details in the architecture, that I would have never noticed.
The days spent at the school were also great. We spent some of the day in our exchanges’ lessons, for example I had PE and Economics. And the rest of the time we had our own lessons, for example History, Drama and Latin dance. One of my favourite lessons was traditional Galician folklore, where we learnt about the traditional Galician music and dance. We had a go at playing the percussion instruments and trying the dances. We all danced in a circle while one of the teachers played the bagpipes in the middle; it was fantastic to be able to understand what gives Galicia its unique identity. We also had a tortilla making lesson, and although we added a bit too much salt and my flipping skills weren’t great, it tasted delicious. At the weekend, a group of us went to Coruña on the train to spend the day shopping and lying on the beach (my favourite combination). We ended the trip with churros con chocolate and a few speeches from both the Spanish and Sevenoaks students. It was a wonderful way to remember our experiences together and thank everyone who had made it possible.
I absolutely loved this exchange and would definitely recommend it to anyone studying Spanish as a way to improve your Spanish and make amazing memories.
Ruby , L6
