The Spanish Exchange: SHS Students Experience Madrid

As I was on my way to the camp bus stop in June 2012, I received a very exciting piece of news; I was selected to be a part of the Spanish exchange program for the following school year. Around mid-September, twelve other Scarsdale students and I learned that we were paired up with Spanish students, around the same age as ourselves, who attend Colegio Ramon y Cajal, a private school in Madrid. When I found out I was matched with a junior named Maria De La Fuente I immediately went home to contact her. Leading up to her arrival, Maria and I spoke almost every day and realized that we had a lot in common.

After contact via email and Skype for so long, the day when I would meet Maria finally arrived. On Friday, October 12 thirteen SHS students accompanied by our two teacher chaperones, Señor DiDomenico and School Psychologist Ernie Collabolletta went to JFK airport to greet our Spanish friends upon their arrival from Madrid. After receiving kisses on each cheek from the Spanish students, we all boarded the school bus to Scarsdale and began the fun-filled weeks of activities we had planned.

We spent two busy weeks with our Spanish exchange students, showing them what it was like to be a teenager in Scarsdale and all too quickly it was time to say our goodbyes. As the students were about to board the bus for the airport, the news came that their flight was cancelled due to an impending hurricane (the infamous Sandy). At first, the Spanish students were jumping for joy because they were going to have an extended stay, but nobody realized what was in store for the next few days. With the loss of electricity and fallen trees everywhere, I am sure the Spanish students had an unforgettable, yet scary, extra three days.

Four months later, once again, Mother Nature decided to interfere with the Spanish exchange program. As I was packing my bags to leave for Madrid on Friday, February 8, we received notice that our flights were cancelled due to nor'easter/blizzard, Nemo. Thankfully, our flights were quickly rescheduled for the following Sunday and before we knew it, we were finally in Madrid.

There I was reunited with Maria and introduced to her parents, and it felt as though no time had passed at all since I had seen her in October. All of the exchange students were excused from school the day we arrived, so Maria already had a full day planned for me, to make up for the two-day delay. After returning to Maria's home and resting a bit, we ventured into the city with some other exchange students. Although I was tired and jet-lagged I went on my first Spanish metro ride, saw the beautiful Plaza del Sol, and ate my first, of many, plates of Jamon de Serrano.

On Tuesday we experienced our first day at Colegio Ramon y Cajal. Kids between kindergarten and twelfth grade attend this school, so while walking into school in the morning, there were little kids playing in the courtyards, a very different sight than when entering Scarsdale High School. In Maria's school, the older students choose their course of study and she selected the math and science path, which entails Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math, Technical drawing, Philosophy and the required classes: English and Spanish. I found it very interesting to sit through Math and Physics because in my classes I happened to be learning the exact same topics that they were studying. On the days that we went to school, we just sat back in the class and tried to understand what was going on.

The days in which we did not attend school, all the SHS students and our two teachers went on excursions through Madrid, Segovia, and Toledo. Some of the sites we visited included Palacio Real, Retiro Park, and Museo Reina Sofia. On our first excursion, we started off the day at a famous café called Café Fijon where we enjoyed delicious cappuccinos and fresh Churros con chocolate, fried dough sticks with a cup of pure melted dark chocolate on the side. After filling up on a Spanish breakfast, we went to the very famous Museo del Prado where we walked around, with headphones as guides, viewing the paintings of Goya, Velazquez, Greco and more. The most memorable paintings I saw were the ones during Francisco Goya's dark period. His paintings before this time are all very colorful and pretty, but when he entered his dark period, the paintings became very gory and depressing. I found the contrast between his artworks during the two times of his life to be astonishing because they really reflect the hardships he faced. Goya entered this Dark Age later in life after becoming deaf and contracting syphilis.

After visiting El Museo del Prado, we walked to the Plaza Mayor. As we were entering the magnificent square, a large parade of Spanish men and women, dressed in costumes, was walking through the plaza, singing songs and cheering. We found ourselves right in the middle of this up-beat procession and jumped into the fun. Candy was being thrown all over and everyone was chanting. It was a great feeling to be a part of a real cultural festivity and it was a memory I will never forget.

Following our exciting experience in Plaza Mayor, the entire group sat down in a very nice restaurant for a traditional Spanish lunch. In Spain, lunch is considered "the big meal" of the day, so our lunch consisted of four delicious courses. We started off with plates of Jamón and cheese, chorizo, tortilla de patatas, and croquettes. After this filling start, we enjoyed wonderful paella and traditional Spanish desserts.

On another day we visited El Escorial, one of the historical residences of the King and Queen of Spain in the pueblo of San Lorenzo del Escorial. On the first Monday of our trip, we drove 45 minutes to this town outside the city of Madrid only to learn that El Escorial is closed to the public on Mondays! Even though we were disappointed that we were not able to tour this splendid palace and see the burial site of Ferdinand and Isabella, we made the best of it and found a quaint café in the center of the pueblo, where we once again drank cappuccinos and ate pastries. This turned out to be one of my favorite days because afterwards we returned to Madrid and were given a choice of how to spend the day. A group of us decided we wanted to return to Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor, and then go to the Mercado de San Miguel, which is a very large market with numerous tapas stands. We went on an "eating tour" through the market and ate many different tapas plates. We then went to what Ernie considered to be, "the best bakery in Madrid," in the middle of Sol and had delicious cakes and chocolate Napoleons. Ultimately it turned out to be a very fun day and a great way to experience Madrid.

The last trip we took was to Toledo, otherwise known as "the city of three cultures" because Jews, Arabs, and Christians all lived there together. Placed all around the Jewish quarter are tiles in the ground that say "life" (Chai) in Hebrew. I found the Jewish quarter to be very fascinating because I felt a piece of my own culture and background in this city. Aside from the expansive history Toledo has, the views are breathtaking and it is enjoyable just to sit and take it in.

Touring as a group during the week was great, and on the weekends I enjoyed spending time with Maria, her two younger brothers, and lovely parents. They took me to different parts of the city and Maria's father Carlos, cooked his specialty, seafood Paella, which was top-notch. Her parents also surprised me with tickets to a fashion show for Madrid Fashion Week 2013. The family only spoke to me in Spanish, which greatly improve my speaking abilities and by the end of the two-weeks they even complimented my improvement. I really liked my Spanish family and plan on keeping in touch with them and seeing them in the future, either in New York or Madrid.

While in Madrid, we had beautiful weather, experienced so much culture, and did I mention, great food? I encourage all Scarsdale High School students to partake in any exchange program offered. The 2012-2013 Spanish Exchange Program was an incredible and memorable adventure and I was so lucky to be a part of it.

Contributor Chelsea Shemesh is a junior at Scarsdale High School