Spain Trip 2013

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  • Spain Trip 2013

    Just got back from a trip to Spain with 11 students and the other Spanish teacher.

    This is hands-down, the MOST REWARDING THING I’VE DONE AS A TEACHER.

    I really loved sharing what I knew about Spain from my travels and learning new things with the girls as well. Despite taking one girl to a hospital, one girl having her phone brazingly stolen from her hand, and a girl leaving her wallet at a restaurant to never find again, it was an amazing trip. I’ve also never had so many parents so say many kind words, nor received so many hugs from parents.

    We went to:
    – Toledo (where we staid)
    – Talavera
    – Consuegra + Los Molinos de Don Quijote
    – El Escorial
    – Segovia
    – El Valle de los Caídos
    – Madrid

    I was too scared to do a trip like this last year, and truthfully I only tagged along while the teacher retiring planned this one. BUT, this trip persuaded me to continue bringing students abroad.

  • 2 thoughts on “Spain Trip 2013”

    1. Did you all plan this trip with a company or on your own? Do you know how long it took to plan it? I am considering trying to plan a trip for next year, but I am unsure how to go about it.

      Reply

      • Truth be told, I was not the main planner for this trip. I am blessed to work with a 40 some year veteran and he did most of it.

        We used Interact, which is a smaller company. I’ve heard bigger companies offer you a lot of perks as the organizing teacher (iPads, free trips, etc.) but we work at a small, urban school. The fact that we take these trips at all is astounding.

        Mr. Pace alternates his trips every two years. For example, this year we went to Spain, and two years ago it was Peru, and two years before that Mr. Pace took the kids to Spain. He likes to alternate between Spain and the other countries.

        He begins planning the year before around Christmas. He contacts the company, says where he’d like to go and gets a very rough estimate. Then, the spring before (so a year) before he wants to go he holds a meeting for those that are interested. He asks for down payments before the end of the year.

        Then, the school year of the trip students make 3-4 installments of payments. We held regular meetings (about 6 or so). Mr. Pace brought authentic Spanish food for us to try, and some parents made things like gazpacho. Students had an item/topic to research and create a powerpoint for in regards to the location. Students then presented this information at the meetings so we could know some information about it before we left.

        I would definitely recommend you take a group! I know I was scared last year to plan one, but it is SO rewarding.

        Let me know if I can help or answer anything else!

        Reply

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