Malamud said students considered it a life-changing
experience.
“That was the phrase that kept popping up in their
journals,” she said. “They wrote about how much they had grown, how they were
able to see things through a different perspective, how they were going to
change how they did things back in the US based on what they learned about
different ways of doing things in Spain.”
Students were asked to write a weekly journal reflecting on
different aspects of their study abroad experience as part of the Spanish Life
and Culture class that was required of each student. The course included
history, Spanish art, customs, politics, gastronomy, film, etc. Students could
also choose to take Spanish, Psychology, or Art as part of their 12 units.
“There were many cultural activities organized by the AIFS
(American Institute for Foreign Study, the organization that handled logistics
for the trip),” she said. “We went on daytrips to nearby cities including
Girona, Figueres, Sitges, and Montserrat. We went to an FC Barcelona soccer
match, we took a cooking class, we visited the Sagrada Familia Church, and so
much more.”
Joining Malamud were her teenage sons, Nico and Kevin, who
participated in many cultural activities with the study
abroad students. Kevin also enrolled in
high school and learned Catalan, since instruction was in that language in most
classes.
Malamud’s students also took advantage of low-cost airlines
to visit other areas of Europe. “We had students fly to Lisbon, Paris, the
Netherlands, England, Italy, Prague, and other areas. AIFS also organized an
optional Thanksgiving in Interlaken, Switzerland that 37 students attended.”
Malamud, who studied abroad in the US as a foreign student
in high school and college, said she knew what an amazing opportunity it would
be for Cañada students. “I’m so happy that I had a chance to participate in
such a wonderful program, and I hope to do it again.”
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