Spain – (SPA) – June 25th – July 21st

Welcome Global Works travelers, parents and friends.  We are excited to share with you trip updates from around the world.  As our main office receives updates from the trips we will update the page as we receive news from the field.

The Spain Group has arrived safely and their trip is off to a great start! We will be posting in the next few days with further updates and photos.  Stay tuned…

Day 1—June 26
After a quick meet up in the airport and a stoic attempt to properly complete the name game, we got on the airplane.  Though it is safe to say we had our difficulties in terms of sleep it was a safe, uneventful flight.  We then dropped our stuff off at the hostel (going up three long, long, flights) and to VIPS for lunch.  It was basic American food to help us settle in after the long flight and our bellies were satisfied.  After returning the hostel for quick siesta and heated game of spoons, we departed for the Prado.  The Prado was extremely interesting but we were somewhat overwhelmed by the sheer amount of art.

The fun was actually outside the Prado, where a huge parade was taking place.  Reggaeton music blasted from trucks with live DJs driving through the street, and the Europeans danced in the street and partied the way only Europeans could in the mid-afternoon.

Then it was dinner: dish after dish was carted out and sadly, it may have been a little too Spanish for us to handle, though the ice cream was top-notch.  During dinner, we watched the US-Ghana game and were extremely saddened and disappointed with the results—there’s always 2012 though!  After that, we hit the hay early, but from the get-go it was clear that this trip would be even more fun than we would have dared imagine.

Day 2—June 27
Rested and refreshed, we woke up on Sunday and enjoyed our first breakfast together here in the hostel.  We quickly filled up and then made our way to the Reina Sofia art museum.  Being the punctual group that we are, we arrived with plenty of time to play name games and ice breakers before exploring the museum.  When it finally opened, our tour guide met us for the day, Javier.  He was great!!  He gave us great background info on the museum and all of the beautiful paintings.  It was amazing to see the paintings that we’ve learned about all year in school, like “Guernica” by Picasso, a representation of the Spanish civil war.

After taking in all of the beautiful masterpieces, we walked through Madrid to get some lunch.  Then we made our way to El Palacio Real, the royal palace.  The rooms were exquisite and their beauty and size were overwhelming.  That night we went to a traditional Spanish bullfight.  Although it was difficult for some of us to take, it was great to immerse ourselves in the Spanish culture.

The best part of the night came when all 30 of us squeezed into one tiny hostel room and some of the guys treated us to songs on the guitar. We had a group sing along with everything from Tom Petty to Taylor Swift.  It lasted close to three hours and everyone heard some of their favorites.  It was an amazing way to close our first full day in this incredible trip.

Day 3—June 28:
Everyone arrived at breakfast this morning excited to head out for what our leaders told us would be a “relaxed, chill day.”  We stashed some bananas in our bags and headed out to Retiro Park.  It was such a beautiful place.  We had a group meeting to discuss rules and make our contract together and had some great victories in the classic ice breaker, human knot.  Our leaders let us explore a little of the park and city and grab lunch in groups.  The girls were excited to get some shopping time in, where we asked “podemos ver las rodillas?” (translation: can we see the knees?).  We got a few laughs from the locals around us but a nice lady told us the word we were looking for was “anillos” (rings).
When we met back up, we had a language activity/lesson in order to prepare for our trip to Amayuelas tomorrow.  Then, with time left to spare we took a tour of Bernabeu, the Real Madrid stadium.  However, our ride home on the metro was less than leisurely during rush hour—we smashed into the train to get home and shower before dinner.  We’re off to Segovia and Amayuelas tomorrow!  Until then…

 

Day 4—June 29
On day 4 we said goodbye to Madrid.  We left in the morning for Segovia.  After an hour-long bus ride we arrived in the beautiful city.  First we went and toured the old palace there.  The Alcazar had amazing views, suits of armor, and ancient tapestries. But best of all to me were all the ceilings, which were huge, elaborate geometric designs with a heavy Islamic influence.

After we saw that, we were free to explore the city in groups.  Everything in the city looked beautiful and rustic.  The cobblestone roads were covered with people parading for a holiday.

After Segovia we went to Amayuelas, the small community whose population doubled when we came.  It’s one of the most unforgettable places I’ve ever been, but I’m running out of space.  I’ll leave the description to the next writer.

Day 5—June 30
Today, we spent our first full day in Amayuelas, the self-sufficient village we’re staying at.  It’s so different from Madrid, but it will be a learning experience for us all!  We started the day with breakfast all together, and geared up in our work clothes for the morning ahead.

We were divided into three groups and were given our assignments.  Our group was told we were doing “pan”, so we were pretty excited until we were handed shovels!  Our job was to dig out the patio so they could eliminate leaks that affect the ovens.  Another group collected and stacked firewood for winter, while another had the honor of shoveling green much out of an old laundry pool.  It was hard work, but it was very rewarding.

After lunch and a siesta, half of us learned how to make soap while the rest of us made bread that we made into loaves and pizzas for dinner!  It was delicious and was the perfect way to end a day of work.  We finished off the day by stargazing.  Amayuelas is such a small town surrounded by fields, so the night sky was amazing!  More projects tomorrow…

Day 6—July 1
Our second day at Amayuelas started like the first.  Wake up and a nice breakfast. A couple of kids went on a jog before breakfast to another small town down the road.  For work during the day, we helped with the chicken coop, made adobe bricks, or leveled the patio.  It was hard work but it felt good to make a difference.  While working on the chicken coop, our group got some laughs when someone who shall remain nameless tried to catch a chicken.  Although he was unsuccessful, he gave it a nice try.

After our lunch of delicious spaghetti we had time to relax ourselves.  At 6pm we headed over to a neighboring town for a friendly game of soccer.  Although we were defeated, we had so much fun and enjoyed ourselves tremendously.  We walked back exhausted but ready for some dinner.  We wrapped up the night by playing a game of Mafia all together.  Unfortunately the game was spoiled so we finished with a game of Broken Telephone instead.  As always, it was another fun day.  Un beso!

Day 7—July 2
We woke up the third day in Amayuelas exhausted from a hard day’s work.  After the usual breakfast of cereal and bread, we each broke up into our groups to finish the service projects.  Since we were exhausted we worked much slower than usual and headed back to bed early to wait for lunch.

Lunch was delicious yet uneventful; the real surprise came after.  Our Spanish friend Michi, who we all assumed spoke little to no English, told us in Spanish that he was leaving and asked someone to translate for him.  Then, after an inspiring speech in Spanish, he reminded us that in Spain, “things aren’t always as they seem” and said it in perfect American English.  It turns out that Michi is half Spanish, half American, a former Global Works leader, and lives in Milwaukee during the year!  We sat in complete shock and confusion as he explained all this and told us that he pretended to speak only Spanish.  It worked though, we all learned a lot through him!  To be honest, the shock still hasn’t worn off.

After lunch the groups switched workshops and made soap and bread/pizza again.  Then we hung out and walked around town.  One of the locals invited us to his son’s 16th birthday party which we were happy to join in on since it was also the birthday of one of our leaders (Katie)!  We celebrated in his garage and danced to good music until midnight.  All in all, it was a great day.

Day 8—July 3
The fourth day in Amayuelas began like our previous three with a 9:00 breakfast consisting of cereal and bread.  By 10:15 we began to learn about our final service project for the week which involved spreading out dirt around five water purification pools to ensure that rainwater and dirt don’t fall into them.  We also learned about the water purification system in Amayuelas.  In their system, wastewater is recycled and purified and utilized to grow trees which are used for fires in the village.

After completing our task, the boys and girls split into two teams and played an intense game of soccer, which the boys dominated.  Teddy and Jake led the way for the boys while Lauren and Bianca also played valiantly.  Due to the rugged terrain, there were many comical falls throughout the game.  After everyone took a refreshing shower, we settled in for a nice lunch and siesta.

Finally, we learned and played some exciting traditional Spanish games.  At 8:30 we joined the locals to watch Spain in their World Cup quarterfinal match.  We weren’t happy to leave it at 9:00 to go eat dinner but we hurried back as fast as possible.  Needless to say, the Spaniards were very passionate and Spain emerged with a brilliant 1-0 victory.  We then once again celebrated in our new friends garage, where a local band played for us, we got to meet some teenagers from nearby towns, and check out the dance moves of our leaders.  It was a great day in Amayuelas.  Hasta luego!

More trip photos are coming soon…

Day 9—July 4
We had our last delicious breakfast in Amayuelas and said “adios!” to all the people we had met and learned from.  W got on the bus and headed over to the walled city of Avila.  We saw many great monuments including a beautiful cathedral.  We ate lunch in small groups and the place that some of us went to was really good.  We went back on the bus and stopped at the Roman Road.

Ben swore to us that it would be an easy 45-minute walk to the end of the road.  An hour and a half later, we arrived in town where Ben and Monica and the bus were waiting for us.   We finally got back on the bus and finished our drive to Arenas de San Pedro.  Our moods lifted because we were finally going to meet our host families!  We went home with our families and ate dinner and toured the home and the town we will live in for the next two weeks.  It was a good day.  Adios!

Day 10—July 5
The first day in Arenas was filled with excitement.  As usual we were starting the day early at 9:30 a.m.  As a group, we walked out to the reservoir that would be the location of one of our many service projects during the next two weeks.  The beautiful surrounds there would make working even better.

Next, the group walked to this extraordinary palace where we would help “restore” it.  The palace was beautiful inside as well as the views of Arenas too.  After hours of spending time with the group, we each went our separate ways back home to eat lunch with our host families.  Lunches are a big deal in Spain, so we ate a lot and had time to siesta and refresh ourselves before meeting back up and heading over to the “piscinas naturales” for a nice swim after a hot day.

After a few hours of swimming and going home for dinner we had a chance to go out to the main plaza in town with our host brothers and sisters.  This gave us a chance to still be teens while being able to mingle with the locals and practice lots of Spanish.  Today was a FANTASTIC day.  Adios!

Day 11—July 6
We woke up and prepared ourselves for a 9:30 meeting at the castle.  We then made our way over to the palace where we would be working for the day.  When we got there we played a quick language activity.  Then we got right down to work chipping paint with frequent breaks for intense games of Mafia.  We also had a very nice snack break with fruit, chips, and cookies.  A little more work after snacks sent us home ready for lunch and siesta.  Around 6 we met up again to go to the local pool. After a quick dip in the frigidly refreshing water we made our way home for dinner.  After dinner ended at 11 (Spain does things late!) we headed back into the city to explore what little nightlife Arenas has to offer.  We basically hung out at the local playground with our new friends and walked around the plaza.  But we had fun and practiced more Spanish and made it home in time for curfew!

Day 12—July 7
Today in Arenas we woke up around 8:45 and ate breakfast with our host family.  The groups split up into two and went to different service projects.  One group was at the lake, the other at the palace. At the palace, we continued our restoration of a room by scraping away the paint and putting a fresh new coat.  After the projects everyone went home for lunch and a very short siesta.

The group met up earlier than usual again in the afternoon to take a 45-minute hike out to a beautiful swimming hole where everyone relaxed, swam, and enjoyed the scenery.  We only had an hour and a half there because this was the night that Spain was playing Germany in the semi-finals of the World Cup.  When Spain won the country went CRAZY, everyone was playing in the streets, there were fireworks over the castle, and we heard many champagne bottles being uncorked.  It was so awesome to experience that with our families!  That night was filled with excitement, but it will be even crazier on Sunday with the finals.  Buena suerte Espana!

Day 13—July 8
Thursday morning we woke up and got ready to meet the group at the castle.  We split into our groups and went to the different projects.  While both groups were painting, those at el pantano had a surprise visit by their friend Sergio.  During snack time he taught us some traditional Spanish dances like tango, salsa, and flamenco from our friend as well as some American dances too.

After a nice lunch with our families and a siesta, we all headed back to our afternoon hangout and the local pools with all our Spanish friends.  The evening was pretty typical—late dinner and spending some time out at the plaza watching all the Spaniards head out for dinner around midnight.

Day 14—July 9
Up and out for another morning of service projects, we split for the palace and reservoir.  The people at the palace got into a little fight while painting the walls and tables.  Paint was flying everywhere and we laughed a lot.  Our projects are coming along very nicely; we’ve made tons of progress with our paintings on the fence and in the palace.  We were happy to chill at home for siesta before heading to the local pool again.  We enjoyed some soccer with everyone and had a few push-up contests.

That evening after getting all dressed up we went to the discoteca with our local friends.  Everyone had a great time dancing and bonding even more with the Spaniards.  We’re really excited to go to Toledo tomorrow!

Day 15—July 10
The group left for Toledo around 9 this morning.  After a roughly one and a half hour bus ride, we pulled up to the outer gates of the city.  A series of escalators took us to the top and we found ourselves caught in the clash of aged brick buildings and modern day neon signs and automobiles.

A quick walk through the winding streets later, we came to our hotel.  We dropped off our bags in our rooms and split for lunch and siesta.  Afterwards, we went out to see some of Toledo’s historic sights, including the last remaining mosque and synagogues of the city.  Toledo is one of the oldest cities in Spain and was once the capital.  Many cultures lived here in harmony until the reconquista in the late 1400s.

We then headed back to the hostel and cooled off before dinner and a night tour of Toledo.  We saw more old architecture and even went under the city to see the Roman ruins.  We finished off the night by watching the “Greco Lux” in front of the cathedral.  It was a sound and light show that the city only puts on two weekends every year and we were lucky enough to catch it.  Needless to say, by the time we got home that night we were exhausted and went straight to bed.  Tomorrow we head back to Arenas in time to catch the World Cup final!

 

Photos:

 

Day 16—July 11
Today was a pretty uneventful day… except for Spain WON THE WORLD CUP!!  The day began with serious anticipation as we left Toledo eager to arrive back in Arenas, our “home away from home.”

The beginning of the day went as usual… lunch, siesta, river, and dinner.  After dinner we all scurried to get ready for the game.  We decked ourselves in red and yellow jewelry, put on crazy face paint, and wore our España jerseys.  We either looked like devoted fans or touristy Americans!

While most people spent dinner with their families, a few treated themselves to delicious Chinese food, and history in the making began at 8:30 sharp.  The game had its ups and downs.  There were definitely a good amount of nerve-racking moments as well as some extremely exciting ones.  Ultimately, the game reached its high point the second half of overtime when Andres Iniesta scored the winning goal for Spain!!  At this time we were in a plaza full of excited fans and some of our closest friends.  Everyone went crazy, screaming at the top of our lungs and even hugging perfect strangers.  At that moment we realized that Spain had won the world cup and that we were in Spain to witness it!  It was truly a surreal moment…

Following the victory we all ran to the center of Arenas where people, full of emotion, jumped into the fountain singing victory songs.  In the streets the Spaniards waved their flags and we enjoyed a great fireworks show.  Altogether us Americans were given an opportunity to celebrate the Spanish way.  So maybe it wasn’t such an uneventful day.  Viva España—el mejor equipo del mundo!

Day 17—July 12
As a result of lots of dancing and celebrating in the plaza the previous night, today was a rather relaxing day.  As we headed to our usual meeting point, the streets were totally empty and quiet, as well as spotted with remnants of various red and yellow objects.  While walking to the reservoir, we all agreed that last night would forever be one of the most memorable nights of our lives.

We spent the morning painting the reservoir and proceeded to eat lunch with our families and spend time at the pool (typical).  Following was dinner with our families and an evening with our Spanish friends.  Due to the excitement of last night we decided to hit the hay a little early.  Cada dia es una fiesta en Arenas!

Day 18—July 13
As we near the end of our homestay in Arenas de San Pedro, the mayor requested that our Global Works crew pick up trash along the banks of the river as part of a campaign in town to prevent people from littering.  The press came to take pictures of us for the local newspaper and we spent a good morning cleaning up.  While the smell sometimes wasn’t the best, it felt good to do services different from what we usually do.

With a blue trash bag in one hand and green gloves in the other, we slowly made our way upriver.  Picking up trash wasn’t the hard part, it was trying to keep from stepping in the shallow water that was hard.  It was almost like playing a video game.  A couple kids took a “dip” in the water, which made us all crack up.

We’re looking forward to Talavera de la Reina tomorrow!

Day 19—July 14
After a lot of work and early wake up calls, we took a day off (waking up even earlier) and explored the nearby town of Talavera after a short and enjoyable bus ride.  The throwback music being played made it even better.

Upon our arrival we split up into groups to stroll the streets and see the ceramic work that Talavera is so famous for.  We also got in a good lunch and some shopping at Bershka and Zara.

After Talavera, we departed for the Cuevas de Aguila, a really cool series of caves that weren’t discovered until 1963 but are 14 million years old!  We walked through the cave and we were led by a Spanish-speaking tour guide who loved to point out random images of look-alike animals and objects on stalagmites and stalactites.  Our favorite was a stalactite that looked like the head of a bull.

Finally, we returned to Arenas for an evening of relaxation spent with our families.  We prepared for one last day of work on the fence and our last day in Arenas.  We are excited to finally finish our fence project.  It was quite an enjoyable day!

Day 20—July 15
Today started like all the others, but it was completely different.  We met for the final time at 9:30 at the castle and people went to Horno’s bakery for the usual morning snack for the last time.

After we were ready to go, we painted the fences by the lake, and by using every last drop of varnish we managed to finish!  Our homestay families made our favorite dishes from the past couple of weeks and we spent our final meal in their home after siesta.  We went to the piscinas naturales and made thank you cards for our families and then returned home to shower and put on nice clothes for our farewell dinner.  All the while we were cherishing every last moment with our new families.

The evening was filled with laughter and tears as an elaborate Spanish meal was served.  We thanked our families with our cards and gifts while taking a ton of pictures of our memories.  We ended our final night talked with our new Spanish friends, but only until curfew of course.

Day 21—July 16
Today was a very depressing day.  We met at the Plaza de los Toros at 9:00 to say goodbye to our families and start our very long bus ride to Barcelona.  Leaving our families was emotional but we were excited for Barcelona.

We had a few stops along the way for snacks and bathroom breaks and finally arrived to our hostel that night.  We threw our luggage in our rooms and then headed out for a pizza dinner near our hostel.  When we came back, we spent a while trying to figure out how to work the showers—that was probably the most exciting part of this long day.  Most of us were pretty tired so we crashed and tried to get well-rested for our first full day in Barcelona.

Day 22—July 17
After a much needed good night’s sleep, the Global Works gang headed to the beach that is only 10 minutes from our hostel!  We all jumped into the gorgeous Mediterranean Sea and played around.  We had time to read a couple pages and chat, and after about an hour of lying on the sand, we headed back to the hostel where we had time to shower and wash off the sand.

Then after cleaning off we boarded the metro for our first adventure!  We hopped off at the Placa de Catalunya right in the center of the amazing city.  From there, we split up into groups and grabbed a quick lunch and then headed to La Boqueria.  The Boqueria is an incredible marketplace that sells everything from fruit juice to candy to coffee to pig’s legs to tapas.  We explored the market and got some yummy snacks and then headed up to Parc Guell—one of Gaudi’s many creations here in Barcelona.  We walked around the magnificent park and stopped to watch a couple live performances.  From there, we headed back to the city center and finally had time to shop till we dropped!  We also managed to head down La Rambla and check out some of the street performances that abound.

Finally, we had dinner at an amazing Mexican restaurant.  It was long walk, but totally worth it.  We’re excited for the bike tour tomorrow!

Day 23—July 18
Today was awesome!  We headed out on a bike tour of Barcelona in the morning.  We walked to the meeting point in the plaza to get our bikes and split into two groups for the tour.  Some of our stops included the royal palace, the cathedral, Sagrada Familia, Ciutadella Park, the Arc de Triomf, and the beach!

Our final stop on the beach was a break for lunch of delicious sandwiches and salads and we also got to partake in a little mini-siesta.  After biking back to the plaza in one big group, we then explored the Picasso museum.  It was cool to see artwork from the time he was young until the end of his life.

Since we were in el Barrio Gotico, we had a chance to walk around and explore the narrow alleyways and fun stores that are everywhere in there.  Most people loaded up on some serious souvenirs.

Finally, we had our first early dinner of the trip (at 7!) at one of the only restaurants that was open at that time.  We had a tasty buffet of pizza, pasta, and salad and then went on to one last activity.

Some people headed back to the hostel because they were exhausted, but the brave souls stuck it out and headed to the magic fountains of Montjuic.  The fountains there are choreographed to music and lit up by colored lights.  We were tired by the time it was over, but it was worth it since we got to see Tony Hawk!  (Ok, that’s not true, but since he was in town we told everyone we saw him so that they would be jealous that they didn’t go…)  We sang songs the entire metro ride back and finally crashed at the hostel.  Sea kayaking tomorrow!

Day 24 – July 19
We woke up bright and early for a trip out to the Costa Brava.  The first group headed out for a morning of kayaking adventure while the second group hung out on the beach.  We paired up and got short training session on proper kayaking strokes.  The group headed out to the sea to explore the beautiful waters and some cool caves too.  Along the way a few challenged kayakers got a lift from our guide’s motorboat, which made us all jealous.  When we returned we all had lunch at a local pizza/pasta place on the beach before the next group headed out.  We returned to our hostel just in time for paella night! Tomorrow’s our last day and we’re sad to go but excited to see the sights of Barcelona!

Day 25 -July 20
On the last day of the trip we got up early to see more famous areas of Barcelona.  First we visited the museum La Pedrera.  We got to go to the roof, which had an amazing view of Barcelona.  After visiting the gift shop to buy souvenirs, we left to go see the Sagrada Familia, a huge church designed by the artist Guadí.  The walls were covered in sculptures and designs.  We went inside and waited in line to take the elevator to the tower.  WE took lots of pictures and the top then went back down by the stairs.  In the afternoon we split into groups to eat lunch, and went back to the hostel to get ready for the farewell dinner.  At the dinner we ate lots of really good food and took more pictures.  IT was sad to think of leaving, but everyone had a great time.  We left for the hostel after dinner to finish packing for the plane ride home.  We had a really fun group on this trip and we left with good memories.