Full of anticipation for the new experiences and acquaintances and with great excitement for everyone involved, we finally set off from Geithain at 3:45 a.m. on March 13, 2024. When we landed in Spain at 1:20 p.m., the weather welcomed us with bright sunshine and pleasant temperatures, providing the best conditions for an exciting 7 days. Most of us had already been in contact with our host families via social media before the start of the trip. We were warmly welcomed by everyone - a huge burden was lifted from us.

On Thursday, the students showed us around their school - "Socrates Educa International School" - EIC for short. It is very different from ours: Huge with lots of glass and the walls were partially open for ventilation. All students up to year 9 wear school uniforms. We spent the day working on an art project about Gaudí.

Friday, 9 a.m. - Barcelona here we come. We visited the "Sagrada Familia", one of the largest buildings designed by the famous architect Antoni Gaudí. Afterwards we explored the city, such as the "Old Hospital de la Santa Creu", the "Arc de Triomph", beautiful alleyways and we watched the many street artists.

Weekend - everyone spent Saturday in small groups. In the evening, we all met up on the beach to play volleyball together or just to chat. We spent the whole of Sunday together at the amusement park - PortAventura Park.

On Monday, we continued working on the art project. We then took the train to Tarragona. This is a port city in Catalonia in the north-east of Spain. Our Spanish classmates gave us a guided tour of the city in quite a lot of fog. Many remains of buildings from the time of the Roman colony of Tarraco have been preserved and there was plenty to marvel at. The old town is beautiful, the cathedral, the amphitheater and the historic market hall are a must-see.

On Tuesday we were in Reus. Reus is a city in the south of Catalonia. It is the birthplace of the famous architect Antoni Gaudí. A Spanish teacher gave us a guided tour there and told us something about the city and its history.

In the evening, there was a closing party at the EIC . We sang, danced, laughed and celebrated.

Wednesday - Farewell

We presented our elaborated projects. We were able to let off steam on the sports field and we also had a last chance to spend some time with each other. Partly sad but also happy we all got on the bus that took us to the airport. The trip home was really exhausting for all of us and the baggage delivery at BER strained our patience considerably. When we finally sat on the bus to Geithain, both students and teachers were finished.

The trip to Spain was a great and interesting experience for us. We were able to immerse ourselves in new cultures, different ways of life and listen to their stories. We gained lots of impressions and experiences.

En nombre de todos los alumnos de la clase, damos las gracias a los profesores del colegio de Espana por haber planeado tan maravillosamente el viaje. Por supuesto, también un gran agradecimiento a los profesores que nos acompañaron en este viaje y nos ayudaron.

Ahora estamos más contentos de recibir los españoles en mayo.