By Rachel Neglia
This summer, TPA students will be offered a completely new school-organized experience. Analogous to the German exchange program that occurs every two years, the planned trip will take participants to four cities in Spain to experience Spanish language, culture, and history. The expedition will be led by Dr. Salcido, Mr. Carlin, and Dr. Cardoso.
“Students will visit the four court cities of Spain: Madrid, Toledo, Leon, and Oviedo, the four seats of the Spanish monarchy since the sixth century,” Mr. Carlin details. He explains the significance of some of these court cities: “In Toledo, pious legend directs pilgrims to a stone on which Mary the mother of Jesus was supposed to have alighted in an appearance to the bishop St Ildephonse in the sixth century. The Foncalada fountain in Oviedo is also amazing: a fountain in the center of the city that has been dressed in stone since at least the eighth century and from which students will still be able to fill their water bottles.” Partakers in the trip will also go to historical sites like the church of Santa Maria del Naranco in Oviedo, Spain, which was built in the ninth century originally as part of a palace complex, before it was later re-purposed as a church (pictured below). All of the stops on the trip are rich in history and culture, and Mr. Carlin is sure to spread his enthusiasm to students who attend.
The leadership on the Spain adventure is extremely qualified to delve into the history and culture of every site on the trip’s itinerary. “Since I began at TPA three years ago, I have been blessed with the friendship of Drs. Jaime Cardoso and Olivia Salcido, and together we discovered a shared commitment to the Hispanic contributions to the history of Western civilization,” Mr. Carlin explains. “Having traveled through Western Europe, we understand that the great thinkers of Western civilization thought and wrote within a human and material context. I lived in Spain for nearly three years and can offer students more than a tour guide’s appreciation for the monuments we will be visiting.” Students will not merely visit art museums and famous ruins – they will fully benefit from having three individuals fluent in knowledge of the more obscure attractions of these cities to guide them.”
Several students have already signed up for the trip, including Bronson Stephens, a junior. “I’ve never been to another country, so seeing and learning about Spanish culture – architecture, food, and traditions – should be interesting,” Bronson says. “I’m a Spanish scholar, so being immersed in the language will be really exciting.”
Spanish students will gain academic benefits from participating, but students in all language classes are invited; the trip will be enriching in history, literature, and culture. “Students will experience personally the material context of the Western ideas that they read and debate in their Humane Letters classes,” Mr. Carlin explains. “They will walk the same streets that Cervantes walked, and stand beneath sacred canopies of vaulted stone like those which Aquinas and the great medieval philosophers knew. It will be sublime!”
The trip is estimated at around $3500 per participant, but this price will most likely decrease in the coming months. The trip’s coordinators have already received about $1200 in tax credit donations, and are likely to gain more. Parents who are interested in the Spain trip are encouraged to contribute tax credits to the “TPA Spanish Club.” Applications are still open; if you would like more information about the trip, contact Mr. Carlin, Dr. Salcido, or Dr. Cardoso.