Thursday late afternoon: March 19, 2015
Before we arrived, Antonio gave us important information of the town's history, and the heritage of the Dukes of Feria. Zafra was captured twice during the reconquest by Christian forces, under two kings of Spain. The Dukedom began to take change during the reign of King Henry lll when it was granted to Lorenzo Suarez de Figueroa; his second son, Gomez Suarez de Figueroa became the first Duke of Feria. Gomez Suarez de Figueroa is buried in Zafra.
Some of the important places in Zafra include the Alcazar fortress, and the Convent of Santa Clara.
Another important place is the Plaza Grande, that was built around the 16th century. Along with the Plaza Chica, they were one of the first constructions built in the city and the place where merchants stopped to sell their goods.
Our group walked towards the Plaza Grande where we met with the teacher from CEIP Germán CID, Marian Moriche Boza and some of her students.
Germán CID was the second school we partnered with and some students have been corresponding since last year.
Within minutes, more of the Zafra students joined us at the plaza. My students got to meet their pals and even met new students. They were all so happy and the conversations were non-stop! The students then began forming a circle, singing and playing. Many friendships were made and students continue to exchange emails and messages.
It was such a joyous event, but time was not on our side. We hope to continue our relationships with the school and students in Zafra and build a longer program for future visits.
Below our some pictures of our momentous gathering.
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| Introductions. |
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| Meeting with Pen Pal |
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| Playing around. |
New Pals:
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| Walking us towards the bus. |
After our visits with our pen pals, we continued our tour and headed towards Sevilla, Spain. Two days later we made our way to our last stop -Málaga via a stop at Cordoba and the Mezquita.
Our tour was exciting and memorable. We will never forget it and some of the students are already talking about returning to Extremadura and Spain, one day soon!
R. Aguilar
I am so thankful that I got the opportunity to travel to Spain and be immersed in its rich culture and history.
ReplyDeleteSpain is very different from the United States, and in a good way. I definitely got to practice my Spanish more, and learn new vocabulary as I tried to communicate with the people of Spain.
Zafra was an interesting town. Even though I didn't have any pen pals there, I enjoyed talking to the students, and I even exchanged emails with them. I could see the positive affect this trip had on the students in Spain, as well as the other students I traveled with.
I wouldn't have had this great of an experience if I had gone on my own. Thank you for organizing the trip. All of your hard work was greatly appreciated. Even though at times the days were busy, it was all worth it to experience the Spanish culture. So, to put this all into simple words, the trip was amazing.
Thank you again,
Jacqueline Schneider
Jacqueline, thank you for going on the trip; you are most welcomed. Not only has your experience forever change your life, but you have also made an impact on these students' lives, and for it, the world has become a better place.
DeleteContinue to enrich yourself by writing to your new pen pals, and maybe even learning another language. I am overjoyed that you had an amazing time on the tour :)
Best,
Ms. Aguilar