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A Taste of Spanish Life in Salamanca
02 May 2025
Written by Kate, a Year 12 student who took part in the trip to Salamanca.
On Tuesday 8 April, while the rest of the school was enjoying culture day, 18 girls and 3 members of staff departed Birmingham airport for Madrid. Upon landing in sunny 20°C weather, we began a 3-hour coach journey to Salamanca, a city in between the border of Portugal and Madrid. Entertainment for the journey varied from practicing Karaoke, watching films, talking, and taking naps. We arrived at 10:30 pm so we quickly met our host families and went to bed.
Wednesday began with school from 10:30 am to 2:00 pm, however we weren’t sad to be going to school on a school trip as the teachers at LOLA Languages were lovely and the Spanish school day is considerably shorter than ours. After lunch, we enjoyed a city tour, visiting university buildings and landmarks like the Cathedrals. There was also the favourite challenge of trying to spot the frog on the cathedral wall, a significant animal in Salamanca which is said to bring good luck. That evening we had a Tapas tour, where we learnt that the origin of Tapas was a small piece of meat that acted as a lid on drinks to prevent sand being blown into the drink due to the strong winds. We enjoyed Tortilla Española, Pan con Tomate, and other small bits, with vegetarian and vegan options too.
Thursday began with school again, and in the afternoon, we climbed the cathedral towers, which were very narrow and steep, to be greeted with stunning views of the countryside. We learnt about different events that happened in the church like an earthquake, and how religion changed in Spain in the past. Despite some sore legs afterwards, the view was worth it. That evening, we took to the stage for Karaoke singing our hearts out to songs including Bailando by Enrique Iglesias, Someone like you by Adele, and the Macarena of course, with some questionable pronunciation from us (sorry Señor Flox).
On Friday, we had the Salamanca challenge, an activity that usually involves interviewing members of the public and taking crazy photos, however due to the weather, we had to move inside to the university, where we competed in karaoke battles, puzzles and games, with the losing teams having to wear wigs.
Somehow it was already Saturday, but we still had to go to school. The evening brought our flamenco lesson, where we learnt four styles of Flamenco including Rumba. For those who had done the trip before, the dances came naturally and enjoyed doing them again.
Sunday’s highlight was a trip to the Sierra de Francia, a mountain range outside Salamanca that looks like it is frozen in time. We saw two villages and learned about how when someone had to leave the village to find work, a painting of their face was put on the outside of their house, so they were remembered.
Monday our last day, was spent completing our final lessons, giving gifts to our teachers, Stef, Luis and Paula to say thank you. Our last activity was a cooking lesson, where
we made Tortilla Española and Torrijas (a cinnamon bread treat typically enjoyed at Easter). We then went home for our final dinner and to pack our bags, trying to fit in all
the souvenirs and food we had bought during the week for our friends and family, including our famous Salamanca hoodies. We sadly departed Salamanca the next morning to head
home to a somehow sunnier and warmer Birmingham.
Salamanca Trip
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