Comenius Trip to Madrid 2013

Comenious trip to Madrid

The Madrid trip was a very enjoyable experience: lovely weather and lovely people. We arrived at the train station of El Pinar, the town where the Escuela Libre Micael or Waldorf Free School Michael is, at around 6 pm and were warmly welcomed by two of the teachers and the host families. It was a week packed with activities. On Tuesday, we carved animals out of soap stone: we had to look for the animal within the shape of the stone.

On Wednesday, we visited Madrid, a 40-minute journey by train. We went on a tour bus and saw the beautiful architecture of the city. The sun was shining and it felt quite hot. We then stopped at a park where we had lunch. There was some water here so the children and some teachers went for a boat ride. On Thursday, we made a stunning mosaic around a beautiful tree in the main school yard. The teachers had been preparing the wall in advance of this activity, which was the main one of the whole week. It looked amazing when finished!

Before we knew it, it was Friday, our last day at the school. That day we went into Madrid again with the Class 8 Spanish students for a very busy day. In the morning we went to a Flamenco workshop: that made us sweat! We had lunch at a park and then went to the Reina Sofia Museum where we saw Picasso’s most influential work – “Guernica”.

After this, we went to have a famous chocolatier to have the most delicious hot chocolate with ‘churros’ which are Spanish doughnuts (only much nicer) which are long sticks rather than round rings. The hot chocolate was so thick that we almost had to spoon it out. We then bought our souvenirs before heading back to school where the host families were waiting for us with nice food. After we had eaten, groups of children from the different countries performed their songs and dances. A lovely end to a very busy, tiring but most enjoyable week.

What made the week even more special was the warmth from the Spanish people: the teachers, the pupils and the lovely lady who prepared all our food. And, of course, the sunny warm weather!

And this what some of our children said:

 “It was great making new friends in Spain.”  Asha (Class 8)

“Staying with the family was an amazing experience. I learnt about their culture and they were really welcoming.” Frances (Class 8)

“I loved making new friends and seeing the lovely city of Madrid.” Olivia (Class 8)

“I really enjoyed the trip. I met many lovely people and had lots of fun! The city was beautiful and so was the weather. The workshops were also good fun and we made a beautiful mosaic. I will never forget this week; I wish we could do it again!  Kirstin (Class 9).

Article by parent, Olga Coxon-Aristizabal