While 400 kids were roaming the Hackley halls in early November, eight students were exploring Spain, myself included, and forging connections with students from across the world.
RoundSquare is an international community of over 260 schools that collaborate and connect to focus on the six main ideals: Internationalism, Democracy, Environmentalism, Adventure, Leadership, and Service. The conference highlighted the adventure ideal in wild and urban settings in Spain and encouraged students to learn varying perspectives from others.
Upon our arrival in Spain, we checked in at our hotel in Alcobendas on the outskirts of Madrid, freshened up, and took the metro into the center of Madrid. We started our Madrid exploration at the Plaza de España and walked around the heart of Madrid, led by one of our chaperones, Dr. Avraham Sosa-Velasco, head of the Modern Languages department. Dr. Sosa attended university in Madrid and took the opportunity to show us local places that he used to love.
On our walk, we also visited the Kilometer Zero attraction, a popular attraction in the center of Madrid. We also visited the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, the home of a collection of historical and cultural art from Spain. That night, we met the students from other schools at the opening program, which included traditional Spanish dances and dinner.
“I loved connecting with other students from around the globe on the first night. Whether we were discussing pressing environmental issues or watching Flamenco, we were having fun with the other students and learning about who they are: their cultures, and their interests,” said sophomore Lila Salemi.
The next morning, we started the day at our host school, SEK International, where we participated in several workshops, including one on Astrology, playing sports, listening to presentations and debates, watching schools’ cultural dances, and putting together pillows for breast cancer patients. A highlight of this day was the competitions and dances we participated in as demonstrations of countries’ cultures. Later that day, we took the metro into Madrid to see the Palacio de Cristal and had dinner at the Café Centrale Jazz Club.
“Spending a day at the Colegio Internacional SEK-Ciudalcampo, just a short ride outside of Madrid, was an enriching experience and a truly eye-opening event,” said senior Fox Quattrone. “We were able to collaborate with students from all over the world on community service and debate activities, as well as watch several cultural performances from other Round Square students, learning about their countries in an engaging way. Being able to converse and get close to students with so many different backgrounds was my favorite part of this day.”
We began our final planned morning in Madrid at the Museo Del Prado, before taking a walking tour through the city and taking in the Flamenco Dance Show that was also organized by our host school. We finished the evening visiting a Madrid History Museum and doing some shopping and tapa crawling in Madrid.
“Visiting the Teatro Flamenco Madrid was truly a riveting experience. The highlight for me was being able to see the four main aspects of the show: dancing, singing, guitar, and hand clapping, working together to create a beautiful rhythm and sound. Getting the opportunity to learn and experience a historical aspect of Spain’s culture with my peers was so special, and I am so grateful to have experienced this art form in the city of Madrid,” said Fox.
The next day was filled with travel and group bonding through field and camp activities. We spent the day and night at the Campamiento La Escuela in San Mamés, furthering our exploration of the small town of San Mamés the next morning.
“One of the highlights of the trip was the time we spent playing games – including archery, volleyball, and dodgeball – with other students at the camp. I’ll never forget when we sat at the foot of a tree with two students from Chile and compared what our lives look like outside RoundSquare,” said Lila.
After a hike through San Mamés, we said goodbye to our friends from around the world and traveled to Seville by train from the Puerta de Atocha. We arrived in time for a nine p.m. dinner, which is customary in Spain, in the Setas de Sevilla.
Our next day of exploring Seville was spent at important landmarks such as the Real Alcazar, Royal Alcazar Gardens, and the Plaza de España, which holds a lot of history of the Spanish monarchy. We ended the evening and our time in Seville with a boat tour and a Flamenco show.
“While walking around Seville and Córdoba, we learned about cultural history, saw ornate architecture, and visited museums. I loved that we got to utilize our Spanish-speaking skills,” said Lila.
The next day consisted of a short time exploring Córdoba before our departure back to Madrid. We visited the Cathedral of Córdoba, which holds a lot of Spanish religious history, followed by time to ourselves to explore the area. We visited local shops and cathedrals and explored the streets, noticing how the city looked very similar to Greece. Furthermore, we stopped for lunch at a local shop before returning to Madrid for our final night in Spain. We ended the night with a late dinner and packing before our early flight the next day.
