Tyrique's Adventures in Spain
At the end of the school year, Tyrique was looking forward to his summer study abroad program in Spain. Unfortunately, as the final payment date approached he found he was unable to meet the final financial commitment. Tyrique and his youth advocate asked the Love Fund to assist with financial support so he could make his dream of studying in Spain a reality. Upon returning from Spain, Tyrique wanted to share his experiences with YOU, the Love Fund supporter who helped make his trip possible. Tyrique wanted the chance to sincerely thank everyone who stepped. Below is an account from Tyrique about his Spanish adventure.
Upon arriving in Spain I soon learned that my host family did not speak any English, and I would be in for a tough time trying to communicate with them. My host family was from Ecuador so I was getting taught two different cultures at once. I love them so much; I still talk to my mom and brother.
A typical day in Spain would be to wake up at 8:15, eat breakfast, talk to my family, listen to music and then get ready for school. I would try to leave my apartment around 8:45 just so I would have time to make it to the metro and be prepared for delayed trains. I would ride the train and then walk about a quarter of a mile to reach my school neighborhood. My school would start at 9:30 and then finish class at 12:30. After that, we'd eat lunch and do our community conversation where we'd discuss things like culture shock or how being abroad has impacted us. After that, we had free time to explore the city before having our cultural activities. The activities were based on groups of students who lived near each other, and a program leader would take us to famous attractions in Madrid.
During my first week in Spain, my family took me on a weekend trip to Cuenca which is about an hour outside of Madrid. We walked up a very large hill to eat at this cool restaurant at the top. They refer to this town as the houses on the hills, it was very beautiful.
“Thank you so much for helping me out financially on this trip. Spain was amazing and I am beyond grateful to all who helped make It possible”