HIGH POINT, N.C., June 2, 2016 – High Point University students studying Spanish are learning about Spain first-hand as they travel to cities throughout the country as a part of the “Spanish Culture: Past and Present Maymester” course.
The students visited cities such as Madrid, Sevilla, Granada, Córdoba and Cádiz as well as monuments such as Prado Museum, Royal Chapel in Granada, Cathedral of Sevilla, Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba and Reina Sofia Museum, all while learning about the history of Spain.
“Being in Spain gives our students majoring and minoring in Spanish the opportunity to experience what they had previously only seen in books and presentations,” said Adam Winkel, assistant professor of Spanish at HPU. “In Madrid, they stood in front of Picasso’s ‘Guernica’ and Velázquez’s ‘La Meninas’ and felt the immensity of those great works. During our residency in Sevilla, they have studied Spanish history and culture in the classroom and then lived it in the streets. This ‘Maymester’ course is an incredible opportunity for students.”
“This trip has been an experience of a lifetime,” said HPU student Hunter Fleming. “We’ve seen art, architecture and experienced culture that we studied throughout all of our Spanish classes. I am so grateful for this opportunity.”
Not only are students seeing the sights of Spain, but they will also be learning about its culture first-hand. The students are taking Flamenco dance lessons at the Museo del Baile Flamenco in Sevilla and will attend professional performances in Madrid, Granada and Sevilla.
“It is fundamental for language students to have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the language and culture that they are studying,” said Hayden Carron Namnun, assistant professor of Spanish at HPU. “This trip gives them that.”