IUHPFL '22: Final Post

 Equipo ‘Team’ León (2022) was led by high school teacher Sara Grauvogl along with Santiago Arróniz Parra and Nicholas M. Blaker both PhD candidates in Hispanic Linguistics at IU. The team led 23 highly motivated Indiana high school students studying Spanish to León, Spain for six weeks where the students lived with host families, took courses in Spanish culture/literature, grammar/communication and linguistics and participated in a variety of activities (e.g., Spanish movie afternoons, a tapas tour and scavenger hunt, a 4th of July celebration with host families, sports, singing/dancing and art, among others). The students also had the opportunity to visit and explore surrounding cities, for example, Gijón (Asturias), Vigo and the Islas Cíes (Galicia), Segovia and Madrid. The most exciting excursion and the most integral to IUHPFL León was student’s participation in the last 12 miles of the famous Camino de Santiago departing from Pedrouzo (Galicia) and arriving to the center of Santiago de Compostela (Galicia). In addition, the students learned about their host city through visiting many of the cultural and historic sites (e.g., the Cathedral, San Isidoro, the Plaza Mayor, the Barrio Húmedo/Romántico). The students also participated in a volunteer experience, which consisted of spending time with the dogs at the local animal shelter (Hotel Canino-Las Lomas). The time spent in León and Spain allowed the students to open their eyes to a new culture and grow not only as individuals, but also academically with their Spanish!