NewsUpper SchoolStudent LifeFaculty/StaffAcademicsResidential Life
Ortegas lead Spanish immersion program
Oct 11, 2004 8:00 AM
By Tannika King - Faculty
For the third year, Carlos and Marisa Ortega will host a three-week summer trip to Spain, where participants will take part in an immersion program and study at the Instituto San Fernando in Sevilla.
“An immersion program provides the students with the advantage of learning more than the Spanish language by living with a family during their stay in Spain,” said Mr. Ortega, chairman of the foreign language department. “The program should be successful in that the students will return home with a better knowledge of Spanish and a deeper understanding and appreciation of the Spanish culture.”
Before settling into their studies, participants will travel to Madrid, where they will have the opportunity to experience life, art and culture in Spain’s capital. Typical excursions include El Museo del Prado, El Museo de la Reina Sofia, El Palacio Real and La Plaza Mayor. The last night in Madrid, participants will enjoy a great dinner at El Botín, the oldest restaurant in the world.
From Madrid, they will have the opportunity to walk through the city of Segovia, admire the beauty of the countryside from the towers of El Alcazár and marvel at the great Roman engineering that built the over 2,000-year-old aqueduct that runs through the city. Another excursion will take the students to the narrow streets of Toledo, where they will visit the home of El Greco.
Participants will be housed in the city of Sevilla, located in southern Spain. Here, they will live with Spanish families while attending school at the Instituto San Fernando in the mornings. The classes, taught by Spanish teachers, are focused on grammar and cultural aspects of the Spanish way of life.
In the afternoons, twice a week, the students will participate in cultural activities like visiting La Giralda, La Catedral, El Alcazár and El barrio de Santa Cruz. or learning to dance sevillanas. On the weekends, they will tour some of the major sites in southern Spain.
The first weekend, the group will travel to Cádiz and enjoy a day on the beach. During the week, they will take a bus to La Mezquita in Córdoba. The second weekend they will stay in Granada, where they will walk through La Alhambra. On the way back to Sevilla, they will stop at Ronda to see La plaza de toros. Ronda’s bullring is said to be the oldest in Spain and where Hemingway and Wells learned about bullfighting.
The end of the three weeks of studies will culminate with a farewell dinner, where the students will receive their certificates and grades from the Instituto San Fernando.
The cost of the 2004 Spanish Immersion Program will be between $3,500 and $4,000, depending on the number of students. This includes airfare, hotels, homestay, classes and museum tickets.
This is the third immersion program led by Mr. and Mrs. Ortega. Previous trips were taken to San Sebastián, in the summer of 2001, and Cádiz, in the summer of 2003. Please click here to see photos from last summer.
The tentative itinerary is as follows:
Darlington finishes on May 20:
May 21: depart from Atlanta
May 22: Madrid (El Prado & Reina Sofia)
May 23: Madrid (Palacio Real & la Plaza Mayor)
May 24: Segovia
May 25: Toledo
May 26: Dinner at El Botin
May 27: Afternoon train to Sevilla (stay with families)
May 28: Orientation/tour in Sevilla
May 29: Cadiz
May 27- June 9: Sevilla
June 1: Afternoon trip to Cordoba
June 4: Trip to Granada/Ronda
June 5: Ronda
June 6-9: Sevilla
June 9: Depart for Atlanta
For more information, please contact Mr. Ortega at cortega@darlingtonschool.org.
“An immersion program provides the students with the advantage of learning more than the Spanish language by living with a family during their stay in Spain,” said Mr. Ortega, chairman of the foreign language department. “The program should be successful in that the students will return home with a better knowledge of Spanish and a deeper understanding and appreciation of the Spanish culture.”
Before settling into their studies, participants will travel to Madrid, where they will have the opportunity to experience life, art and culture in Spain’s capital. Typical excursions include El Museo del Prado, El Museo de la Reina Sofia, El Palacio Real and La Plaza Mayor. The last night in Madrid, participants will enjoy a great dinner at El Botín, the oldest restaurant in the world.
From Madrid, they will have the opportunity to walk through the city of Segovia, admire the beauty of the countryside from the towers of El Alcazár and marvel at the great Roman engineering that built the over 2,000-year-old aqueduct that runs through the city. Another excursion will take the students to the narrow streets of Toledo, where they will visit the home of El Greco.
Participants will be housed in the city of Sevilla, located in southern Spain. Here, they will live with Spanish families while attending school at the Instituto San Fernando in the mornings. The classes, taught by Spanish teachers, are focused on grammar and cultural aspects of the Spanish way of life.
In the afternoons, twice a week, the students will participate in cultural activities like visiting La Giralda, La Catedral, El Alcazár and El barrio de Santa Cruz. or learning to dance sevillanas. On the weekends, they will tour some of the major sites in southern Spain.
The first weekend, the group will travel to Cádiz and enjoy a day on the beach. During the week, they will take a bus to La Mezquita in Córdoba. The second weekend they will stay in Granada, where they will walk through La Alhambra. On the way back to Sevilla, they will stop at Ronda to see La plaza de toros. Ronda’s bullring is said to be the oldest in Spain and where Hemingway and Wells learned about bullfighting.
The end of the three weeks of studies will culminate with a farewell dinner, where the students will receive their certificates and grades from the Instituto San Fernando.
The cost of the 2004 Spanish Immersion Program will be between $3,500 and $4,000, depending on the number of students. This includes airfare, hotels, homestay, classes and museum tickets.
This is the third immersion program led by Mr. and Mrs. Ortega. Previous trips were taken to San Sebastián, in the summer of 2001, and Cádiz, in the summer of 2003. Please click here to see photos from last summer.
The tentative itinerary is as follows:
Darlington finishes on May 20:
May 21: depart from Atlanta
May 22: Madrid (El Prado & Reina Sofia)
May 23: Madrid (Palacio Real & la Plaza Mayor)
May 24: Segovia
May 25: Toledo
May 26: Dinner at El Botin
May 27: Afternoon train to Sevilla (stay with families)
May 28: Orientation/tour in Sevilla
May 29: Cadiz
May 27- June 9: Sevilla
June 1: Afternoon trip to Cordoba
June 4: Trip to Granada/Ronda
June 5: Ronda
June 6-9: Sevilla
June 9: Depart for Atlanta
For more information, please contact Mr. Ortega at cortega@darlingtonschool.org.
