Spring Break, for many families, is a time to travel and spend time together, but for a group of students attending the Spain trip, it includes exciting tours of museums and an education of the history of the Spanish culture.

The adventure that will take place over spring break will “provide students with an opportunity to explore and learn about Spanish culture through art, architecture, history, food, and daily experiences” says Amy Gantt, Spanish teacher and leader of the Spring Break trip. Mrs. Gantt, along with 7 other adults, including Lisa Moran, Jim Ruppa, Victoria McDonald, Bruce McDonald, Alanna O’Brien, and Chris George, will be supervising 42 student on the outing.

The week of the trip, the group will have many chances do things that students may have never done before. The journey takes place during Spain’s Holy Week so “the students will learn about many of the traditions of Semana Santa since we will be there during that special time,” Mrs. Gantt said.  

The group will leave on Saturday, March 19, but will not head directly to Spain. Instead, they will head to New Jersey. They will then will drive, in a bus to New York, and after visiting New York for a day, the students and adults will fly from New York to Belgium.

On Monday, March 28th, after the trip is over and the group is ready to come back, they plan to fly from Belgium to an airport in Washington, DC. From Washington, they will fly to Chicago and later end their day back in Portland.

When asking students attending what they are most excited about, many shared their eagerness to experience the lifestyles and traditions in the culture of Spain. Ally Jansen, senior, says that “Some reasons why I chose to go on Spain was to see all the amazing works of art, to visit somewhere new, embrace a foreign way of life, and to have a fun experience especially with my sister.”

Similarly, Kacie Redmond, sophomore, explained, “I am most excited to see the different cultures and experience religion in a different way through another country. I love being able to travel and see the different parts of the world while encountering different views of everyday life.”

Costs for students going to Spain was expensive. For each person attending, it was around $3,400, and adding to that, each family had to come up with payments on their own.  

The sophomores attending the trip are Raeya Finkle, Briana Fossati, Ashtin Gohman, Colby Jansen, Kacie Redmond, and Courtney Sanders.

The juniors traveling to Spain are Stephany Alvarado, Elizaveta Bliznyuk, Tessa Bradeen, David Bryan, Gregory Bryan, Brittany Carter, Patrick Dowhaniuk, Matthew Duarte, Christopher Farrow, Ann Fisher, Taylor Foster, Olivia Kiesz, Jamie Loeffl, Jonah Lyon, Rylee Maben, Hannah Markowski, Delaney Miller, Kevin Nguyen, Nicholas Parise, Tyler Persons, Madison Pfeifer, Rachel Primack, Sonja Stark, Samuel Stone, and Sydney Welp.

The seniors going on the trip are Alex Berger, Nathan Bergstrom, Olivia Bruno, Christina George, Alexandra Jansen, Aubrianna McGraw, Kalina Rivera, Regan Russell, Hannah Scruggs, Rose Sprauer, and Trinity Swift.

With Spring Break approaching, the students look forward to expanding their ideas and experiences on Spain’s overall cultures and traditions through the trip they will be taking  through the school.