Women's Soccer Athletes Take Advantage of J-Term Trip to Spain
A few ladies from the Women's Soccer team spent their J Term travelling around in Spain and learning about Spanish Sport in Culture. Juniors Karlye Smith and Val Belanger were among two of the over 40 students on the trip with Head Men's Soccer Coach Mike Middleton and Head Women's Soccer Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie. We've taken a few excerpts from their daily journal entries to give you a peak inside this amazing opportunity!
1-13-14 MADRID
Today started off with a bang! Breakfast was amazing! ... It was amazing to learn about all of the fancy buildings and statues around Madrid. Even though some of the stuff was cover in class, seeing the information in person that connected the building, monuments and statues tied it all together. Our tour guide did such a wonderful job explaining and pointing out places. I heard and even said, "the U.S. doesn't have the history like Spain does." My favorite sit eon the tour was the entrance Carlo II Archway that used to once be the entrance into Spain. I thought it was interesting to see that angels didn't have any faces, they were covered in helmets, but still had no facial features. But the main attraction... Bernabeu Stadium!! Such a sick place! It was weird to see them "growing" grass. Strange concept since I'm so used to natural grass. It was smaller than I expected, but it's still huge for a stadium that hosts soccer. The trophy room was incredible, there were so many!!"
-Karlye Smith '15
1-24-14 Camp Nou/Girona
Today was our last day in Spain, and we toured Camp Nou and visited the city of Girona. Camp Nou is the soccer stadium for FC Barcelona and it is incredible. The stadium is huge and can fit so many people in it, I couldn't imagine what it would be like during a game. Seeing an actual FC Barcelona game at Camp Nou would probably be the most amazing experience of my life! It would be mind blowing how different the atmosphere is in Spain compared to the U.S. ... Seeing all the trophies and old apparel was also cool because you actually saw old jerseys and shoes. Standing in the stands and just looking out over the field is pretty crazy, it just looks so perfect and beautiful. ... Girona is considered a small city in Spain, but compared to the U.S. it is not. The city had really nice old churches and buildings, there is so much history in every part of Spain! That is my favorite part about the smaller cities because they just look more historical and elegant. Girona has a river running through it and has different styled bridges around the city. There is one that was designed by Stephen Sauvestre who designed the Eiffel Tower so the style resembled that. There was also one that is meant for couples to put their names or initials on a lock and put it on the bridge.
-Valerie Belanger '15
**Photo credit to Karlye Smith '15**
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