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Group Members:
Mrs Raquel Rodriguez, Mr Michael Day, Jennifer Cassidy,
Jennifer Hughes, Katie Cummins, Sarah Kennedy, Alan Taylor,
Fionnuala Oates, Conor Whelan, Danielle O’Meara.
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A group of eight
students and two teachers met in Dublin Airport on Sunday 13th
February to embark on a six-day long cultural exchange in
Seville, Spain, as a part of the 2005 Comenius Project. After
a long day of travelling, the group arrived and was greeted by
teachers from I.E.S. Triana, the host school in Seville for
this part of the project. Of course it was straight to bed for
everyone!
 The
Wesley students blended into Spanish culture on their first
morning, although most of us thought the Sevillians, in coats
and scarves, were a little overdressed considering the
fantastic weather we could see from our hotel rooms. Intent on
soaking up every ray of sunshine, the Wesley contingent
ventured out to breakfast in t-shirts, much to Ms. Rodriguez’
amusement.
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The opening of the
week took place in the primary school in Triana,
close to
where we were staying. Along with speeches and presentations
by Ms. Rodriguez and others, the
Wesley
group performed a variety of traditional Irish music, song and
dance. After sampling some light tapas in the school, we were
brought on a walking tour of Triana and Seville city, by a
history teacher from I.E.S. Although some people suffered from
sore legs and would rather have taken a taxi, everyone enjoyed
walking alongside the river, visiting the old city wall and
Seville’s famous cathedral. Needless to say there were many
artistic photos taken in perfect places en-route.
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Tuesday morning
enabled us to visit the cigarette factory (now Seville
University) where Bizet’s opera ‘Carmen’ was set, before
embarking on a tour of a tile factory in Triana. We sampled
more tapas for lunch on the side of a street before taking in
more sun beside the river.
 That
evening brought the most important event of the week for us,
an hour-long concert in the secondary school. The concert
started with the Irish hymn Cead Míle Fáilte, this was
followed by various solo and group performances with the
evening culminating with the ‘trad’ band featuring fiddles,
traditional flute, tin whistle, guitar and bodhrán which was
received extremely well by the audience. We also got to hear
music performed by Spanish children from the primary school
and a Flamenco band with dancers. That evening no one had
problems choosing their dinner, as the group took McDonalds by
storm.
After
the exertions of the previous night, some people didn’t stir
too
 easily the next morning, but eventually everyone made it
to breakfast. Most of the day was spent shopping in Seville’s
many shops; needless to say some of us went a little
overboard, but so what, when in Rome! When our arms began to
ache, we headed back to the hotel, via the amazing Plaza de España where we relaxed in the afternoon heat.
Thursday brought the
closing ceremony, during which we performed more
traditional-style music. This was followed by some powerful
Spanish singing and fantastic Spanish guitar playing, not
forgetting the obligatory Spanish speech. Later that afternoon
we revisited the cathedral, climbing La Giralda and seeing
Christopher Columbus’ tomb. The views from the top of the
tower were fantastic.
Friday morning meant a
very early rise for everyone as we caught the train after
grabbing a quick breakfast. We soon arrived in cold, rainy
Dublin – exhausted after an unforgettable week.
Michael Day |
