 The group visited the Ermita la Virgen de la Sierra. Alice Dooley was one of the lucky Spanish class students to visit Cabra, Andalucía, in Spain in September 2019. Nine students from Bishopstown Community School, Ballincollig Community School, Ashton Comprehensive School, and Carrigaline Community School went on the immersion trip, organised by their tutor, Mariana Jiménez Moreno. “It was fabulous – Mariana and her partner did great work. It was a full immersion trip, everyone spoke in Spanish all the time. It was non-stop for four days, you’d nearly need a holiday after it! But I was fully able to comprehend everything.”  Wine is produced in the region so, naturally, a winery had to be visited! Rural idyll
Cabra is a rural town in the Córdoba region. It lies along the route between Cordoba and Málaga in the south of Spain. A small town by Spanish standards – its population is around 21,000 – Cabra’s main industry is agriculture and its key products are olives, olive oil, grapes and wine. “This area was known as the Garden of Spain – there are 200 fountains in the area, so there’s no shortage of water. We visited an ecological centre, a winery, the Ermita la Virgen de la Sierra, and a local bullring.” Visits to local cities were also included, with plenty of time to view the stunning local mountain vistas. “It’s a fabulous area for walking with lots of greenways. It would be great for an active holiday.” Unique trip “We were learning all the time, and getting explanations about the food during mealtimes. They are very serious about what they eat and drink and we got a good sense of the importance and provenance of food. “The trip was unique. We even had people coming up to us in Cabra asking if we were the linguistic group from Ireland. Everyone was very friendly.” Alice started the Spanish class three years ago and is a frequent visitor to Spain. The class, on Wednesday afternoons, is very sociable. “Everyone is interested in learning and, in the class, everything is related back to Spain. I like languages and, on the trip, it was great to meet people from the other schools. Hopefully, Mariana will do the trip again!”
3 Comments
Mariana Jimenez
3/2/2020 06:30:44 am
Thank you Alice for your comments. It was a great immersion work what you all did!
Patricia
3/2/2020 03:44:21 pm
A wonderful description of a fabulous trip! There's no better way to practise your budding skills in a new language. The mix of culture, food, shared experiences and fun certainly motivated us all to keep going with our learning when we came home, having fallen in love with a beautiful part of Spain.
Kieran Healy
25/2/2020 04:37:14 pm
Having spent a couple of great days and enjoyable nights in the company of Mariana, Alice, Patricia and the rest of the group I can only echo their sentiments. The trip was both educational and enjoyable and, though my Spanish not yet being at the level of some others, I got plenty from my trip by doing what I was taught early in class; focussing on key words and words I understood. As already stated, the people of Cabra were welcoming, polite and helpful when necessary. The preparation that Mariana Jiménez-Moreno put into making this, her first 'immersion' experience all paid off. Friends, even her parents were drafted in to help and did her, themselves and their country proud. I will return to Cabra, with or without Mariana's 'supervision' and retrace many of the steps I took there last september as well as taking some fresh ones, the Vía Verde must certainly be re-visited. I would recommend to anyone visiting; get up early and have a light breakfast in a nice café where you can hear the church bells clanging loudly behind you, watch parents accompanying their long lines of children to school and be hypnotized by the traffic policeman as he effortlessly whistles and waves at patient drivers on his dance-like daily routine. Don't let your coffee go cold! Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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