“¡Bienvenidos a Barthelona!” Shannon shouted as she climbed onto the airport shuttle bus.
“I thought it was pronounced Barcelona,” Mike said.
“They pronounce ‘c’ like ‘th’ in Spain. I’m just trying to fit in.”
“Right, with your tennis shoes and fanny pack,” their Spanish teacher joked.
It was after midnight and the students’ last night in Spain before returning home to North Carolina.
Mrs. Hamilton sighed. “I hate that we won’t get to see Barcelona. It’s such a beautiful city.”
“There’s always next Spring Break,” Shannon said, hopeful.
Her teacher grinned. “No. Next Spring Break, we’re going to Costa Rica!”
word count: 100
—Nortina
Memories of the coolest high school Spanish teacher ever, who took her entire class and even some former students to Spanish-speaking countries for Spring Break! Too bad we were only in Barcelona for a night (actually a few hours; we had a 6AM flight to Munich), but we did get to see Madrid, Córdoba, Sevilla, and Costa Del Sol. The next Spring Break was actually Mexico . . . in the middle of the Swine Flu outbreak. Needless to say, I didn’t go, but I’m sure it would’ve been fun . . . not really, a lot of the students came back sick…
Friday Fictioneers is a weekly challenge where you must write a story in 100 words or less using the provided photo prompt as inspiration. Click the froggy icon to ready other stories and add your own.
Lovely Curses 
Dear Nortina,
I envy you your Spanish teacher. Mine was cool, too, but he never took us anywhere. 😉
Well written story. I could hear these people.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I wish we’d had teachers like that in my school! Good story. 🙂
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You’ve captured the excitement and wonder of your character – very true to life. Your teacher sounds inspirational.
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Not many of these teachers left. Maybe ts not the teachers but the school systems that no longer allow such trips.
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I don’t believe the school sponsored this trip. We came up with the money on our own & our teacher worked through a travel agency. I wish the schools did sponsor trips like this though. If they weren’t so cheap and the government would give them more funding, maybe they could.
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Oh kids always had to raise their own money. But public schools in our neck of the woods won’t even allow these trips any more because of the liability. You can hardly get a field trip for a day without jumping through forty seven hoops and having clearance from three government agencies. I may be overstating it a bit but not by much.
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You’re right about that. People are so quick to sue these days. They sue for anything. In a way, I can understand why schools are apprehensive to sponsor field trips, but I think that’s only hurting the kids in the end.
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Agreed.
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Yep, that’s a cool teacher!
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But I guess going to Barcelona you should rather speak Catalan than Spanish, I have only been there in work, but it’s a great city.
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Yes, there are so many different dialects in Spain!
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I like your spring break story very much, and enjoyed reading your personal notes after the story. What great memories, and what a great teacher!
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Thanks. It was an awesome experience. Maybe I’ll share some pictures in a future post.
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I’m sure your readers, including me, would love to see the pictures!
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What a great teacher you had, and going to places is the best way to learn a language. Great story.
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You are very lucky to have visited all those places!
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Yep. And my birthday was that week too. How many girls can say they spent their sweet sixteen in Spain!
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Barcelona sounds like a blast.
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Yes, if only I was able to see more. Thanks for reading!
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That trip must have been fun – especially travelling with school friends and what sounds like an awesome teacher.
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Yes! Without a doubt, one of my favorite high school teachers.
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