During my recent trip to Spain and since arriving on campus in Andover this week, I have been reflecting on Proctor's off-campus programs and the way these programs complement, support, and naturally extend from on-campus academics and activities. In our little corner of Segovia, Spain, where Proctor operates an off-campus linguistic and cultural immersion program, life seems to move at a slower pace, providing a natural opportunity for reflection and introspection.
Sonoita. Historically, the word originates from the O’odham language and translates to “spring field”— an ironic assessment, seeing as none of us witnessed a drop of fresh water during our five-day excursion.
We’re sitting across the kitchen island sketching each other’s portraits. It's 1:37 a.m. This is the first time I've had my portrait drawn. I’ve had a lot of firsts this past week.
Our second week in Arizona went by really fast. We spent almost every night sitting around the dining room table working on our Art History book project and painting almost everyday.
As I reflect on this week I instead reflect on the whole experience here in Arizona. This past week in our town Casa Grande, has been chock-full of lasts. When we returned home from Sedona awhile back, it hit all of us that soon we would be leaving our sweet home.
This week was our first 5 day trip away from our home, Casa Grande. On Monday the 25th we left for our adventure, loading up the van with our painting supplies, bags, crazy creeks, and Carnets (sketchbooks) in hand.
Our final trip while in Spain was to Málaga, down south in Andalucía and in the same region as Sevilla. Everyone met at the bus station as we normally would. And blast off, on the bus to Madrid, then to the subway, then finally to the high-speed train. Three hours later were walking through the streets of Málaga to get to our hotel, taking in murals and graffiti, as well as the warmer temperatures. The rest of the afternoon consisted of free time to wander the city, shop, and explore. I got lost. Then we joined back with Ryan for a little orientation, getting gelato, and seeing an ancient Roman theater in front of an old Moorish castle. The day wound down with an excellent dinner at a Spanish-Argentinian fusion tapas restaurant.
“If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living.” -Gail Sheehy
