This semester I had the great joy of doing an internship at the Palacio de los Barrantes-Cervantes. The Palacio is a modern arts foundation and gallery that holds both temporary and permanent exhibitions as well as events for community engagement. One weekend, I had the pleasure of taking an excursion with my internship boss Eva and her family, as well as two artists from an exhibition at the Palacio. My friend Hannah as well as two friends of Eva and her husband also came along. During our weekend field trip, they introduced Hannah and I to Spanish culture in a more thorough way. My favorite part was learning about the lives of the artists that came along with us. We went to the Spanish countryside – also known as “el campo” – in Extremadura.

Hannah and I were plunged into a cultural experience from the moment my boss Eva and her husband Jose picked us up. When we started off the road trip, I immediately bonded with a woman in her seventies named Socorro, who is originally from Argentina but has been working as an artist in Madrid the past 20 years. Socorro, “Soco” for short, shared with me about her younger life in Argentina, her favorite books and writers, and her thoughts about spiritual things. She also told me about her artistic process, showing me some of the sketches from her piece that was featured in the Palacio’s exhibition at the time, “Otras Formas.”

We spent most of our two days exploring the countryside, looking for rare flowers and animals, stopping at a few historical towns, and even viewing an old temple ruin for the Roman goddess Diana. I enjoyed seeing the land up close, walking through the Toledo river with my shoes off, picnicking in an olive grove, and taking a look at boulders bigger than I could have imagined.

One challenging part for Hannah and I was our dinner of grilled whole sardines. Eva instructed us on how to slice the fish in half from its top and peel off the spine with the careful end of a fork. While the smell was strong, the flavor was rich and good – much tastier than many childhood movies had caused me to believe. Our breakfast was a classic Spanish spread, with iberian ham, toast, butter, jam, and coffee. They also introduced us to a Spanish pastry, traditional during Holy Week. I couldn’t have had a more immersive experience or more fun during my excursion with Eva and her family.

Attached is a photo of the picnic scene in an olive grove and a photo of Eva and Jose with their little dog, Lily.