Viva España!

Every summer, teacher Roberto Guerenabarrena takes a group of students from the Portsmouth Abbey School to the Salamanca province of Spain for one month.

The annual trip is part of the Abbey School's "Summer Study Program," which allows students to earn up to nine college credits on the trip. Students attend Spanish classes during the day and, in the evening, explore Salamanca and its neighboring towns, visiting museums and cathedrals, trying new foods and taking in the regions beautiful Renaissance and Baroque architecture.

Guerenabarrena says students on the trip are usually incoming seniors, and all are studying Spanish. They first take a placement exam to determine their level of fluency in the language, and are then placed in the appropriate level of classes.

All classes are held in Spanish, and students can continue their learning outside of class by choosing to live with local families during their stay. In the evening, they explore the town, touring museums, visiting historic sites and tasting local cuisine. Guerenabarrena even set up a blog so students can log on and share highlights from the trip with friends and family back home.

On the blog, students talked about the wonderful meals they ate, the people they met and reflected on their favorite memories from the day. One topic, however, seemed to pervade many of these blog posts - the World Cup.

"The first time Spain scored, the crowd went wild and we could only imagine what it would be like if Spain makes it to the World Cup final," wrote Drake Bonin.

Bonin, one of the students blogging on the trip, said students watched the game against Paraguay in the main square of Salamanca, called "Plaza Mayor." Restaurants would line the square with outdoor tables and set up plenty of televisions outside so fans in the square could gather and watch all the action. Spain won and the plaza erupted.

"As if on cue, right after the last minutes in the game ran out and Spain defeated Paraguay, the lights in the Plaza Mayor came on, bathing the thousands of screaming fans in a bluish glow," he wrote.

Students had an upcoming trip to the beach-side city of Lisbon, Portugal, but Bonin was already looking forward to the next match, hoping to once again watch it in Plaza Mayor.

"Hopefully we will get ... to see the next soccer game in the Plaza, Spain vs. Germany, which will definitely be a good match," he wrote.

Before that match came though, Guerenabarrena took students to Casa Lis, an art museum dedicated to Art Nouveau and Art Deco. The museum featured a beautiful stained glass ceiling and was exhibiting some of Pablo Picasso's work.

It wasn't long before World Cup fever returned though, and students were soon back in Plaza Mayor to watch Spain defeat Germany, placing them in the championship.

Before the final game came, students spent a weekend in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon. On the way, they stopped  in Fatima, an old town best known for the story of the miracle of Fatima. One student, David Allard, shared this experience on the blog.

"We learned about the miracle of Fatima and visited the basilica and the church there," he wrote. "The basilica was beautiful, filled with gorgeous architecture and statues, especially the beautiful carvings of the stations of the cross on the walls of the basilica."

After Fatima, it was on to the Portuguese coast in Lisbon, relaxing in a four-star hotel while soaking up some sun on the beach.

"The beach was beautiful and even though the water was a little cold, it was so refreshing in the heat," said student-blogger Sara Stratorbedha.

After the weekend was over, students returned to Salamanca, and one thing was on all their minds - Spain's championship game against the Netherlands.

Returning again to the plaza, students joined fans as they watched the final game. Some students even bought Spanish flags. The game was tight, going into overtime before Spain shot their winning goal, claiming the countries first ever World Cup. On the blog, Allard described the event.

"There was singing, flag waving, and screaming all night long," Allard wrote. "It was certainly an unforgettable experience. The whole country has been talking about 'la roja' or Spain's winning team all week long. One cannot turn on the television or walk into a bar without hearing someone retell the story of the amazing goal in the last 10 minutes of overtime!"

"The game was fantastic; the enthusiasm in the Plaza was incredible and the fact that Spain won will make this a trip to remember forever," Stratorbedha said.

To hear more stories from the Salamanca trip, check out the student's blog. For more information about the Portsmouth Abbey School's Summer Study Program, visit their Web site.