Spain 2010 part 1

We are coming up on our first week in Alcalá de Henares, Spain. The students survived the long plane trip and the tasty morsels offered on board as well as a swift exit through customs. They were taken to the Plaza Cervantes in the middle of old town Alcalá where their families were waiting to take them to their new homes. The next day was orientation, which took the entire day and included tours around Alcalá as well as downtown Madrid. I have added a slide show to the left of this blog that corresponds to the posts.

The following is a description from the Instituto Franklin's website, which describes where the students are studying for the next four weeks:

The Instituto Franklin offices and classrooms are located in the historical downtown of Alcalá de Henares, in the Trinitarios building, built in the first half of the 17^th Century as a convent and University College for the Trinitarios Descalzos religious order.

In 1839 the Trinitarios College passed to the Spanish armed forces and became an Artillery Headquarters serving as a military command post. Finally in 1994 the University of Alcalá recovered it and restored it to its actual academic activities.

Today, Trinitarios College is completely renovated and surrounded by gardens and patios , conserving its original monastic structure with modern amenities. The building is spacious and full of natural light with its original structure.

This exclusive building offers students all the facilities and modern technology necessary for study abroad programs.

There are eight fully equipped classrooms, a computer lab, study posts, meeting rooms for professors and researchers. There are also two libraries ; The American Studies library, unique to Spain, located in the basement, and the Cervantina Library located on the ground floor.