Korbin Bordonie
H-SC May Term Abroad
Madrid, Spain
Summer 2016

Week 4

The last week in Spain we visited a few other castles and famous landmarks. The biggest breathtaking memorial we went to the last week was Franciso Franco’s grave. The memorial and church inside this mountain was absolutely amazing.

Franciso Franco was a fascist leader in Spain despised by many of the natives. Franco was a Spanish general and the Caudillo of Spain from 1939 until his death in 1975. People despised him for his views and support of the Nazi group. His grave place was built by slaves, which the natives did not appreciate as well. The monument (Valle de los Cáidos) is known for it amazing architect and the 500ft cross, placed on top in the mountain.

While the monument is a grave and daily functioning church, it also was created to be a monument for the fallen of the Spanish Civil War. The inside of the monument and the outside are just breathtaking and to really understand how amazing the monument is, you need to see it for yourself.
Our last week here in Spain everyone seemed to want to go home. We all seemed to miss the United States a little after not having any summer time to ourselves in our home country. This being said, my experience in a foreign country has been great. Learning about a different culture in Spain has really been a big eye opener of how great we actually have it in the United States. I would definitely recommend anyone to travel overseas to have a similar great experience as my fellow students, friends and I had.

Adíos!