Panthers go to Spain and Portugal

​By: Josh Bowne, Contributing Writer

Painted tiles, beautiful paintings on the walls, quaint well kept cities and marvelous oceans are what welcomed Centralia High School (CHS) students into Spain and Portugal. 

This past summer CHS students and Mrs. Alexis King, former CHS art teacher, traveled to Spain and Portugal. On this trip students got to immerse themselves in these cultures by exploring the areas, trying new foods, and learning the area's history. The importance of these trips are for the students to get to experience new cultures and help them gain real world experiences. CHS junior, Haley Ludwig said, "I've always wanted to travel and I got the opportunity to go to Spain, so I did.”

The students spent Most of their time in Barcelona, Spain. “I think the students liked Barcelona the most, however, that was where we spent the most time and got to get the full experience,” Mrs. King stated. When asked what their favorite part of the trip was, Ludwig said, “I really enjoyed the free time that we had to walk around and look at the things we wanted to see.”

The students and Mrs. King were led by a tour director named Joy. Joy led them through Spain and Portugal and helped the students and Mrs. King learn about the culture and history.  “I learned a lot about the history of the Romans in Spain. They had a huge influence on the beginning of their civilization, so that was cool,” said senior Shelby Lewis. Mrs King had this to say about problems with travel, "Not really this year.  The only issue was running a little late to catch our plane but we made it just fine.”

To go on this trip students had to raise money to help  pay for their portion of the trip. There are no qualifications for students to meet other than being able to pay. CHS does many fundraisers for the students to participate in where they can raise money for their trip so they do not have to pay in full.

CHS will be going to Ireland and England during the summer of 2024. This trip will be led by Jennifer Ludwig, CHS Language Arts 1 teacher. Ludwig is excited about this trip because, “I know my family is many generations removed from living in Ireland, but it feels like a chance to see where my ancestors lived. I have always thought it looked so beautiful in the pictures; I want to see if the pictures do the country justice.”