Myriam Liverance travels to Spain thanks to Wesleyan's Summer Sabbatical
Myriam Liverance, high school modern and classical languages teacher, traveled to Spain this summer thanks to the Wesleyan Summer Sabbatical program.
“This trip was a great opportunity to visit and experience places and concepts we study in the classroom that I had only seen in textbooks,” reflects Liverance.
Liverance began her journey in Spain at the port city of Vigo via train to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, where the apostle James is buried, making it one of the most famous Christian pilgrimage sites in the world. Learning the history, observing the pilgrims as they arrived, and attending the mass was a deeply spiritual experience that she is excited to share firsthand with her students. She lodged at a local camping site in Compostela and immersed herself in the local culture.
“The food, people, and sightseeing were phenomenal,” shares Liverance.
Next, Liverance journeyed by car to Madrid where she visited The Reina Sofia Museum where Pablo Picasso’s controversial war painting Guernica (1937) is housed. The Reina Sofia is also home to works by Salvador Dali, Juan Gris, and many other modern artists. She also traveled to Las Ventas, where one of the few bullfighting rings is still operating.
Barcelona was third region of Spain that Liverance explored.
“Barcelona is such an artistic inspiration,” smiles Liverance. “The highlight was to see all things Antonio Gaudi. Starting with the Sagrada Familia cathedral (whose nativity façade and crypt were declared a UNESCO heritage site in 2005) and exploring Parc Guell (another UNESCO site since 1984) where so much of Gaudi’s artistic expression is found.”
Because Liverance flew in and out of England, she also visited these top UNESCO World Heritage sites: Liverpool maritime port area, Stonehenge, Windsor Palace, Tower of London, The Lakes District and the Giant’s Causeway in North Ireland.
The Wesleyan Summer Sabbatical Grant encourages faculty to pursue a lifetime of learning. Grant recipients may apply their funds to study, volunteer work, Christian missions, research, or other scholarly activities. Thank you, Myriam, for sharing your experience! Be sure to learn about Ari Young’s experience here.
