A Unique Rivendell Overseas EducationProgram Takes Students To Spain This Year

By Bernie Marvin

While in Spain for their April 2026 trip, students and staff included, left to right Rivendell Academy Principal Patricia Rella with students Lily Murray, Lindsey O'Hearn, Alessio Stefanelli, Wyatt Parker, Evan Woodward, Nolan Bourn, Nathaniel Daisey and Rivendell Counselor Jeffrey Eckert. Courtesy photo

Orford, NH - Worldwide school curriculum travel experiences for French and Spanish classes at Rivendell Academy are more than a tourist-level plane trip to Europe to try out a grande assiette or piatto plano of spicy food or read a museum's descriptive four-color brochure about an art display in Madrid or Paris.

For the participating students at Rivendell, the overseas learning program at this school provides early awareness of other people around the world and how they live. These foreign trips might also inspire Rivendell students to pursue further study of what they have experienced on their travels, and to realize that their early pursuit of excellence might last a lifetime.

The program at Rivendell continues to be a deep-rooted part of the Orford school that has allowed those who have been a part of this travel program to be immersed in the cultural make-up of the population they meet through their own eyes, their experiences with those people, and to be part of a well-managed, safe adventure that develops an intellectual curiosity about what is going on beyond our shores.

The foreign travel program is but one of the many great ways for the kids to study social structures, political profiles, or intellectual curiosities of those they meet while overseas. Rivendell Academy has a superb foreign travel program for French and Spanish students. This very active and popular program has been running for several years, with each language class taking a trip every other year.

Last year, it was the students' turn for the French trip, and this April, during an extended school break, seven students traveled to Spain and spent 11 days immersed in this program, a well-known Rivendell favorite for a long time.

The Spanish class has been an important part of this long-standing international exchange and study program. This year's group included Rivendell Principal Patricia Rella and Counselor Jeff Eckert, who traveled with students Wyatt Parker, Nathanial Daisey, Lily Murray, Lindsey O'Hearn, Evan Woodward, Nolan Bourne, and Allesandro Stefanelli.

Comments from staff and students involved with both last year's French class and this year's Spanish class indicate that the educational trips are as popular as ever and are among the most important parts of the participants' educational and life experiences at Rivendell, they reported.

The school information catalog outlines travel opportunities, noting they are a "robust program of regional, national, and international travel," that includes the long-standing exchange program with a school in France, immersive language and culture-focused trips to Latin America and Spain, and long-distance bicycling trips to nearby places such as Quebec City and Lake Champlain.

According to those who have been on these trips (The Bridge Weekly interviewed some of them over the past two years), the fundraising requirements can be fun but demanding. Preparation for overseas trips is a huge responsibility for individual students and families, who must raise at least $4,000 per family for the travel package.

The foreign travel programs show how well the school manages activities with students and their families. The trips receive rave reviews from the kids, parents, staff, and others who accompany them on these adventurous learning trips.

Although they were serious about their travels around Spain for those 11 days in April, they still had time to talk about what they saw and enjoyed while in the country. Two of the seven students The Bridge Weekly spoke with this year both commented on their seven-hour plane trips, saying they were long but not too difficult, and they would do it again if the opportunity came around.

They said they enjoyed the Spanish food they had, but after a few days, it became repetitive. One student mentioned he liked going back to American food, "something I am used to," he offered. They enjoyed seafood; there was a lot of it, like seafood paella, usually made with clams, shrimp, calamari, and a rich base of tomatoes, herbs, and other meats.

A big assist for the trip was that Principal Rella had lived in Spain for over three years and knew places the group could visit that were educational and safe. She knew about the motels and hotels that were clean, safe, and reasonably priced. With that prior knowledge from having lived there, Principal Rella built an itinerary for the Rivendell group to follow for this year's trip.

She noted that many parts of the trip were immersive, giving students opportunities to live with Spanish residents in the area whom Principal Rella knew and was familiar with. She said she tried to arrange visits to places she knew and to places where Spanish people she knew lived or worked.

Those folks joined them so the Rivendell group could be around real Spanish people, and it wasn't just a tourist thing. "For most of our trip in Spain, we had a Spanish person with us," Ms. Rella said.

Back in 2001, during the September 11 terrorist attacks on America, the overseas trip was intended to have the Rivendell group stay in homes for the duration of the trip. When the terrorists struck, all planes in the air were ordered to land at the nearest airport immediately. The plane carrying the Rivendell class members was over the Atlantic Ocean, heading east to Europe. It turned around and headed back to the United States.

Rivendell Counselor Eckert told The Bridge Weekly that when the students, he, and Principal Rella returned to their school and classrooms, it was always a "tricky thing" to keep track of a group of high school kids while they were in their care. He said they are very active and want to "explore everything."

He said during the trip, the chaperones have to act like parents and make sure no one gets lost. They traveled to cities such as Toledo and Madrid and found the smaller places safer to travel with young people, and as the trip progressed, the kids gained more freedom.

There were nightly phone calls between Spain and America as the travelers kept their parents up to date on their day's activities. No pen pals were resulting from the trip, and post cards were sent to parents and friends.

Counselor Eckert sent a postcard from Spain to his mother-in-law and was informed that it took an entire month to reach its destination, and it was reported that the group came back with some souvenirs. photos and lots of sweets for families.

Principal Rella said that the trip members will submit a report on their program to the school board soon. Eleven days is a long time to be away, but it was enough time for the kids to see the vast differences in how Spanish people live compared to the American kids.

Interesting, too, for the American visitors: in Spain, they noted that no family or school students they met worked any afternoon or summer job. They also don’t begin a work schedule until after their college years are completed, something they will probably be discussing with their parents and the school board.

Rivendell Principal Rella, who had considerable input on the trip and who was also one of two chaperones, said in her statement: "The trip to Spain was intentionally designed as a true cultural and language immersion experience. I wanted students to move beyond tourism and engage authentically with the people, language, customs, and rhythms of daily life in Spain. One of the most valuable aspects of the trip was having a local Spanish guide and community member with us for much of the journey. Their perspective, language support, and help navigating local culture gave our group a deeper and more meaningful experience.

"What impressed me most was how fully the students embraced the opportunity. They were open-minded, flexible, and collaborative. They tried new foods, adapted to the later Spanish schedule, navigated unfamiliar situations with maturity, and consistently supported one another. Watching students step outside of their comfort zones and rise to the challenge was incredibly rewarding. The experience reinforced the value of travel as an educational opportunity that builds independence, cultural understanding, communication skills, and confidence in ways that are difficult to replicate in a classroom. The Rivendell community places high value on international travel, and the resources invested are well worth it!

In his follow-up comments on the trip, where he also served as a chaperone, Rivendell School Counselor Eckert told The Bridge Weekly: 

“Experiential learning is my favorite way to educate students. Yes, we saw beautiful sights and ate incredible food. It sounds like a vacation, and it was in some ways. However, I saw each student grow and change in a way that we cannot replicate in school. When students are on a trip-- whether it is in the mountains on an outing club trip or in Spain-- they are intrinsically motivated. They really want to be there. But the real world does not adapt to their needs. The students have to adapt. They have to deal with a different language, time zone, bed to sleep in, food to eat, and more. The kids rose to the challenge, and I was so impressed with their growth in maturity and independence!”

Rivendell Academy staff and students interviewed for the Bridge Weekly story on their Spanish Class trip included, left to right, students Wyatt Parker and Nathaniel Daisey with Rivendell School Counselor Jeffrey Eckert and Rivendell Principal Patricia Rella. The Bridge Weekly/Bernie Marvin.