Elicia, Brianna, Professor Tom, Anthony, Sonya and Franchesca at paella dinner in Salem, MA. June 10, 2018

Five students who will be travelling with me to València, Spain accepted an invitation to visit my home for a seafood paella prepared by my wife, Alexandra. We discussed our hopes and plans for the trip, answering questions and discussing issues on a cool night in Salem, MA. One of the issues that came up involved the Spanish language. While several students are native Spanish speakers, they worried that people would not understand them. My wife, a native Spanish speaker, pointed out to them that Castilian is neither better or worse than the Spanish i their home country. It is just different. On this night, we also pledged to watch out for each other and to never leave anyone behind. :). It was a lovely evening having such thoughtful and interesting dinner guests.