by Paul Ryan

With the aid of television, people around the world watched the aftermath of the March 11 terrorist attack in Madrid, Spain. But the ten La Crescent High School students visiting Madrid last week didn't need a television. Some of them were staying less than a block from where the bombs went off.

Kaisa Kerrigan's host family was across the street from the El Pozo train station, where two of the ten bombs that killed 200 people and injured over 1,500 more went off. It was 8 am, and she had just finished eating breakfast when she heard what she described as the strongest thunder she'd ever felt.

Then came silence. The sound of sirens followed a few seconds later, and grew until the area was filled with them. It was a sound that wouldn't stop until the early afternoon.

"It was crazy," said Kerrigan. "It felt like all the lights were off, and I remember ducking down as I ran toward the bedroom."

Kerrigan's host mother stuck her head out the window to ask what was happening. It was a scary moment, because they didn't know where the bombs were coming from. For all they knew, it could have been an air attack.

Meanwhile, Kerrigan's host father was riding on a train that had just arrived at the Atocha station as seven bombs exploded. Luckily, he was not injured. His phone call home ten minutes after the attack was a much-needed dose of good news.

When Kerrigan saw him that evening, she said he appeared calm, but the look on his face told a different story.

"He seemed good, but he was quiet," said Kerrigan. "Even as he was smoking his cigarette, when he put it out he'd stare at it, watching every ash and making sure each one went out."

The morning was equally difficult for the two other students living near the attacks. Haley Walleser was four blocks away from the attacks, and could see the scene from her host family's house. When the bombs went off, the sound was so loud and the house shook so much that she thought a truck had crashed into the building.

Her host mother shut off the lights and told Walleser and her host sister that terrorists had attacked. When things calmed down, they were allowed to go to school, but nowhere else, for fear of more attacks.

Stephanie Remlinger was five blocks away from the train station. She didn't hear or feel the blast, but the station was a place she walked past almost every day.

The walk to school that morning was especially difficult. Buses weren't in service because of the attacks, and Remlinger still didn't understand exactly what had happened. There was chaos all around her, but she had trouble understanding the fast speech of the Spanish students. When she got to school, the atmosphere was very tense.

"I'd compare it to September 11 here," said Remlinger. "Except everyone at school was talking, but you couldn't tell what the whole story was. You just knew it was big."

Luckily, the three girls were able to talk to each other to find out the full story. Kerrigan, Walleser, and Remlinger were pulled out of school that afternoon, and spent the day with their host families.

Later, Remlinger visited the attack scene, just to see what it looked like. She knew the attacks were over, but she still felt a little nervous and scared to approach the scene.

"It was extremely sad," said Remlinger. "You go down there and you just feel this eerie feeling in your gut, like something's wrong here. It looked so bad that I didn't want to look again. It was so terrible. I'm not from there, and I didn't know anyone hurt or killed in it, but you almost feel like it's your home."

On Saturday, Kerrigan, Walleser, and Remlinger attended a peace rally. People laid flowers in honor of those who died, and a few minutes of silence were observed. After the silence, the crowd joined together to chant anti-terrorist phrases. The energy and strength of people in times of hardship became the lesson learned that day.

The trip ended Sunday, and the 10 students got home around midnight. The terrorist attack made the trip difficult, and sometimes even frightening, but Kerrigan, Walleser, and Remlinger say they learned more because of it. It was an experience they won't soon forget.

"On Saturday, it really felt like we were part of something bigger than this," said Kerrigan. "It was really amazing."