Eight young people went walking through downtown Galesburg on a Wednesday morning... looking for a store, a theatre, a restaurant, a repair shop, and other useful spots... using directions they had been given in Spanish:

"Dobla a la derecha en la calle Simmons. A la derecha hay un restaurante. ¿Qué venden?" approximately -- "On Simmons Street, there's a restaurant on the right. What do they sell?"

Not tourists, they were Knox College students and the assignment from Tim Foster, associate professor of Spanish, was a combination of language quiz and scavenger hunt. The students had to navigate the downtown area a few blocks from campus, using directions in Spanish provided by Foster. The students had to answer questions, also in Spanish, about the various locations. (The restaurant on Simmons Street sells pizza.)

"It gets us out of the classroom, helps put things in context, and creates community among the students," said Foster. Sent out in pairs, the students worked together to fill in the blanks about each establishment. Including really important stuff for travelers like: "¿Qué tarjeta de crédito aceptan?" -- "What credit cards do they accept?"

Knox offers some three-dozen study-abroad opportunities -- including programs in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Barcelona, Spain -- so it's good to know how to get around a city in another language.

"If you need to ask where something is, people give you directions, and it's good to be able to understand those directions," said Foster, as he bought coffee for everyone in the class at the last stop on the tour, the Beanhive coffeeshop.

Above, on a chilly spring morning, Knox College students had to explore Galesburg's downtown area and answer questions written in Spanish about stores, restaurants and other locations; at the end, professor Tim Foster treated the class to coffee at the Beanhive coffeeshop.

• More photos from the class on Flickr
• More about Spanish at Knox
• Explore Galesburg in video
• Study-Abroad Programs at Knox