We recently spent seven wonderful weeks in Spain.
We started in Barcelona, where believe it or not, we ran into the boat we helped build and
then deliver from South Africa to Florida. Hello Private Island, what a hoot to see you again at the Barcelona marina!
From Barcelona we traveled to Valencia where we did back-to-back pet sits. All the pets were cats this time. If you would like to know more about how we find our house sits around the world, you can check this link, it will even give you a discount on your first year membership!
Valencia was wonderful. We spent a day at the amazing
aquarium and marine park. And then there was the orange juice; Valencia oranges really are the best….
From Valencia we took the high-speed train to Madrid, when they say high speed they really mean it, I clocked the train speed at more than 200 MPH! We spend several days wandering around Madrid and had a wonderful time!
Then it was off to help some new friends improve their English. These programs are cool. You get on a coach bus from your departure city (Madrid this time) to a remote location. This program was located at the Mengibar Palace, a beautiful old castle about 3.5 hours outside of Madrid and right in the middle of one of the best olive oil producing regions of the world!
For each paying participant who wants to improve their English, there is one volunteer
native English speaker. Volunteers get transportation to and from the remote location (ie: to Mengibar Palace from Madrid). They also get very nice lodging and all the meals and excursions paid for. Since this one was in Spain it also included wine with lunch and dinner.
So what did we do while there, and what qualifications did we need? We spoke English, for about 12 hours a day, that’s it, no teaching experience necessary. We did not need to be able to speak the local language, as a matter of fact we (and all the students) were encouraged to ONLY speak English for the whole week. That is the point, English immersion.
To help expose the students to as many different accents as possible, there were volunteers from all over the world; in our case: USA, Northern Ireland, Spain, England and New Zealand.
During the week we ate every every meal together, did skits, had debates, lots of one-on-one sessions, telephone practice, game shows and even a Sangria making competition (which George’s team won). Needless to say, by the end of the week, we all got to know each other very well, and we have made friends from around the world we will keep for life!
We have already scheduled our next immersion program for November in the Czech Republic, and we may also come back to Madrid to do another one there in early December.
Think this sounds like fun? Check the links below to learn more about programs around Europe:
- Poland: Angloville
- Spain: Estacion Inglesa or Pueblo Ingles
- Germany: EnglischHausen
- Czech Republic: English Stay
There are many others, but these are the ones we have been involved in and can recommend. Many also offer programs for teenagers. What a great way for teens to see Europe and make new friends. (Sorry teens, no wine at the program in Spain for you!)