Athena Spain: An Exciting Approach to Language Immersion

Being able to participate in the Athena program was a life-changing experience. I found a whole new world and in that world a whole new community along with friends and family. From the first day of meeting my family and being nervous to see what they would look like how they would react; to the last day of unstoppable crying having to leave them. The program not only provided growth towards my education, but it provided growth towards my independence, emotional growth, and overall person growth.

My son August joined the Athena program last summer and spent a month in Spain. He loved his host family, and made many new friends. He particularly enjoyed traveling to different cities and experiencing new foods while becoming immersed in the culture. He went in with a knowledge of Spanish but came out being much more fluent. I know he also enjoyed going to the elderly home to play bingo with them. I can see how it has helped him mature. I am hoping to send my two younger daughters on this program when they are old enough.

Every aspect of this experience was fantastic. The host family was caring, fun, educational, warm and welcoming. The instructors were smart, informative, flexible, and fun. The organization was meticulous, and communication with parents throughout was very good. The experience broadened students' understanding not just of the Spanish language and its varieties, but of culture, history and geography too. Highly recommend.

Athena is a great program for a teen who likes their independence. It is a great program in a safe town where the weather doesn't get too hot in the summer. The kids have a lot of freedom since it is a really safe place where they can wander and be independent. Our teen learned a lot of Spanish and had a really relaxing summer.

The town is quite small so the kids could just hang out at the beach in the afternoon and be super chill. It is a great program for a kid who wants to learn but also wants to relax. Perfect combo of learning and relaxation.

Conil was awesome. The family I stayed with was wonderful. Everyone is super friendly and the food is great. Conil is very hot in the summer so going to the beach often is smart. The morning classes were useful and they didn’t get in the way of having fun. There were many exciting activities such as surfing, cooking, and volunteering. I really enjoyed exploring the cities we took trips to. These included Gibraltar, Cadiz, Sevilla, and Cordoba. Overall I had a great time and I learned a lot. I would definitely recommend this experience to others.

I had so much fun doing this program!! I made really good friends and the staff were very supportive. I also had a great host family and had many opportunities everyday to practice my Spanish. The activities we did in the program were my favorite part, especially the ones where we would take day trips. I loved getting to see many different areas, like Seville and Gibraltar. Something else that I really enjoyed was all of the free time we were given to spend time with friends. I would definitely recommend the program to any high schoolers studying Spanish!

Traveling to Spain is fun, of course, but living with a Spaniard family in a small town is an incredibly unique and immersive experience that is truly once in a lifetime. In this program, you can spend your time with your family as well as the other members, so you truly choose how much you want to immerse yourself in the Spanish culture and force yourself to practice your Spanish as well as have a good time with other kids your age. If you do this program, you should be comfortable with or expect to live in a small town where you walk everywhere and spend a lot of time outside. Enthusiastic counselors as well as weekly trips to other Spanish cities keep the program interesting throughout the month. Your time at the program will be spent learning Spanish in class, spending time with your family, doing activities like cooking and surfing, and exploring Conil during the day and night, alone and with new American and local Spanish friends. Overall, this program was a great and fun experience during my summer that improved my Spanish skills and built a special relationship with Spain, which I went back to the next summer.

So much fun!! My Spanish definitely improved and I had an amazing time doing it. Filled with surfing, cooking, swimming and more there was never a dull moment. My family was welcoming and always made me feel at home. You were left to do what you wanted to do and there was always your choice involved with decisions. There was freedom so you could explore the town on your own with your friends but there was guidance when needed. The classes are fun and enjoyable. I Highly recommend this program!!!!!