Spain Leadership Institute: Spanish Language, Community Engagement

Upon beginning the program, there are many resources available for my family and I to get all the information I needed. Along with this, we had a personal online helper, which we could email about any questions – I definitely used that to my advantage. Applying for the program was fairly easy through their website. The in country staff was amazing and cooperative with the students along with my personal leaders who were very caring. I made many friendships with a variety of American and Spanish people. The immersion of culture was a quick paced environment, but enjoyable nonetheless. I was able to meet many residents of the village I stayed in, this helped me further my Spanish and push me out of my bubble. I was able to learn many new words and try a variety of different foods. I am so happy to have had this experience!

I absolutely loved my trip to Spain. I found that the interactions we had with our Spanish peers were one of a kind, and we connected with them more deeply than I could have imagined. I appreciated the intense cultural immersion we had, and I truly feel like I know Spain and Spanish culture. I especially liked that I walked away from this trip feeling like I could give my family a tour around Granada or Guadix if I wanted to. I was really able to get to know the places we stayed in and the people we got to know. I would definitely recommend this trip to others!

This was undoubtedly one of the best experiences of my young life. The whole application was extremely easy and the team was amazing. I got to visit places I could never imagine and meet incredible people. Honestly, I didn't want to leave. Going to Granada and Guadix gave contrasting yet starking experiences of spanish life. The people I met in spain are some of the most amazing and inspiring I have ever met and I am still in contact with many even now. Throughout the trip I also got assilamed into spanish culture. My spanish is hundreds of times better now than it was before and I can now confirm that siestas are amazing.

The first half of the trip involved our group going to the cities of Madrid, Toledo, and Granada. We spent a few days in Madrid getting orientated and meeting our amazing guides from CELEI. We ate some typical spanish meals and toured the city. Next we went to the historic city of Toledo which is one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen. We wandered around the city and saw the cathedral which was stunning. after leaving Toledo we went to Granada which is where we were for two weeks. There we met local kids and did all kinds of activities in the city. We saw the ancient alhambra and went to a flamenco show among other things. We also took part in interactive spanish lessons where we would go one the street and learn spanish first hand.

After taking day trips to Cordoba to see the cathedral-mosque which was one of the highlights of the trip, we went to guadix where we took flamenco lessons along with spanish cooking and pottery lessons all in spanish. In guadix we spent a ton of time with the local kids and went out to the city for food or to play soccer a lot. In guadix the focus was much more about Spanish culture and we spent more time exploring culinary and home life aspects. We even spent a day with a spanish family.

As a whole it was an amazing experience and one I will never forget and I thank the people at the experiment as well as the amazing teachers and guides at CELEI. I would highly recommend this program for someone looking to have an immersive experience in spain.

By far the best experience I have ever had the privilege of being apart of. Not only did I gain a better ability to speak Spanish and experience another culture, but I also was gifted 5+ absolutely amazing role models, who opened my mind and altered my ways of thinking for the better. We visited the most beautiful cities and sights: Madrid, Toledo, Granada, Guadix, Cordoba, Castril, and the beautiful Alhambra palace and fortress. There was definitely a lot of walking, which I enjoyed; In Granada, most of the neighborhood streets are paved in river rock and the architecture is stunning, the 100+ years old stone walls, the archways, and homes, everything was absolutely breathtaking. Our residence had the most beautiful view of the Alhambra. While in Granada we went to school, both teachers were absolute delights, they were understanding, funny, and really cared about our educations and well beings, Im really grateful I was able to meet them. During our stay in Granada we did many activities: our guides took us on a graffiti tour of the neighborhood ( the artwork was skillful and beautifully crafted, the locals admired the murals greatly), we walked up to a gorgeous viewpoint to watch the sunset over the entire city, hiked a mountain path to overlook the landscape and get to know some of the local teens, traveled to the river to have a survival skills class, visited the Alhambra and toured the grounds with an amazing and knowledgeable tour guide, visited multiple Cathedrals, and roamed the neighborhood and shops.

While Granada was packed with adventure, Guadix was equally great. Our activities included Flamenco, Art, Cooking, and Ceramics classes, we spent our days with local teens from the area, whether we were swimming,on the trampoline, playing connect four or uno, or just hanging out, we were always making new friends and getting to know each other. Due to Covid-19 we were unable to have host families, but we did each go with our friend/s to their homes and spent the day with them and their families. On the last day of our stay in Guadix we all participated in a talent show for the residents living where we were staying, there was skits, dancing, and music.

While on this trip I made some amazing friends and even more amazing role models, people who truly wanted to help others and see change in their communities. We were taught to "Act Local, Think Global" when it comes to making a change in our communities. I left this trip with a completely different mindset than I had come with. I have truly grown so much as a person because of this trip and I could not be more thankful to The Experiment for allowing me to experience something I never thought I could.

My time in Spain was truly life changing. I learned so much about an amazing, culture rich country, about what life is like for kids my age there, and about myself. The Spanish classes I took were unlike any others I had ever taken. I found them particularly helpful because we were building our vocabulary while also discussing things such as the history, government, and society of Spain. I definitely felt my Spanish vocabulary and comfort level speaking it increase, and it has even more since I've continued to practice it. I also made so many great friends along the way. The other Americans I traveled with and I became such a close knit group and we still continue to talk every day. In addition to them, the groups of Spanish kids we met there have become some of my best friends. I think one thing that made the experience so unique was being able to not only learn from them about their lives, but also to teach them about us and help them speak English while they helped us speak Spanish. The trip taught me more about my likes, dislikes, what I can actually do when pushed outside of my comfort zone, and as soon as I visited Granada, I knew I had to go back there. Because of the trip, I have decided I want to do a year abroad of college at the University of Granada, where one of my wonderful group leaders did the same. The Experiment in International Living was a life changing experience that I think more people should try.

The trip overall was the best thing that has ever happened to me. I got to meet the most amazing people from all around the U.S and Spain. I feel so lucky to have met them. We all created such a great bond with each other. They have become some of my best friends for life. Same goes with the group leaders. They were so kind and nice to all of us and always made sure that we were having fun and safe. I miss them more and more everyday. We are all planning on meeting up again. I was really surprised of how much I immersed into the culture. This trip has made me feel more confident to meet new people and try new things. I will always cherish the memories I I have about this trip. If I could do this trip all over again. I would. I am so grateful for such an amazing experience.

I had such an amazing time abroad. Coming in, I was admittedly nervous, but I have never met a more supportive, kind group in my life. We were all so enthusiastic and willing to learn and explore, and the group leaders were so kind and really ensured that we had fun. The scheduled activities ensured that we found out the history and were showed some classic sites, while the freedom allowed for us to travel in small groups and live like locals, finding miradors around the cities, finding places to buy souvenirs, or just to buy snacks. I made new best friends, whether it be with spaniards or with americans in my group. I will forever have a group of people that shared this amazing experience with me, and i will forever keep them in my life. I can't wait to go back some time.

This program allowed me to have the most amazing summer of my life. The leaders were amazing people who were so helpful, fun, and loving. They wanted to make sure we had a great time and they really succeeded. The experience was shared with an awesome group of other teenagers. We all shared our memories together and we became close super quickly. Overall, The Experiment does everything they can to ensure we really enjoy our trip. I highly recommend. Spain is amazing and it is so great to be able to make memories with some of your new best friends. The experience was overall amazing and I would recommend it to anybody who has never traveled overseas. It was my first time travelling overseas and I'm so glad I did it with The Experiment. Nothing could have been better for first travellers.