Alumni Spotlight: Maya Houston

I've been traveling since I was a kid, and wanted to go on an adventure. Because I was thinking of traveling alone for the first time, I began looking into study abroad programs. I thought it made sense to improve my Spanish before exploring Latin America solo. I found the Amerispan website, and their prices were very reasonable and the staff seemed competent. I chose La Ceiba, Honduras first because I'd never been there, and second because it was on the beach.

This experience was different from prior trips because previously I had only been to tourist destinations. La Ceiba is a relatively large city on the coast of Honduras. I didn't encounter many English speakers outside of the language school which forced me to practice the Spanish I learned on a daily basis.

The experience made me realize that I want to continue traveling and improving my Spanish language skills throughout my life. The year after I completed the program in La Ceiba, I moved to Central America and spent 3 years working there first, taking pictures for a Surf school in Costa Rica, then working as the Development Associate for a non-profit school in Nicaragua. Without the Spanish I gained through the AmeriSpan program, I would not have been able to live and work in these Spanish speaking countries.