Program Reviews

The five weeks I spent in Southern Spain were some of the most amazing weeks of my life. My group was full of driven, Spanish-loving students like myself and I grew so close to these people. Many of them I still stay in touch with today, and we just had a mini reunion a few weeks ago! The experiences and activities were so hands-on and so involved. Although the idea of the homestay can be scary, it truly did make my Spanish skills so much better and it taught me how to navigate different cultures and the challenges that came with that. I grew close to my homestay sister and my own as well as other homestay families. I never felt isolated as I was oftentimes with another LITA student or two. I fully recommend this program to anyone who is willing to push themselves outside their comfort zone.

I regret absolutely nothing about choosing to go on a 5-week trip to the south of Spain this past summer. I am not lying when I say this summer was the most enjoyable of my life.

I got to know all 15 American kids in my group personally and still stay in touch with over half of the group. The connections I made with the other Americans were incredible; I was shocked to see how well I got to know some of my friends after "just" 5 weeks. I will value these friendships for the rest of my life and look forward to seeing all the friends I made through this incredible experience as soon as possible.

Every activity we engaged in was entertaining and educational, helping us understand more about Spanish traditions and culture while also having a blast. I particularly enjoyed getting to forge iron in the local forge, hiking and experiencing Andalusia's natural beauty, and learning about food via cooking classes and incredible meals. The daily activities are unique, and I am so grateful to have participated in all the amazing things we engaged with and saw, alongside the connections made with locals through these daily experiences.

I will keep in touch with my host family for the rest of my life---they were incredible. My host parents treated me as if I were their real son, and I spent time with my host brothers as if they were my own. Whenever I was unsure about something, I could rely on the helpful advice of my host parents. They had fascinating stories to share, and I will never forget their generosity in opening their home to me. Even though I only have known him for a few months, my friendship with my host brother is the most incredible and unique one I have. Becoming very close with somebody in Spanish significantly increased my confidence. Through this friendship, I have learned all about Spanish slang and everyday language alongside daily life as a teenager in Spain. Being able to compare and contrast the differences was fascinating. My two older host brothers were the older brothers I never had. After living my entire life with two younger brothers, being able to experience family life as the youngest child was just another of the many eye-opening experiences I had with LITA. My favorite memories of the experience were late-night conversations with my host family, spending time with my host brother and his friends, and getting to meet their family friends, and extended family. I'm seeing them in a few short months and can't wait! Through LITA's incredible homestay experience, I learned to slow down and appreciate the little moments above all else.

My Spanish improved significantly to the point where I can confidently say, and native speakers can surely agree that I am fluent. I can express almost all of my thoughts and opinions in Spanish. I also can access literature and TV in their original language. LITA's hands-on "classes" were highly beneficial. I will forever appreciate talking to locals, going to the market on a Friday, and learning about Spain's rich traditions and culture by fully immersing myself in it.

What's incredible about LITA is that I haven't even covered everything. You have to experience the magic yourself to grasp how unique this program is. If you are even thinking about thinking about going to Spain with LITA, you most definitely should. LITA has a space for you, no matter who you are. I will forever cherish the memories and bonds I made during this unbelievable summer.

LITA is a unique and intense language immersion program that helped me grow my spanish and showed me what its really like to live in an small town in Spain. During my time on LITA, I made so many long lasting relationships with the other kids in my group, and the people in my homestay community, like my host sister Sofia. Whats really special about this program is that it attracts the type of student that is motivated and excited to be in spanish the whole time. I barley spoke a word of english during my time on LITA, and it really paid off in the end. LITA provided me with a very intense and eye opening experience, as well as a fun and social one.

This was such an amazing and interesting summer! I learned so much about Spanish traditions, their lifestyle, and its beautiful culture. I explored and traveled into small towns that are off the radar of the "normal" tourist attractions so I was able to fully immerse myself in the culture, language, and what was around me. I bonded with my host family and throughout the 5 week program, I grew academically and socially. It was an experience I will never forget, and I will remember the lessons and memories forever.

I have never experienced such deep cultural and language immersion anywhere in my life. You truly are sent with a support system to help you create a family of Spanish citizens and other Americans. The incredible views you see, stories you hear, and activities you partake in is incredible and unique to the LITA program. In the first week, my group and I lived in a town of around 300 people where generations of families live—we heard incredible life stories that I could have only ever dreamed about.

LITA was by far my best and most special summer. In the months before the summer, I was honestly really nervous. I wasn't sure if my Spanish skills were strong enough. During these months, Jordan did a great job ensuring that I would have the best experience possible through multiple individual video calls. By the time June came around, I knew I was in for a good time.

My experience in Spain was everything I imagined and more. Everyday, we had interesting activities to do. We met incredible people who spread their unique knowledge to us students. Additionally, the food was so good. I got great experiences from going outside my comfort zone and trying new foods.

The relationships I created with LITA students and my host family exceeded my expectations. Today, I'm still in constant contact with many students and my homestay family, and I expect for that to continue for a long time. I went into my trip solo, so I was a little nervous about connecting with other students. However, LITA does a great job selecting the right people with amazing personalities. Everyone in my group was supportive, caring, and friendly at all times. We easily meshed together, which significantly enhanced our experience. LITA also selects the best host families. They gave everything they had to support me and teach me the most about Spain. We went on weekend vacations to explore and out to dinner with their extended family multiple times. They were always willing to slow down and repeat what they were saying as many times as I needed to make sure I was understanding and learning.

Being a Spanish immersion program, my skills improved dramatically. For the whole summer, the group and I stayed committed to the language. We spoke with each other and many others throughout various communities to help our growth. It can be difficult at times, but it's extremely rewarding in the end. The five weeks I spent in Spain most definitely helped improve my skills more than any in school experience.

I couldn't have asked for a better experience in Spain, and I highly recommend LITA to all.

My experience with LITA's 5 week program in the summer of 2023 was completely unforgettable. I had the privilege of getting invited by my friend to travel with her but most of my peers during the trip were solo travelers. My group got super close very quickly because of the vulnerable environment we were in but I would not have it any other way. During the 5 weeks we experienced so many different unique things from nature exploration to "scary" social situations and by seeing each other as a "family" in a new community, we all grew closer. We as students had a lot of autonomy but that just caused us to encourage one another to stay true to the LITA plan and improve in our Spanish and to branch out and make the most of the trip--especially the homestay experience. My Spanish improved significantly after being thrown into the “deep end” of complete immersion and the bonds that I made on the trip have lasted until today. Every travel program comes with its "cons" or hardships but I think the challenges I faced in this program were far outweighed by the pros. I would recommend the LITA program to anyone who was looking for an immersion opportunity and I am forever grateful for my experience with it.

LITA was an unforgettable experience. It is an incredibly unique and personalized program. Every meal was traditional Spanish food prepared for the group. The lodging and activities were incredible as they were completely off the beaten track but just as remarkable as tourist-packed sites other places in Spain. The homestay is the part of the trip I will remember the most. Even though I only stayed there for ten days, I made a lasting connection with my host family (all in Spanish!). I learned so much about Spanish culture, travel, living in rural Spain, and of course Spanish language. If you put a bit of effort in to prepare, you will be left with a summer that greatly improves your Spanish and gives you an experience of a lifetime.

My sumer with LITA was an experience I will never forget. Before the trip I was super nervous because I was the youngest student with the least experience on the trip. The program directors were very clear and communicative every step of the process and made me feel very safe. As soon as I showed up at the airport, all of the students and group leaders welcomed me and we bonded quickly. One thing I would say about the experience was that you got from it what you put into it. I, along with my fellow students, was very dedicated to speaking only Spanish and this program helped me immensely with that. My host family was incredible and so understanding of the time I needed to adapt to the difference in culture. They taught me so much history of the town we were staying in as well as the country of Spain. Everyday was a new adventure and it was everything I wanted and more.

I can't say enough great things about LITA! Going into it I didn't know what to expect, but I saw such a huge improvement not only in myself but in the other students. I felt so much more confident in my speaking abilities. I made amazing friends, had once in a lifetime experiences and got to see a non-touristy side of Spain that most people don't get to see. I had an incredible family and I'm still talking to them almost every day. Overall, I would recommend LITA to anyone who wants to have a fun summer and improve their Spanish!