Program Reviews

On this trip, I had the time of my life, and also really improved my Spanish. My favorite part of the trip was far and away the homestay. I stayed in a very close knit family, where I had three brothers. I have always wanted brothers, and it was so fun to spend time with them. We spent most of our time playing soccer, swimming, watching soccer at a cafe in town, fishing, or just hanging out around town with their friends. Dani, my 16 year old host brother, helped me assimilate, and introduced me to his friends in town. Three days a week, I worked as an intern at a graphic design studio in town, which was really fun and I got to try things I would never have done at home. Our backpacking expedition to the Pyrenees was amazing, and I also loved going to Barcelona. I am not a big foodie, so I was a little indifferent about trying all sorts of new types of food in Spain, but we went to a ton of incredible restaurants, and I actually loved how much effort was put into trying to find new and delicious places to eat. I have stayed in touch with my host brothers and their friends, and hope to go back to Peñafiel, and also would love if my host brother Dani could come visit me in the US. I would completely recommend this trip to anyone who is social, outgoing, willing to try some new things, and eager to improve their Spanish. Overall, it was an amazing trip, highlighted by the three weeks we spent in our homestay.

My five weeks with LITA were by any standards incredible. I arrived in Spain only able to string a couple sentences together and left a conversational Spanish speaker. My Spanish teacher was amazing and classes were much more engaging than classes in school. We traveled to street fairs, watched spanish movies, and played fun games. LITA, however, is far more than just a language immersion trip. I made incredible friends (both American and Spanish), hiked in the Pyrenees, tasted incredible food, swam in the beaches of Barcelona, and learned to feel at home in a small Spanish town. The three week home stay allows for total immersion in the culture of Spain. I took siestas every day and attended a horse festival in the local town. The two weeks of travel are simply put, super fun. I bonded with my group and indulged in incredible meals and exciting adventures. The highlights of my trip was the home stay because LITA does an incredible job of matching students with a host family. I talk to my "sister" a whole year later and hope to return to visit her. Another highlight was a scavenger hunt in the city of Santiago. My group ran around the city seeking historical monuments, iconic food, and even ate octopus. I would highly recommend LITA to anyone, specifically curious, engaged, and adventurous kids.