High Quality Immersion Program, Extremely Personalized Experience

In one word, I would describe my LITA experience with the 2015 South Group as transformative. However, ’transformative’ does no solely reflect how my mastery of the Spanish language improved, yet in stead it reflects how, through my phenomenal experience, my outlook on life, my interpersonal skills, and my ability to accept and adjust to other cultures and people have changed for the better. Throughout my LITA experience I was challenged to make these changes. Whether it be the first day in Spain when we truly began to speak Spanish, or our last day in the homestay when we gave full speeches in Spanish to thank our host families, my LITA experience challenged me to advance my mastery of Spanish, which resulted in an enormous improvement in proficiency by the end of the trip. I went from having a shaky control over the language to feeling like a fluent speaker, complete with Spanish dreams. However, as I mentioned, my LITA experience also challenged me to step outside of my comfort zone and mature intellectually and socially. Each day during the entire trip, whether it be the homestay, the hike, or the time spent in Seville, I was presented with the opportunity to meet and interact with a new person in Spanish. While this clearly helped my speaking abilities, it also taught me to be courageous and to be more outgoing. I developed interpersonal skills that I can use in any situation and any language. My most vivid image of this type of challenge took place one day while I was working in my internship on a farm, La Communidad Tierra Esperanza. That day, I was working along side not only the usual inhabitants of the farm, but also a group of new Spanish students from Madrid. I took a chance, and began to introduce myself to some of these new students. One of them, Jesús, managed to carry on a conversation with me, in which I discovered that he was actually from Italy and had even met the pope. Although those factoids aren’t as significant to me today, that memory reminds me not only of the incredible relationships that I was able to build through my LITA experience, but also the interpersonal skills that I developed. In a similar way, I also developed an appreciation and respect for cultures different than that of the United States. By living side by side with my host brother everyday and having no choice but to live the Spanish lifestyle, I realized that different doesn't mean worse, as I often had perceived of other cultures from the American perspective. Through my experience with LITA, I feel that I have become more open-minded and accepting of all types of people and cultures that I encounter. I believe that LITA truly did transform me in a unique way that other programs might not have, and for that reason I am extremely grateful to have been given the opportunity to take part. What a wonderful experience!