LITA - Best Way to Learn Spanish + Grow Personally

Are you extremely passionate about Spanish—you’ve been learning it for a few years and are serious about taking it to the next level? Are you responsible, social, and want to explore? If so, LITA is for you. LITA is a program with some of the most amazing resources and opportunities, but you must be willing to step outside of your comfort zone and put forward lots of effort to really take advantage of it (talking to locals and host family members of all ages, staying in Spanish at all times, navigating unfamiliar social situations, memorizing new vocab). The first and last weeks of the program are an amazing opportunity to bond with other motivated Spanish students and really learn about the rural cultures of the towns you’re staying in. Get ready to learn 20+ new vocab words a day, learn about the region's history, and spend lots of time in gorgeous nature hiking, swimming in lakes, etc. During the first week, my group had the privilege of interviewing town elders, attending various cultural workshops (basket-making workshop, for example), practicing yoga at an ancient monastery, etc. The homestay can be an amazing or challenging experience (there are so many factors—such as host family compatibility—that you can’t control), but it will be transformative nonetheless. This is the true immersion of the trip, both culturally and linguistically. I truly had such a blast hanging out with other teens (both Spanish and American) and getting to know my host family. Many nights of my homestay were spent wandering the streets with friends, watching football, or participating in activities like karaoke. Be resilient, be humble, be grateful, and be open to any situation—I found myself in so many unexpected random social situations, but those were the moments where my Spanish improved the most and I made some great memories. Classes/internships can be challenging and not always the most exciting, but are great ways to learn the language and culture with a little more guidance. Overall, I highly recommend LITA to motivated learners. You’ll eat some of the best food of your life almost every day, the monitors are knowledgeable and supportive, the housing (at least during the first and last weeks in hotels/AirBnB's) is great, and the experiences you’ll have are once-in-a-lifetime (I’ll probably never again witness a private flamenco performance in a countryside mansion while eating Iberian jamón!). En general, ¡aprovecha esta experienca y experimentarás unas cuantas de las mejores semanas de tu vida!