Student: Sabrina Perell
Class
of: 2014
Name
of Program: The Experiment in
International Living
When
you did the program: Summer 2012
Summary: We all met in New York, took the international
flight over to Madrid together and did orientation there. Regional toured and
oriented us in each new region we visited. Most of the information we learned
about focused on the three Abrahamic traditions. We visited various religious
sights and museum, connecting the information we gained to people we met.
In Madrid we
mostly shopped, visited museums and did a scavenger hunt in small groups.
In Toledo we
spent some time with kids our age who were immigrants from Latin America and
visited the church.
We spent about
two weeks in Acros with our host families and went outside the town to visit
the beach and such.
In Zaragoza we
helped out with the Red Cross summer camp with kids ranging from about 6 years
old to 12.
We finished our trip in Barcelona where we
explored the architecture, spent time at the beach, cooked in our apartments,
visited an aquarium and other religious sights. With free time we mostly
shopped.
About how many kids were in your summer
program? 5 boys; 5 girls
Who were the adults and what role did they
play in your experience? We had host
parents, local guides in and we had one group leader who was with us the entire
time. She was someone we could check in with if we were having problems, kept
us organized and also helped us figure out what we were doing day to day and
how we would get there.
How much free time did you have and what did
you do with it? We started off
with minimal free time so it was hard to get off the get lag but as the trip
went on we had more and more--especially in Barcelona and on our home stays.
Did you have room and board or a home stay in
another country? If so, what was your experience like? Yes. We stayed in hotels, hostels, an
apartment and in the house of the host family. Some of the hostels we stayed in
had some issues so we had to switch rooms but otherwise we were fine.
What were the other students in your program
like and how were the relationships that you formed? We came from all over the US, all with big
personalities various goals for the program but together we made a contract
that bound our different ideas. I made one extraordinary friendship that is
still alive and well across the country.
What kinds of activities, social events, and
trips were organized for the students? We
hung out at the beach and with the friends of our host siblings.
About how much of your own money do you think
you spent on gifts, food, transportation and other things not provided by the
program? I spent close to
$300 euro.
Did you have a curfew? If so, what time? Sometimes. During our home stay our parents
would decide what time they wanted us back. The rest of the time our group
leader would decide depending on the day ahead and what time we ended our
activities in the evening.
Did you have internet access? If so, how much
time did you spend using it? In hotels it was typically available and my
host family had wifi. At the start of the trip I used it very infrequently but
later, with more free time I began to use it more.
How organized was the program? How much
flexibility was there with the agendas? How much of a say did the students have
in this? We had a lot of
flexibility in our itinerary so we got to decide when we visited certain sites.
How was the food? Rate from 1-5 (1 being the
worst and 5 being the best) Three.
What is at least one thing you would do to
improve the program? In the cities I
would have liked to visit more famous sights and attractions. I wish I had more
time with my host family. It was difficult because my host parents were working
and we did day trips with the group. I
wish I would have seen the south of Spain with my host family under their own
schedule.
What was your biggest takeaway from the
experience/what will you most remember? Mostly
I will remember the friendships I built and my growth in the Spanish language.
I didn’t actually realize it until i came back to bay but my Spanish speaking
abilities grew quite a bit.
Who would you recommend this program to? Who
would this program not be best suited to? I
found that the kids in my program who had never been outside of the USA liked
it most. Also, I also would recommend this program only to those of you who
feel fairly confident in speaking Spanish.
Rate your overall experience (1-5): 3 (average)
