2 week Homestay Multi-Activity Program for teenagers for School Groups

During the 12th to the 19th of the February in 2015, I went on a Spanish course in Granada which is called 'Live and Study in your private teacher home' through my Spanish teacher in my school who was friends with Carlos, the director of the Centro de Integracion y Comunicacion de Almunecar S.L. About a month before I traveled to Granada, I received an email from Carlos about the details of the family that I was going to stay with, and I got every single detail that I wanted to know about them. Also, for them as well, before I went there, Carlos was emailing me to ask what I would like to do with the family and what kind of food I liked or disliked. This made me feel really welcomed and also excited about this journey. Carlos was extremely helpful and supportive. As I was feeling a bit nervous about this stay, I emailed him quite a lot before I left; gladly, he wasn't annoyed and showed his patience. He was very kind to answer the questions that I asked and the replies were almost spontaneous. He also gave me a tour in Granada, and on the second day he showed me around and calmed me down!

My journey in Granada could almost be described as perfect. Every single day during my stay was packed with different activities with the family and also, of course, the lessons. Since I applied for 20 hour lessons during my stay, I had to have at least 3 hours lessons each day. However, it was way more than just normal classes, as my teacher, Julia brought me everywhere with her, no matter where she went, may it have been meeting her friends or going to the supermarkets. These were all counted as part of the classes. Therefore, I learnt a lot of Spanish not just in the class, but also through actually interacting with the local Spanish people as well. On one day during my stay, Julia and her husband, Alberto, brought me to see the landmark in Granada, the Alhambra, which is a mysterious but a gorgeous temple left by the Arabs who used to live there. I enjoyed the sightseeing very much and was absolutely into it. Another highlight of my stay was when I went to some Flamingo classes with Julia, and it was so funny for me, a Chinese girl, to dance a Spanish dance, but I enjoyed it very much and had a lot of fun. I even went to a Spanish comedy show with Julia afterwards; imagine how fun that was! When we got back home after the daily activities, I cooked supper with Julia and learnt a lot of Spanish cooking skills from her, and we had suppers together with her two sons, which made me feel like part of her family. There isn't one moment that I was speaking Spanish or even thinking in Spanish when I was in Granada, as Julia was so strict that she wouldn’t speak any English with me in order for me to improve my Spanish, which I actually did. I found it particularly useful when I got back to my school in England. During my Spanish class, I was able to listen to Spanish and understand it more and quicker. My journey has also actually encouraged me more on learning Spanish, since I want to be fluent in it and be able to communicate with Spanish people, as I have indeed loved their culture - not just the food but also the people over there.

To conclude my journey, I would actually describe it as the most fantastic and remarkable memory among all my travels to different countries, as the city was definitely a good place to stay and the people were so fantastic, which made me want to stay for longer! I think that this is the best way you could actually learn and experience the local culture. No other way could be better than to just stay with a family in the local area and live with them!