From Classroom to Community: An English Teacher's Daily Life in Spain

In January 2025, I began CIEE’s volunteer in Spain program and was assigned to volunteer and live with a host family in Fromista, Spain. I am the only one placed in the Palencia province of Castilla y Leon, but I have had plenty of time to spend with my host family! My host family consists of two parents and three children ages 7, 6, and 2, and a baby that was born during my second week in Spain! I volunteer at the primary school in town, and even though I have just begun, I have been having a lot of fun! Before I elaborate on my experience, I will give a walk through of everyday life living and volunteering in Spain. 

Tuesday-Friday

On the days I volunteer at the school, I typically wake up at 8:30 or as they say in Spain: half past 8. My host family will serve me coffee and a small muffin for breakfast, and hand me some fruit for school. The school is only a few minutes away from the house so it was a very quick drive. Being a small school, all the staff and students meet outside on the sports court first thing at half past 9 and all line up to go inside. My schedule varies day by day, but in every class, the teacher would introduce the students to me and they would excitedly yell, “HI ASHLEY!” I bonded with them quickly! I would sit in on the teacher’s lesson and contribute by teaching the students certain words in English and also helped kids with their classwork. My favorite class is definitely English with the first and second graders, not only because it was an easy class to follow along with, but because the students in that class were the most fun. It also helped that two of my host family’s kids were in the class! Our first week we learned about animals and of course I insisted on giving them an education about elephants, ha! They also learned this song about prepositions (In, On, Under, Behind) and everyone including the teacher and I became addicted to singing along. Another day we also danced to the Macarena in class! Fun fact, the Macarena song actually originated in Spain. 

In order to make classes more fun, I will play songs to help them learn or to reward them for hard work. The songs I play in younger classes are often educational English learning songs, but they still dance and sing along! The first and second graders really enjoy the “Freeze Dance” off YouTube, while the third and fourth graders absolutely love Gangnam Style! I play those two songs often just for the kids. 

Some days I also sit in on the class with the 3 and 4 year olds, which is the hardest class so far, but it is still fun. The reason it is the hardest is because the kids have not gotten the opportunity to learn English yet, so the language barrier is tough. However, it is my job to teach them English and I do so by teaching them basic words, phrases, and songs. For example, they watched a Spanish educational video on shapes, and I showed them another video about shapes in English. They loved both! 

I help teach in classes from 9:30-12:30 (on Thursdays 11:30-12:30), and at 12:30, the students go outside for recess (in Spanish “recreo”). Only one or two teachers has to supervise them, so this means I chill out in the teacher’s lounge and have a snack and/or do my best to converse with other teachers. Some speak good English, others do not but we communicate mainly through google translate. 

Recess ends at 1 and classes resume. I either sit in on a different class or join my school coordinator on giving private lessons to one or two children in the computer lab. Most of the time during the private lessons, my school coordinator has me practice Spanish vocabulary. 

School ends at 2:30, which sounds early and that is because it is! When I was in elementary school, I was used to being at school from 8 AM-3:30 PM, and boy were the days looooong. We had lunch and recess for an hour in the middle of it, but after seeing the Spanish school schedule, I realized things could be better in American schools. What contributes a lot to the shorter Spanish school schedule is the fact that all the core classes are during school hours, and any extracurriculars are held in the afternoon-evening and students get to choose. Students and staff also all go home for lunch, as it is served significantly later than American lunches and lunchtime in Spain is an important time for families to be together.

Spain also has a nationwide “siesta time” between 3-6 where families stay at home together and just take the time to unwind after a morning of work and school. In addition, a lot of shops in Spanish cities will be closed during siesta time, but reopen afterwards. The activities people do during siesta time vary, but my host dad often naps during this time because he works very early in the mornings. But, the rest of the family and I typically use the time to watch TV, join the kids in their playroom, or teach English to them. The kids also enjoy doing yoga for kids off YouTube! 

During the week, the kids either have soccer (or as Europe calls it: football) practice, or English class at the local library. But, everyday after siesta time the family and I will go into town and meet up with the kids from school and their parents. The adults hang out together, while I will join the kids in playing either hide and seek or soccer. Instead of “play dates” at friends houses in this town, playing together in town does it! Occasionally, we will go to local cafes and get something to drink as well. Also on Mondays and Wednesdays, I attend a zumba class in town! After the post-siesta activities, we will go home and unwind with television and/or homework before it is time for dinner. 

With lunches being at a later time than America, dinner is also much later as well. It is served between 9-10 PM, which is around the time I have a bedtime snack in America! With dinner being so late, there is no need for a bedtime snack here. That being said, bedtime is around 10-midnight, depending on what we have the next morning. 

Saturday-Monday

As a volunteer, we are all guaranteed three day weekends and I got to have Mondays off. My coordinator also said I could take Fridays off too for travel here and there! But, all my weekends varied. Every weekend the kids have a soccer game either on Saturday or Sunday, and when I am in town, I will watch with the family. After the games, we almost always go out for drinks at a local cafe, and if the game is in Palencia, we will also walk around the city. The first Saturday I was here I traveled to the nearby village of Carrion with my host mom’s niece and brother-in-law to ride horses! I had not ridden a horse in 12 years and I almost fell off, but I still had a lot of fun! Siesta time is still in play on weekends, and this is why the kids’ soccer games will be at noon. However, there were two Sundays where my host family and I would go out for lunch during siesta time to celebrate occasions. Palencia has a lot of nice restaurants and a mall, but sadly my first time there was a Sunday, where most of the shops are closed all day! The reason is because Sunday is Spain’s “relaxation” day, but I am not into relaxing on weekends, I spend time adventuring when I can! 

Some weekend trips I have taken so far: 

-Madrid (January 24-26)

-Day trip to Segovia (February 3)

-Day trip to Valladolid (February 9)

In addition, I will be visiting Lisbon over Valentine’s Day weekend! 

So do I enjoy Spanish culture and what I do? YES! My volunteer position is low-maintenance and the teachers walk me through what I need to do, and I have really bonded with them and my students. American culture does not give people enough time to relax and balance their personal and work lives, but Spanish culture does! I have not been homesick once and am going to be soooo disappointed when it is time to go back to the States! The only way I wish Spanish culture was more like that of the U.S. is their smoking policy. At least in America, there are no smoking signs and smoking only zones, but in Spain, everyone smokes wherever and whenever. The smell of smoke disgusts me, and I wish smoking zones were universal. 

Any questions about volunteering in Spain and/or Spanish culture? Feel free to contact me!