TWICE with CIEE: Kayleigh in Spain (PART 2)

WHY TEACH WITH CIEE AGAIN?

Since I had majored in Spanish during college, I decided that it was time to really test out my skills. I wanted to see if my Spanish skills could hold up in a real life Spanish-speaking setting. However, I knew that I wanted a program that wouldn’t be as long of a commitment as South Korea. Because things went so well with CIEE and my experience in South Korea, I decided to look into what programs they offered. As it happened to be, they had a volunteer program in Spain that would last for 10 weeks. Furthermore, this program involved staying with a host family. All of this sounded perfect to me! I would get the chance to speak Spanish daily while leaving time for other opportunities open later in the year. Also, I knew that CIEE would deliver a straightforward application process making everything smooth in preparation. 

LOCATION:

During my stay in Spain, I was placed in a city in the province of Castilla y León. The region is known for its agricultural contributions, most famously wine, as well as notable architecture sites. I happened to live in the capital city of Castilla y León. The city I was living in did possess a lot of charm. There were certainly enough restaurants and cafes to visit, as well as a famous cathedral in the middle of town. The city definitely had the classic architecture associated with Europe, which I was thrilled about. It really reminded me that I was in a new place ready to experience new things. I will say that the size of the city was a lot smaller than my hometown in the United States. Although, the population was around the same amount. This depends on your own preferences, but for me, I ran out of main places of interest in my city after only a couple of weeks. Most of the excitement happened in the center of town close to the cathedral. Besides that area, there were not many other parts of town to explore. Even though I found living in a smaller town to be lacking variety sometimes, I am very glad to have gotten the experience. It was my first time living somewhere smaller than my hometown, so now I understand my own preferences better.

TEACHING EXPECTATIONS & COLLEAGUES:

Spain was a whole new experience for me when it came to teaching. In general, things were a lot more loose and flexible when compared to the private school system in South Korea. Since I was volunteering at a public school, my role was completely different. I was only involved in the English classes. The school mostly had me with the older students (5th and 6th grade), but I did occasionally get to visit younger grades. Because the grades were split into two classes each, most with 25 students each, I would be teaching the same lesson multiple times a day. However, my lessons would need to be adjusted for younger grades. It was very fun for me to lesson plan and create lessons that I thought the students would enjoy. Usually, the main teacher would give me a focus to create a lesson about, and then I would get to teach it the following week. It was great getting to see how the students engaged in my lessons without having the pressure that everything needed to happen at the same rate between all the classes. The amount and kind of work with the Spanish teachers who taught English depended on each teacher. Some of the teachers gave me full reign while in their class; others had me be an example for students for pronunciation and reading. 

COMMUTE & PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION:

My commute in Spain was also around 25 minutes on foot. Again, I love to walk, so this amount didn’t bother me. It gave me the chance to get fresh air every day and become familiar with my surroundings. Also, it allowed me to notice places to visit later when I had free time. However, I did find that getting out of my city to visit other parts of Spain was a bit more difficult. The most popular cities that people want to visit are located along Spain’s coastlines. Although, I was located in the northern part of Spain, making my trips to these areas longer and sometimes required stops in other major cities like Madrid. Perhaps, too, I found difficulty with broader travel for not wanting to impose on my host family, since both the train station and bus station were located far away. Despite my host family being incredibly gracious and more than willing to drive me wherever I needed, I also didn’t want to disrupt their plans as well as complicate their schedules.

HOUSING & ACCOMODATIONS:

My accommodations in Spain were just great! My host family lived in a relatively updated apartment. I had my own room and shared a bathroom with the children in the family. The family was incredibly accommodating to me. They were perfectly fine with me using their kitchen, borrowing items if needed, and even let me have a guest over. Furthermore, the parents were always more than willing to give me rides or pick me up from trips or other events I wanted to attend. There was zero expectation from the parents for me to do any chores. In fact, the mother often told me to relax if I asked if I could help out. Eventually, I built a good enough rapport and started to simply help out around the house when I could. That included putting dishes away, helping out with laundry, and cooking food. The only request the parents had of me was to do some weekly one-on-one English practice with the youngest daughter. We discussed some hours within the week that we could use for English practice. However, they were not fixed and could be moved if something else came up. In addition, I would help take the youngest daughter to school twice a week, as we attended the same school. This also gave us the opportunity to further practice speaking in English. 

LEARNING SPANISH:

When it came to Spain, I already knew a lot of Spanish before coming in. The reason for me applying to volunteer to teach in Spain was to better my existing Spanish skills and see if they would be enough to get by while interacting with locals. The host family I was paired with actually spoke very good English. They are used to traveling around, and the father has to use English often for his job. Regardless, the parents signed up to host a native speaker in their home to improve their children's English skills. While living in Spain, they felt that their children weren’t getting to use English enough in a practical sense. This is where I came into the picture. With the children, I used English. However, the parents and I would use Spanish. I felt that this dynamic worked very well for everyone. We all got to practice our desired languages. Family dinners were a great mix of both languages that allowed us to compare different aspects of our cultures.

FRIENDS & COMMUNITY:

For me, forming a community while in Spain was a bit more difficult. I knew I was only going to be present for 10 weeks, which went by very fast. Everyone was super nice and welcoming, but to develop deep connections usually takes longer for me.   Nevertheless, I was lucky to have another volunteer at my school whom I got on well with. We would meet up after classes one day a week just to hang out. Additionally, our coordinator held a Spanish class for us once a week where we would practice Spanish and learn about Spanish culture. Furthermore, my host family was very kind and would always invite me to family functions. This allowed me to experience true Spanish culture by spending holidays with locals. Additionally, I even got to be a part of life events like my host sister’s birthday party. Thus, even though I didn’t have lots of time to form deep connections, I made a lot of memories with the people I met in Spain.

DIFFICULTIES ABROAD:

A challenge I had while living in Spain came from living in another family’s home. My host family was extremely caring and hospitable, yet they had a different family dynamic than I was used to. Because of this, I sometimes found it hard to understand my role within the host family. The best way I found to navigate this complication was to ask questions and spend more time with the family. I was able to observe how they interacted with each other and find ways I could incorporate myself into their lives. 

ADVICE AND FINAL THOUGHTS:

My biggest takeaway and goal met from Spain was the improvement of my Spanish skills. After spending 10 weeks immersed in the culture both inside and outside of the home, I have so much more confidence in my skills. Additionally, my general perspective on the world has grown, too. I learned about some of the aspects that make up Spanish identity. There is a strong focus on family and traditions, which was showcased through the weekly family dinners and cultural celebrations. Furthermore, living with another family was a new experience all on its own. To adapt to the life of another household with children of varying ages gave me more of an understanding of a different family dynamic than the one I grew up in. Also, it gives me many things to think about for my own future.