Welcome to my Introductory Post!

Hi! My name is Ashley and I am almost 24 years old and from Idaho but was born and raised in Michigan! I lived in Michigan until I was nineteen. Growing up, I mostly did domestic travels with my family that included places like Disney World, Niagara Falls, Hawaii, U.S. National Parks, etc… We also would take some out of country trips to Canada (Toronto, Quebec, and Vancouver), and went to Budapest and Vienna in the summer of 2015. After moving to Idaho, I transferred to Boise State University and graduated in 2023 with a Bachelor’s degree in Media Arts. Even though I dreamt of it most of my life, I actually never got to study abroad in college, COVID got in the way of most of my college career, boooo! When COVID cleared out, I instead took volunteer trips to Tanzania and Thailand, in summer 2022 and 2023, respectively. 

To answer why I chose this program, the fact I never studied abroad in college was a huge inspiration for me to take on this opportunity. I also chose Spain because I have friends who have taught English in Spain with CIEE and recommended this program to me! I would love to have the adventure of learning Spanish while living with a host family in a foreign country. During the adventure, I also hope to travel around Spain and to other neighboring countries and get that European adventure I have always dreamt of! 

My long-term goal is to be a professional travel writer and start my own travel writing company where I wish to teach clients how to grow their writing skills and give them inspiration by hosting writing retreats all around the world! Writing and traveling are what I am passionate about most, and I definitely want to pursue it for a career. Blogging for CIEE is a great way to start so I am beyond elated to be blogging for them during my volunteer adventure in Spain. 

I am placed in Fromista, Spain in the Palencia province with three young children and a newborn baby. I teach at a primary school where the kids attend. This is where I will post my adventures abroad, stay tuned!