CIEE in Alicante

Since I have spent the majority of the past three days at CIEE, I feel I must write about my experiences there because they have been so productive, inspiring, and enriching.

My days have pretty much been like this:

The alarm goes off and 7:30am and I leap out of bed to get dressed and grab a small bite of something before heading off with my messenger bag draped around me to la Plaza de Toros - where I meet up with three of my CIEE coworkers who carpool to la universidad from downtown.

I try to pick up on most of the conversation during the ride, and sometimes just gaze out the window at the beauty around me.

The past three days have been packed with meetings, and I've learned so much. CIEE in Alicante offers programs for students at virtually any level of Spanish proficiency, from beginners to advanced. After my meetings in the morning, where I have either learned about their incredible offerings, taken a tour of la Universidad de Alicante, visited classes, or met with a host family, we all eat lunch together in the tiny kitchen from 2-3ish. No one eats alone in Spain, by the way. And if someone catches you eating alone, they will come and sit with you. Mealtime is a time for socializing and catching up - and as the sparkling conversations will show, professional relationships and friendships are clearly valued here.

Like I said, I've visited a couple of classes while I've been here so that I can see what the students will experience while they are studying here. While observing, I noted that these students clearly feel like this is a friendly environment and feel as though they can practice and make mistakes because they have such encouraging support around them. Not to mention the class sizes are rather small - which, again, makes this a great program for our students who come here.



I've been through the meetings about safety, academics, medical issues, fun events/activities, etc. that are particular to CIEE and this program; and through it all, I'm getting the same vibe - this program is perfect for Meredith students who want to study Spanish in Spain.

Today I visited with a host family to get an idea of what our students experience here in Alicante when they are taken in. I've never been so enchanted, and I've never missed my own Spanish mother more. Seeing how carefully and cheerfully this family adopts the students they host is truly a miraculous thing, and I wished I could meet up with Benita again to tell her how wonderful she was to me while I was studying abroad in Santiago de Compostela, and just chat with her about what's going on in our lives.

Then I went to a class where the students are learning about El Camino de Santiago. These students have also walked El Camino - an experience unlike any other, that really touched my heart when I walked part of the way in 2004. Little did I know that there's a movie coming out about the El Camino, directed by Emilio Estevez and starring Martin Sheen (whose father was from Galicia). Here is a link to the trailer, if you'd like to see it. I nearly started to cry while watching this, mostly because my experience on El Camino was so powerful, and this movie (from what I can tell of the trailer, at least) seems to capture its spirit.



On a personal note, everyone at the CIEE office is so kind, professional, and brilliant! They have made me feel so at home, and are simply so much fun to be around. It's clear that they love what they do - and are making a difference in the lives of these students who study here. What a privilege it is to work with them!