SPI High School Spanish Immersion & Cultural Leadership in Spain

San Sebastian is truly one of the most beautiful spots in Spain. I went on this trip to Spain with high hopes. Each and every one of those was met. My friend and I were placed with an older women. She was extremely sweet and we looked up to her as a grandmother. We had a few bumps in the road like hot water availablility, but our directors and SPI handled it quickly. The classes taught me so much and the activities helped us to use Spanish in fun settings. I made friends from all over the US and world and now have a grandmother in San Sebastian who I plan to visit again soon.
It was really an incredible and eye-opening experience. I got to improve my spanish-speaking skills while having tons of fun and being in a once-in-a-lifetime environment.

We were looking for a Spanish Immersion program for our son and found the SPI site via a Google search. After vetting the program on line, calling the office and asking many questions about the program, safety, travel oversight, host family background, and looking everywhere to make sure this program was legitimate and would take good care of our son, he was signed up. BEST program and staff. From the minute he was enrolled, the emails came with information - security protocol, videos of the various airports and their immigration process, language prep suggestions for the kids, roommate and host family information, day to day itinerary, etc.. Our son had an amazing experience. From the minute he was met at the local airport, he was at ease. He enjoyed meeting the other kids, loved his host family, the excursions (especially to Biarritz), the free time to explore San Sebastian, and gaining proficiency in Spanish which has definitely helped him in his Spanish 4 class this year. He still starts many sentences with " when I was in Spain...."

My summer trip to San Sebastián, Spain was one of the greatest things I've ever experienced. The city itself is small enough where one doesn't get lost, but at the same time big enough where you never run out of things to do. Another thing I loved about this trip is the interactions with the local spanish people. Whenever I'd walk into a store or restaurant, I was greeted in spanish and forced to use my spanish in real world experiences. Now, I am much better and listening, understanding, and speaking the language more than I would have ever imagined. Lastly, the experience was one of a lifetime. On the two week trip, I met tons of amazing people from all around the world and overall fell in love with the culture and country. Everyday I yearn to go back and live it all over again and highly recommend this program for any high school student hoping to be awed by their world.

Initially hesitant, my friend and I stepped off the plane and out of the airport in Madrid, and then traveled to San Sebastian, not exactly sure what to expect, it took my friend and I a little time to adjust. Being the only students in the program at that time who were neither American citizens nor studying in America, the experience was initially a little overwhelming. After all, being fairly well-traveled students, living in Africa, and attending a widely diverse International School, it was a little overwhelming to, for once in a long time, feel like a foreigner. However, in hindsight this feels a little silly, because, despite our natural quietness, and after awkward first interactions melted away, the positive encouragement and friendliness we encountered was very warm and comforting. I even recall being rather suitably dubbed as 'Las timidas', or 'Las tranquilas'! Even though we took a little while to get settled, I found the overall experience immensely rewarding. A mile or so from the beach, and within a fair walking distance of some of the main plazas, he location was utterly stunning and buzzing with life and vibrancy. The classes both interactive and entertaining, there was a healthy balance between attending the school and exploring the culturally rich cities. The experience was a wonderful and utterly raw immersion into the heart of San Sebastian. Seize every opportunity you have to explore this wonderful location, and dive head first into the fusion of lessons and culture.

My experience in San Sebastián was better than I could have ever imagined. My host family was really sweet and helped me improve my Spanish speaking skills. My teachers at Lacunza Language school were phenomenal and truly made coming to school fun. My favorite experience was going to Running of the Bulls in Pamplona. We had the ability to experience a cultural traditional and truly be involved in it. My time abroad introduced me to lifelong friends and increased my confidence and independence away from home.

The two and a half weeks I spent in Spain were some of the best days of my life. In my opinion, the most impactful part of this program was how you didn't feel like a tourist or outsider but instead a part of the community. In most immersion programs you still feel like an outsider, but after a few days I felt connected to the town. I believe the freedom in the afternoons and evenings was a large part of this because it forces you to figure the dialect, people, and town out. I also enjoyed the provided activities because they helped you embrace all parts of the town. I would highly recommend going if you have the chance too, it will change your life.

Honestly, going into the program I had extremely high expectations because I had found the program a year before going and was mentally preparing and building up the experience of the entire year. It seemed almost impossible for the program to meet my expectations, but it did and went even further. Two days in I was hysterically texting my moms how thankful I was for them letting me go on the program. I always had something to be doing, and I made close life-long friends. My roommate and I used to joke that SPI had psychic abilities because of how amazing we were as a pair. We became best friends very quickly and loved spending time together, we complemented each other perfectly. As for housing and safety, our homestay was perfect, the woman had a daughter our age who we became incredibly close with. We speak many nights sitting and talking, all in Spanish, and she taught us how to cook many Spanish dishes! As for safety, it was my first time out of my origin country and I was really nervous but the program took such good care of me that I forgot my worries the second I met the staff in the airport. Besides being a safe town, San Sebástian is gorgeous and has so many things to do like climb the mountains, go to the beach or get food in La Parte Vieja. All in all, I recommend this program strongly because I loved it so much I'm going back next year for double the time!

I absolutely love it in Spain! I loved SPI, I loved my homestay, I loved everything about my trip. There was nothing at all that I would want to improve about my trip because everything was already perfect. I can not wait until I get to go back to Spain. I've already told my parents that I would take them back to where I stayed and show them everything that I learned because I'm so excited that I got to go there. I want to tell everyone about it!