I’m going to Spain!

Chantal Kreviazuk’s version of “Leaving On A Jet Plane” from the Armageddon movie soundtrack has been playing on repeat in my head all morning. Although unlike the lyrics in the song, my bags are not yet packed, I’m doing that tonight. Tomorrow (Valentine’s Day) I am getting on a plane and traveling to Spain, where I will spend my time exploring the city and then teaching English in the countryside. I’m excited about this unique oppourtunity and nervous about the challenges ahead of me.

I will be participating in a volunteer program for a company called Vaughan Town (VT). In the program I will be interacting and speaking with Spaniards for 12 hours a day for 6 days. Each day is made up of a number of one-on-one conversations, group conversations and presentations. VT puts us (a group of native English speaking volunteers and a group of Spaniards) in a resort located in the Spanish countryside for the duration of the program. In return for volunteering our time and voices, VT pays for our accommodations and meals for the duration of the program. The idea is that the Spaniards will be surrounded, submersed and have to interact in a fully English environment for the six days. This will help them practice and hopefully build their confidence with their English speaking skills.

I was interested in the program for a few reasons. Firstly I love to travel! Secondly I’ve always been interested in Spanish and have often thought about learning the language. Although I am not supposed to speak any Spanish in the program, I will have time in Madrid to experience and hopefully learn a little Spanish. Thirdly I am really excited about the chance to help people improve their English.

Talking for 12 hours a day is not going to be easy and I’m pretty nervous about it but I’m hoping to learn and take away a few things from this trip. Through my conversations I’d like to learn about what life is like in Spain. I’m also hoping to find out a bit about myself and break out of my shell a bit. Lately I’ve been feeling a bit shy and uncomfortable in situations where I need to make conversation with people I don’t know. I used to thrive in situations like that as I’d jump at the oppourtunity to learn from other people. I’m not sure why that has changed or where that drive / interest went, but I am hoping I find it again in Spain.

This should be an exciting trip, one that is hopefully filled with great conversations & experiences. I can’t wait to see what Spain is like!
I promise to take lots of pictures to share with you all when I return.

Happy Valentine’s Day!
Bonnie :)

* the pictures in this post are courtesy of Pinterest.