- Learning Spanish can be much easier and more entertaining than you think, especially with Spanish Express.
Do you know about our Spanish Homestay Immersion Program (SHIP)?
This program takes you to the most important and emblematic places in Spain to learn the Spanish language and experience its culture.
Today, you will learn about the adventure of our last SHIP student in Valencia and Barcelona. In particular, we will tell you about his experience in Barcelona, Spain.
Discover Liam‘s trip from New York to Barcelona and be the next one.
Barcelona, Spain: Liam traveled from New York to Barcelona
Destination: Barcelona, Spain
Teacher: Mónica Romero
Objective: to learn Spanish to work as a model in Barcelona and Madrid.
September 2022
Liam, an 18 year old student and model for the most prominent fashion brands in New York visits us in Barcelona, after spending a week of immersion at the home of Pilar, our host teacher in Valencia.
Liam knows that learning Spanish will help him in his personal and work projects. His plan is to live in Spain, mainly in Madrid, although he also has some jobs in Barcelona, for a year, while working as a model for the most famous brands in our country.
That is why, before embarking on the life of a big city like Madrid, she decided to take the first steps of his Spanish learning in Valencia, Spain, through our program “Live and study at your teacher’s home”. First at Pilar’s house, in Valencia, and then with me, at my house in Barcelona.
SHIP begins
We visit Barcelona city
The first day we decided to take the train and go down to Barcelona city so Liam could see some of the places he was most interested in.
We visited “Els Encants” (or “The Encants”): the oldest and most important second hand market in Barcelona.
There they have an interesting mix of products: from jewelry to clothes, antiques, books, computers and furniture, among many others.
Then we visited the Design Museum of Barcelona, being its official name in Catalan Museu del Disseny de Barcelona.
It is a museum formed from the collections of other important museums, such as the Museum of Ceramics, the Textile Museum and the Museum of Decorative Arts. It is located in the Disseny Hub building, near Plaza de las Glorias.
As Liam is a model, he is very interested in fashion trends and the history of different clothes from different periods.
Barcelona is known for its evolution and innovation in the field of fashion. There are many brands born in this beautiful city. For example: Grupo Cortefiel, Bimba y Lola, Ailanto, Desigual, and so on.
There are three fashion districts in Barcelona. We highlight Passeig de Gràcia, Portal del L’Angel and Rambla de Catalunya.
During the SHIP
Water sports
Liam is passionate about sports, so we took him to visit some beaches and the marina of Mataró and, as a surprise, we rented a Jet ski for him to enjoy the Mediterranean Sea and all the beauty of the place.
Argentona, a town with many charms
Here we found a small historic streetcar on the Mataró-Argentona route. It is the first streetcar in Spain, located in the square in the center of Argentona. Today it remains as a reminder of other times. And it is real, although it looks like a toy.
The town of Argentona also has another great curiosity: it is full of giant jugs that adorn the main streets. In fact, here is the Botijo Museum, a place dedicated to the preservation of these traditional pieces of craftsmanship.
Ending the SHIP
Family meal: seafood casserole with rice
On the last day we organized a family meal for Liam to try the seafood casserole with rice made by my father, the chef of the house. Seafood casserole is a hearty dish, typical of Spain, Colombia and other Latin American countries. Since most seafood is low in fat and rich in protein, seafood casserole is a healthy dish.
Catalan seafood casserole is distinguished by the flavor of saffron. In some regions of Spain it is very traditional fish casserole, which is prepared with different types of fish and potatoes, onions, peppers, tomatoes and parsley.
It was really tasty and we had a great time in good company of family and friends, including some young Spaniards Liam’s age with whom he had the opportunity to practice his Spanish.
And finally, a touch of jazz in Barcelona.
Liam loves music, particularly jazz. He is a guitar fanatic and I can confirm that he plays it wonderfully well. It was a pleasure to have his music in the background. Every day he would spend a few moments playing the guitar in the garden while he was inspired by watching the scenery of the natural park where we live.
I decided that taking him to Jamboree was a must, so one Friday night I gave him a surprise that I don’t think he will never forget.
Jamboree is one of the most important music venues in Barcelona. It is located in the Plaza Real and is one of the pillars of the Barcelona nightlife. The musical proposal of the Jamboree is jazz and other rhythms of African origin. Without a doubt, Liam enjoyed listening to live music and getting to know this part of the city.
After all these experiences, Liam affirmed that learning Spanish in Spain, being surrounded by Spaniards and living and studying in your teacher’s home, gives you the wonderful opportunity to be in direct contact with the language and the culture. This makes the learning process much faster, more effective and fun.
Liam came with a very clear objective and I can safely say that….
Objective achieved in Barcelona, Spain!
Visit Barcelona, Spain and live an experience like Liam’s
If you want to live an adventure like Liam, join our SHIP!
You’ll get to see amazing cities like Barcelona, Valencia and Mallorca while learning Spanish at our teachers’ homes.
Be sure to check out our students’ adventures in Barcelona here.
Join us and be the protagonist of our next diaries.
Don’t wait any longer to learn Spanish! At Spanish Express you will feel right at home!
Alejandro Coita Sánchez
Spanish Express Blogger
