When Beckie travelled from Missouri, USA, with her two granddaughters, Katie and Ollie, she wanted their time in Spain to be much more than a traditional family holiday. Katie and Ollie are first cousins, and the three of them were looking for a personalised experience combining Spanish conversation, cultural discovery and sightseeing in Barcelona. They…
There is a particular kind of motivation that comes from love. Stacy did not cross the Atlantic for a grammar certificate. She came to finally speak, heart to heart, with her husband’s family in Ecuador. I am Nanda, a host teacher with the Spanish Homestay Immersion Program (SHIP) in Castelldefels, just outside Barcelona. I open…
After eight years of studying Spanish, Rebecca could read, follow conversations and get by, yet she still felt stuck at the same level, longing to speak with real fluency. One immersive week in Dosrius, Barcelona, was about to change that. I’m Mónica, founder of Spanish Express and the host teacher who welcomes students into my…
“Keep my brain young.” Those were the words Julie used when she explained why she had flown from Flagstaff, Arizona, all the way to Spain to learn Spanish for the very first time. That honest, hopeful reason is exactly the kind of motivation we love at Spanish Express, which is why I, Mónica, opened my…
There is a quiet hurdle many learners reach. They know the words, they can conjugate the verbs, yet every sentence still passes through another language before it leaves their mouth. I am Nanda, a host teacher with the Spanish Homestay Immersion Program (SHIP) here in Castelldefels, just south of Barcelona. I welcome learners into my…
She stood on Passeig de Gràcia with her mouth half-open, a copy of García Márquez tucked under one arm, and said the thing I hear from almost every student who walks into Sant Jordi for the first time. “Wait, this is all for a saint?” I laughed. Because yes, technically, Sant Jordi is the patron…
Retirement gave Jane a gift many people wait a lifetime for: the freedom to choose exactly how she spends her days. She chose Spain, a Catalan village she had never seen, and a week of speaking nothing but Spanish. I am Mónica, a host teacher with the Spanish Homestay Immersion Program (SHIP) and the founder…
There is something about Montserrat in Spain that you feel before you even arrive. Maybe it is the silhouette of the serrated mountain rising above the Catalan countryside, or the quiet pull of a place that has welcomed pilgrims for centuries. Just one hour from Barcelona, this mountain range offers a mix of natural beauty,…
Walking into Pla de la Seu with my SHIP students always feels like stepping through a doorway in time. The narrow streets of the Gothic Quarter suddenly open up, and there it stands: Barcelona Cathedral, rising with a quiet authority that stops people mid-conversation. As the founder of Spanish Express and a host teacher here…
