Alicante: divertido, aventura y "vale"

Our last day in Alicante was certainly a mix of emotions. On one hand, our four-week program seemed to have flown by so fast, on the other, our classes, activities, and connections had made every day count and be memorable. It was just another 30-day period on the calendar, but for us it was a very special and unique month that we will forever remember.

We gather at a popular restaurant near “La Explanada”, a very unique paseo by the ocean, to enjoy a selection of local “tapas" and say goodbye to our three wonderful instructors, as they would not travel back with us to the USA.

Looking around I could see on everyone´s faces the excitement and the pride for having successfully completed a great adventure, not only academically but also personally. Most students had arrived to Alicante feeling overwhelmed, somewhat lost, and definitely challenged by a new language, culture, and totally different surroundings. I have been there before and I know how it feels.

That first day during orientation, I wanted to tell them that everything was going to be all right but I could not... They had to walk the path themselves. And so they did. Four weeks later, they had forged unique friendships and had acquired a positive sense of pride after overcoming many obstacles along the way: like the small victory of approaching a stranger to ask something in Spanish, trying strange looking foods with an open mind, or talking about the positive and negative aspects of your own culture with your host family. These were not the same teens that had arrived to Alicante four weeks earlier. They knew it, and you could see it on their faces, in their laughter.

Here is a short video I took during that lunch. When I asked about three words that came to mind from the trip. One of them summarized it perfectly: “divertido, aventura, vale” (fun, adventure, ok). In Spain, we say “vale” all the time... :)

For me, seeing the hugs, the smiles, and the intense emotions at the end of this program is the best reward of all, and what confirms to me that we are doing some special: we are creating connections not only among students, but also across cultures, and countries. As Zib, one of our students would say: ES LA LECHE (it is the bomb).