Andalucía Mía, our 23-day summer program based on the southern Iberian peninsula, is not only a formal Spanish language course, it's a cultural experience. We put our language to practical use each day, whether in Seville at our language school or relaxing in the small coastal town of El Palmar. We experience traditional flamenco music and dancing, bullfights, streets lined with tile houses, palm trees, and colorful fruit markets. Adapting to the Spanish way of life we visit museums, palaces, the Alhambra in Granada, the small historically rich cities of Santiponce, Carmona, & Córdoba as well as crossing the Strait of Gibraltar for a day in Tangier, Morocco. Click Read More to learn more about how you can travel to Europe this summer and cement your Spanish language skills.

Seville, a beautiful and ancient city on the banks of the Guadalquivir River, in the heart of flamenco territory, (and fortunate for us one of the very best cities to experience this romantic art form), Seville embodies the spirit of traditional southern Spanish culture. It is here that bullfighting, fiestas, flower-decked patios, siestas, tortilla espanola, and winding ancient cobblestone streets are a way of life.

Our Spanish adventure begins on the quiet and picturesque streets where each morning we walk from our homestays to our nearby language school. Our mornings are spent in intensive Spanish language class, with an emphasis on Spanish culture and conversational skills, building on the grammar we already know. Taking to the streets at mid-day, we immerse ourselves in the colorful markets, plazas, and quaint passageways, absorbing the rich culture and making use of our developing Spanish skills.

While in Seville we see and explore all the sites, including the Maestranza Bull Ring (the oldest and most impressive in Spain), Santa Cruz Quarter, Alcázar, Catedral Girald, Isla Magica Amusement Park, Taurino Museum, Torre de los Perdigones, the Flamenco Museum and Sevillanas dance classes. Evenings we prepare typical Spanish dishes, attend dazzling shows, and listen to concerts in colonial courtyards. We travel to the mountainous, bohemian city of Granada and take in the wonder that is the Albayzin and Alhambra Palace.

Then its off to the beautiful coastal town of Zahora where we reside together in air conditioned beach houses with our own private pool for a week with our Spanish instructors. We continue our daily language lessons with afternoons spent on the warm sand beaches windsurfing, swimming, kayaking and other watersports. During our time on the coast, we also journey across the Strait of Gilbraltar to North Africa, where we visit Tangier, Morocco, witnessing the symbolic intersection between Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.  As our travels come to a close back in Seville we are completely accustomed to the Spanish way of life, and find it nearly impossible to say “¡Hasta luego!”

Settling In

Gather in Chicago, O'Hare Airport; board group flight to Seville, Spain; transfer to apartments in the Old Quarter of Seville; program orientation; Spanish language placement test; classroom assignments.

Our Time In Seville

Four hour language instruction in the morning; guided visits to museums, cathedrals, towers, bullrings, palaces, the Alhambra and Albayzín in Granada; explore local markets; experience cooking and dance lessons; day trips to Santiponce, Carmona & Córdoba

Our Time in El Palmar

Transfer to the Costa De La Luz and the small town of El Palmar; four hour language instruction in the morning; afternoons spent on the beach learning windsurfing, sea kayaking and sailing; day trips to Tangier, Morocco and Cape Trafalgar

El Fin

Final Banquet; transfer to Seville; board group flight from Seville to Chicago O'Hare; homeward bound.

60 Hours Spanish Language Instruction: Group Language Classes, ILS Certificate Upon Successful Completion of Program and complete language immersion while on course

9 - 12

23

$6,295 - Airfare not included

Chicago, IL