Real España

This journey is for the student looking to learn Spanish and volunteer abroad during an intensive and immersive Spanish language and cultural experience. Suitable for Spanish beginners looking to jumpstart their introduction to the language – as well as Spanish intermediates looking to hone their skills – GoBeyond tailors the learning experience to each student’s individual needs and language levels. Studying Spanish, learning about the history, and genuinely connecting with the people of Andalusia takes effort but will ultimately reward you tenfold.

In addition to language study and cultural site-seeing, classes in flamenco dance and guitar add another key element to this high school Spanish immersion program. Regardless of their former training, dancers and guitar players will find new skills to develop through this unique art form. Note, no prior experience is required for the dance study; however, students wishing to explore flamenco guitar should have some former guitar playing (of any style) ability. For those less artistically motivated, additional language study or other cultural classes may be arranged during the Granada portion of the program.

There’s really no rigid mold that GoBeyond participants are cut from. Since our students come from different backgrounds all over the world, the groups end up being naturally diverse. Everyone arrives with different goals, expectations, hopes, and fears but they quickly find common ground and begin to bond. The GoBeyond environment allows team members to connect quickly and become closer friends than anyone would expect. Many students report leaving feeling as though they had known their fellow students much longer than they actually had.

Our philosophy revolves around small group sizes that are still large enough to foster a sense of community. For this journey, we’ve found that a group size of maximum 15 students works best. This journey does not require any previous experience, skills, or language fluency – only a willingness to learn, interact, and appreciate each incredible adventure.

GoBeyond is proud to attract and recruit the best in our field. Our summer staff consists of avid world travelers, highly qualified professionals, and fun and experienced facilitators and educators. All members of our team are dynamic, multi-talented, and passionate individuals with a devotion and commitment to the safety and experience of our students.

The average age of our summer staff is 26. Staff skills are journey specific, such as holding a maritime license in the BVIs or having a background in childcare for China. All staff are First Aid and CPR certified, and many hold advanced training certificates such as Wilderness First Responder or EMT. Along with local guides and our community service partners, the ratio of staff to students is approximately 1:5. This enables close interaction and individualized attention during the journey.

Learn More About Our Staff

GoBeyond students are responsible for carrying their luggage from place to place. As such, we recommend that you keep things simple and avoid over packing. Students are given the opportunity to do laundry throughout the trip, so there’s no need to pack several weeks’ worth of clothing.

Our hope is that families will have minimal purchases prior to the trip, so we’ve compiled our packing lists in a way that you’ll find most of what you need in your closet at home. Around mid to late March, we make available our Pre-Trip Packet to enrolled students, which contains a detailed packing list for this year’s journey.

During the trip, students will need an emergency/travel credit or debit card in addition to personal spending cash. The credit or debit card (minimum balance of $400) is intended to cover travel costs to and from the program and any unanticipated costs that might arise such as clinic or hospital visits. While not required, if you are concerned about loss or theft, students do have the option of storing their credit or debit card with our staff during the journey.

GoBeyond will pay all major program costs while traveling and working, but there will also be opportunities for students to spend money on personal items. The most common expenses include snacks, souvenirs, and phone/internet time (calling cards, internet centers, etc.). Based on our past experience, some students will spend less and some will spend more than our recommendation ($300). Judge this amount by the spending habits of your student. Please set up boundaries for its use, as GoBeyond cannot be responsible for monitoring student spending. If you are concerned about loss or theft, students can give staff up to $150 of their spending cash to be put into safekeeping/drawn later.

GoBeyond is not a luxury journey; however, we utilize comfortable, clean, and safe accommodations during our trips. In Spain, students spend about half the nights in local hotels, B&Bs, and hostels. For the remainder of our trip, specifically in Granada, students spend multiple nights in an Andalusian homestay. The families we use are clustered together in the Albayzín – within 10 to 15 minutes walking distance of the school – and are carefully screened by our partner, Carmen de las Cuevas. Students are divided into gender-appropriate groups with 2-4 boys or girls per homestay family. This allows our students to have a more immersive experience in Spain, while still benefitting from the presence of a few friends!

GoBeyond’s tuition covers all meals after arrival in the host country. We strive for healthy, nutritious, and delicious meals, and serve a mixture of local and international fare (including Western). For our Spain journey, we primarily eat at the hotels/hostels/B&Bs or homestay families for breakfast and lunch, then local restaurants for dinner.

Note, as GoBeyond is a health-conscious program, our staff do not provide large quantities of “junk” food (i.e. sodas, chips, candy bars, large desserts, etc.). Students can always supplement our meals and snacks by shopping locally for their own items.

During the application process, families can inform us of any dietary allergies or restrictions. We are usually able to accommodate vegetarians, vegans, pescetarians, etc., as well as various food allergies. However, if your student has a severe allergy to peanuts or other common substances, please call our office to discuss the options.