by the Night Writer

…but that may be about to change. Over the weekend my wife, Tiger Lilly and I applied to be accepted into the Pueblo Ingles program to help Spaniards learn to speak English. Pueblo Ingles is an organization that sets up week-long English immersion training for Spanish-speakers eager to perfect their English for business and social purposes. All we have to do is provide our own transportation to and from Madrid and any personal travel we want to do before or after the program. Otherwise the program provides all meals and accommodations during the week plus transportation from Madrid to the village where the instruction takes place. Oh, and we have to swear not to speak a word of Spanish while we’re there!

This afternoon I received an email enthusiastically accepting me into one of the weeks, and we’re hoping that the Reverend Mother’s and Tiger Lilly’s acceptance will be coming soon — I won’t go without them! Our program would run from July 24th through 31st and would take place in the village of Valdelavilla, which is described as follows:

Valdelavilla is a small town in the highlands of Soria, just south of the wine-producing region of La Rioja. It dates back to the 18th century but it was reconstructed as a rural tourist complex after it was abandoned in the 1960’s for demographic reasons. It is considered as one of the best-preserved natural sites in Spain with unique architectural and landscaping characteristics, a rich abundance of flora and fauna, and a quite magical atmosphere.

The village is nestled in a valley and even in its heyday, its population probably never surpassed 30 families. It has rustic feel to it with twelve traditional stone-walled houses, cobblestone streets and plenty of exposed brick and timber. Open countryside and beautiful panoramic views complete the quaint atmosphere and make this venue a favourite for volunteers who want that “authentic Spanish experience”, and “to get away from it all”. Valdelavilla arguably represents Pueblo Ingles in its rawest form.

Ok, so it’s not exactly five-star accommodations (other Pueblo Ingles venues are more polished) but the site sounds beautiful and we can book more stylish quarters when we’re back in Madrid after the program is finished and we continue our vacation. The images I’ve found of Valdelavilla show buildings and scenery very similar to the part of Tuscany where we stayed a couple of years ago (and loved).

The Rev. Mum discovered the program through an article in the Strib a few weeks ago. The Spanish-speakers pay to participate, but the Anglos are comped (a word I’ll likely have to explain to the “students”). It’s not exactly a free ride, however, as we’ll spend several hours each day speaking English with the students in a variety of business and social setting, including telephone conversations, and the evenings are spent doing skits and enjoying long (and late) suppers — and talking, talking, talking (a challenge for me, I know). We’re encouraged to talk about anything and everything in order to help the Spaniards acclimate to idioms and cultural nuances. I’m sure it will be tiring, but at the same time we’ll be learning a lot about Spain and the lives of the people we’re talking to and it should be very educational. Perhaps we’ll even pick up some very useful details to make the rest of our trip even more interesting!

All in all it sounds like a great way to see a new country and learn about other ways of life — all while helping other people. What can be better than that?

Update: The program couldn’t fit all of us into the July 24 week, but later added a week to this summer’s schedule. The Rev. Mum and I will go to Cazorla in the sunny south the week of July 3-10, while Tiger Lilly participates in a teen program in El Avets near the French border.

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