English Village

For three weeks in the last couple of months, we have been volunteering for a company called Pueblo Ingles ("English Village" or English Billage, as pronounced by Spaniards). Amongst other services, the company puts on 8 day English immersion programs for Spanish-speaking adults. Most of the Spaniards attend the program at the recommendation of and paid for by their companies. Others choose to attend the training for new job opportunities or general interest. We, the Anglos, volunteer to live in this village and speak only English with the participants. In each program, there are about 21 Spaniards and 21 Anglos from all over the world. After a telephone interview, Michiel's English was deemed native-level and he was permitted to attend as an Anglo.

The backbone of the program are the one-to-one sessions. For the majority of the day, a Spaniard is paired up with a different Anglo for a 50 minute session of conversation. The Anglos are not necessarily teachers, so the discussions are just that - discussions on any and all topics (though we were counselled in advance that we might wish to stay away from potentially inflammable topics like bullfighting and the Civil War). In between one-to-one sessions, the Spaniards are required to give two different 5-minute presentations and participate in two different conference calls with Anglos role-playing business scenarios (sales meetings, team strategy sessions, etc.). We also have group activities involving games, theatre, presentations by Anglos, parties and drinking.

Normal people volunteer for only one one-week session per year, but we participated in three programs. After a tremendous first experience, we were asked back by the company to do two back-to-back programs as they were having difficulties finding Anglos to participate and we are conveniently located in Spain.

We've attended the program in two different locations - once in a restored, formerly abandoned village in the north-central part of the country. It was a very special experience because there were no outside distractions - no mobile phone coverage, no television signal and very few other people around. The feeling in this place was truly one of an English village.

Valdelavilla





The other location was in a spa resort, which was surrounded by mountains and the charming little town of La Alberca. The benefit of the location was that we had the possibility of walking to a shop or pharmacy, but the downside of outside distractions (other hotel guests, traffic, constant mobile phone calls, televisions, email access via iPhones and Blackberries, etc.) far outweighed the benefits.

Town of La Alberca




Tasting ham (jamon) and cheese in a bodega



Side trip to the Pena de Francia





Not only have we gotten to know over 60 Spanish people, we've also had the opportunity to get lots of information about possible "perfect places" to live. During each program, I have given a presentation on what we're doing (our volunteer placements) and have given our audience a list of criteria that we are looking for in a perfect place. Without fail, the Spaniards are at first confused and then blown away but what we're doing. Spanish people are not accustomed to moving and it is difficult for them to leave the town in which they grew up much less move to another country. They are generally quite conservative and not willing to live somewhere where they cannot eat their beloved ham. This lack of adventurous spirit is a bit of a concern for us and the more time we spend meeting Spaniards, even from the most open-minded region of Spain, Madrid, the more we think that we might find it very challenging to find a place that meets our most important criteria of a diverse and open-minded community. So, though the Spaniards we've met are some of the kindest, most generous and fun-loving people we've come across anywhere, we are, at times, put off by their inflexibility and lack of curiosity with regards to food and culture. It is not an exaggeration to say that we've seen grown men nearly come to fisticuffs over whether sweet red peppers are an acceptable ingredient in paella.

That said, if we conform ourselves to their customs, we are fully embraced and can have (and HAVE had) wonderful experiences. We've laughed and cried with them and some of them have become good friends. And every so often, one of them completely blows US away with his or her openness, friendship, generosity and humor. This is why we returned to Pueblo Ingles three times and why, though we are still not completely convinced that Spain is the right place for us, we continue to look for our perfect place...and now, we have a handful of new options to investigate.