Sadhbh Clifford

Student Blogs

7 WEEKS IN ELCHE, ALICANTE – SPAIN

Shivering from the cold -and nerves – on the wet and rainy Irish morning of the 29th of October, I stood beside the car, taking it all in. For the next seven weeks, my life, and my Spanish would change forever!

¡Hõla!

My name is Sadhbh Clifford and I am a fourth year student. I decided I wanted to improve my Spanish by staying in the country itself, and I found that Tribe Study was the best way to help me out. I planned to stay in Elche, Alicante from the end of October until December 23rd. Cathy (my ty coordinator) was forever keeping me reassured and answering any questions I had. As soon as I got off the plane, I immediately knew I had made the right decision.

MEETING UP WITH MY SPANISH COORDINATORS

Carlos and Laura were two coordinators in Spain, and they welcomed me with nothing but smiles! We waited for Maria and Juan Carlos, my host family parents, to come and pick me up later that day. Everything was so organised and under control! Maria and Juan Carlos were so reassuring as soon as I met them, nodding when I tried forming sentences and correcting me. From then on, I felt nothing but safe.

I walked through the door of their beautiful home, and for the next hour all that came out of my mouth were compliments. At one point, I was complimenting the colour of the wall! Their home was situated in the almost perfect part of Elche. From a two minute walk away, from multiple shops to a fifteen minute drive to the beach, I felt I was in heaven. I had put aside some money for a gym membership for roughly two months, and luckily the local gym was within a four minute walk! Looking back on it now, the location was quite literally perfect.

A NEW LIFE HAS BEGUN

My first full day in Elche was Saturday. I woke up first thing to Maria and Juan Carlos telling me to get ready for the day, as we were going into the town centre of Elche. It was absolutely beautiful. The architecture of the buildings was my favourite and no apartment building was the same colour. Park Menuncipal ran along throughout the whole of the centre. I was brought to multiple museums and we spent the rest of the afternoon eating lunch and getting to know one another more.

FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL

My first day of school couldn’t have gone better. The walk there was 10 minutes. Marta, my new ‘sister’ walked me to school that warm Monday morning and I was shown around the school. Everyone was so kind and helpful, it was lovely! I somehow quickly adjusted and already had made a group of friends by the end of the day. I was delighted with myself, especially as making friends was one of my priorities – and not something I was very good at!

MY SPANISH WAS ALREADY IMPROVING AFTER MY FIRST WEEK IN SPAIN

My Spanish started off awful as soon as I got there, it sounded nothing like theirs! However, throughout the first week while living with a native host family, I realised my Spanish was already improving. My confidence grew so quickly after that first week, it felt incredible.

To say I was exhausted my first couple of days is an understatement. As well as feeling a little bit homesick, I started journaling every morning just to let out any thoughts or feelings. This really helped me in the beginning, as I was a bit overwhelmed with all these new emotions!

If the opportunity to study a language abroad ever comes your way, I could not recommend it more. From my experience, I felt the best way to improve my Spanish was visiting the country itself to fully embrace the language. I also got to experience Spanish culture and food for myself! And yes, I have pages of recipes ready to bring home to my family. Myself and my family felt reassured with Tribe Study, as they were nothing but calm and organised throughout the planning for this trip. I could not recommend a better agency.

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