Newspaper Clippings

This trip begins with my Mom.  As some mothers like to do, my Mom cuts sections out of the newspaper and saves them for us in a bag until we get together.  There will be articles on cooking, dieting, music, books, movies, travel, teaching, and the ubiquitous cartoon.  Susan and I are assured that every time we visit Mom, she will give us some clippings that we'll be extremely grateful to read.  This trip to Spain and Portugal is a perfect example.  A few years ago, one of the articles that she gave to me caught my eye.  It was about voluntourism - the term that combined travel opportunities with volunteering time and talents - and it had details on a few intriguing agencies.  I don't have the article anymore but I was most interested in working for Pueblo Ingles, spending a week at a 4-star villa in Spain, and teaching business professionals in an English-language camp.  In return for our commitment, we would get room and board and a chance to make friends around the world.  Influential newspaper article.  Susan-and-Robert kind of experience.  Wonderfully thoughtful Mom.   

In 2010, Susan and I revisited the idea of applying to Pueblo Ingles as a married couple.  We would both have to work but we would have an almost identical experience and be able to backpack around Spain and Portugal after our obligation to Pueblo Ingles was fulfilled.  A few forms to fill out and a few pages of rules and regulations to scrutinize.  On December 30th, they offered us positions at their villa in La Alberca, Spain!  So from July 17th to July 24th, we will be talking non-stop in English to Spaniards, introducing ourselves, telling stories, sharing jokes, singing songs, acting in skits, showing off in talent shows, talking on the telephone, and chatting over dinner.  In many ways, it's a lot like camp

I did some research on Pueblo Ingles to see what experiences other Americans had had with the company and my search led me to Lisa Lubin.  Lisa took some time off of her job with ABC in Chicago to travel the world and do some writing.  She did work her way through her world travels, and one of those jobs was at Pueblo Ingles.  I read her blog and sent her a message, asking her some specifics about the program and if she'd really recommend it.  She replied to my inquiry by saying, "It was one of my favorite experiences of my entire Round-The-World trip."  That was a pretty strong endorsement from someone who is still busy at traveling the world today!  You can check out her blog here if you're interested.  Then, in another email, she wrote to me about Couch Surfing...