CICA

The classes were well-planned and the teachers spoke Spanish all the time, which I think was good because that way you get more into the language. The location is perfect - Almuñecár is a small, very cozy town located more or less one hour away from both Granada and Malaga. It is walking distance to everything you need. The beaches are beautiful and it feels very local. The facilities are very nice, the school has an outdoor area with a court for sports and the classrooms are spacious.

The activities offered by CICA are various and fun. We did a walking tour around Almuñecár, as well as visiting cities like Malaga, Granada and Nerja. In Almuñecár we went scuba diving, wind surfing, visited a water land, played beach volleyball, played different types of sports and much more. The host families and housings were great. To stay with a host family is, in my opinion, the best way to experience the Spanish lifestyle. Everyone had a separate room for their students to share with each other and everyone lived walking distance to school and activities. The families really took care of the students and did their best to show them the life of a Spanish family.

I liked:

What I liked the most about this program was learning with teachers and then practicing what we've learnt with the family and the mentor. Now I have more conversation skills. We weren't many students, so it was easier to learn and to dare to speak. All of us could ask about any doubts we had. Each activity (diving and wind-surfing) was very interesting. Ever since this experience, I do wind-surfing during the summer.

I didn't like:

It was like being at home - you have to say where you came from when you get home and where you will be going at night.

I've been to Almunecar and CICA for two summers and had also gone back to Almunecar on holiday twice. The city is wonderful and I´ve learned more Spanish there than I did at home during years of study.
The teachers were professional, committed and interested so that we would really learn. The classes were sufficiently small in size, which meant that you could get as much help as needed.

The first time I was there, I stayed with a host family along with some other students. The family was fantastic and we were very well cared for. The second time, we stayed at Hotel Carmen in central Almunecar. It was noticeable that they had extensive experience with students and they took good care of us. The rooms were cozy, the food was good and there was a pool on the roof!

There is plenty to do in the spare time and for three weeks you hardly have time to do everything. We did activities such as outdoor cinema, outdoor concerts, discos, tapas, flamenco, billiard, the Moorish castle, aquarium and shopping at the Friday market. We also had a beach volleyball tournament along with Spanish students. There is also a large water park, Aqua Tropic, where you can spend a lot of time. In addition, we went on several tours outside Almunecar such as Malaga with the Picasso museum and shopping, Granada with Alhambra and the caves in beautiful Nerja.

I really have nothing but positive things to say about Almunecar and the school! The only negative thing was that time went by too fast!

I really liked my trip to Almuñecár! The Spanish lessons were really good and I improved my Spanish a lot. My teacher was nice and very competent. She helped me to learn more grammar and to not be afraid to talk more Spanish. The activities after school were also fun! The scuba diving and sports activities were the most fun. I also really liked when we went to Malaga. My host family took very good care of me. They gave me a lot of food and they were really nice to me.

My trip to Almuñecar was a good experience that I will never forget. I got to know new people from my country (Norway) and from Sweden; some of them are still good friends of mine that I keep in touch with. The classes were very good. The teachers spoke in an understanding way (they did not talk too fast), and I learned a lot of Spanish, much more than I did when I took Spanish classes here in Norway. The location was perfect! Almuñecar is a small, lovely town in the south of Spain. The people there are very kind and welcoming. I lived in a hotel close to the beach with some students and language tour guides. Some other students also lived with host families. The hotel was pretty close to the school, so we could walk to the school. The hotel also had a little pool at the roof. The climate was lovely and warm, so it was nice to live close to the beach. I often spent the afternoons at the beach with the other students. The activities were fun and varied. We had different competitions by the beach, we played beach volley, and we had a quiz/treasure hunt through the city. We also tried scuba diving, windsurf and paddling, and we got to see a real flamenco-show and eat traditional Spanish tapas. We had some excursions, for instance to Malaga to explore the city, to do some shopping and to visit the Picasso Museum. We also went to Granada where we got to explore the amazing La Alhambra, and we went to the caves of Nerja. I always felt secure and well cared for, I could always talk to the language tour guides or the teachers at CICA if I needed any help. All of this made my trip to Almuñecar an experience that I will always remember, and I would love to go back there one day.

The school was good. It wasn't too far away from the hotel I was staying in, but it was a little outdated when it came to IT. Everything was either on the blackboard or on paper.

The facilities were good.

The activities were limited but they were okay.

To spend a summer in Almuñécar is worth all the money. To move to another country, than you come from, in some weeks is so fantastic. Almuñécar is a great city with a lot of possibilities and where the Spanish culture is very prominent.

Living with an unknown family is a unique experience. I was very surprised, when I found out that "my" family in Spain couldn't speak or understand English, but to communicate with them was no problem at all. They were so sweet, that I felt it was like my own home and they were my new family. We became very good friends. It was nice to live with other students. We went out together and we loved to be home and just talk about all the things we had experienced.

The school and the teachers were very good. In the school, we had to talk as much as possible - then it was also an essay for us to talk with the locals outside the school. The exercises were very funny to make and we learned a lot of grammar - I still got a lot of pleasure out of it in the high school. It was summer, it was warm, and it was Spain, so of course we were at the beach after school and during the weekends. There was also time for shopping and to see Almuñécar. We had a lot of spare time, but some days our very kind leaders took us on excursions, to see what Andalucia could offer (Granada, Malaga, Nerja, Aqua Tropic Water Park). The leaders took good care of us, so we had a good time. They were always in the neighbourhood, not more than a phone call away.

The best part of the whole trip was meeting friends. We spent so much time together in Almuñécar - in school, in our spare time, on excursions, and in the evenings when we went out having some fun. We had so much fun together and they are friendships I'll never forget. It was a super summer in Almuñécar.