Testimonials

"One subject that I don't have to worry about, however, is French. Not to brag or anything, but I'm now one of the best in the class, thanks to Rassias. I can actually understand what my insane teacher is screaming, which is more than a lot of the kids in my class."

- Nell, Arles

"Hello to everyone at Rassias! My husband Scott and I just returned from a 5 day sojourn in Paris and I had to contact you with news and say thanks!

It's been 14 years since I first enrolled in the summer program in Tours. Through the years I have maintained contact with my host family, visiting them on several occasions. When I first met the three Le Bras sisters, they were just little girls. Now Marie, Pauline and Margot are young women, pursuing careers in human resources, the law and preparing for the Bac.

It was during this recent trip, when I was catching up with the girls, laughing about the latest must-have Parisian fashion accessory, that I realized we could all be friends. Now I look forward to continuing my friendship with the Le Bras family.

Not only did the Rassias program help me improve my language skills, but it also gave me an extended family in France. Thank you!"

- Jaime

"Your program was the turning point for one of our former students. Following the summer with you, he was elected president of the French club and went on to college French. I call that a class A miracle."

- Leta Hardwick, French teacher extraordinaire

"What makes the program distinctive is its emphasis on classroom drama and continuous repetition. 50 minute drills elicit 65 responses from each student, compared to more traditional classrooms, where students respond about five times in an hour."

- Mary Sit in the Boston Globe

"First and foremost I would like to thank you for the most amazing summer of my life. I just returned the other evening from an incredible 4 weeks in Spain. My homestay in Segovia turned out to be an unforgettable experience. Not only did my Spanish speaking skills improve but the immersion really got me used to the language itself, something that can only be achieved through a program like Rassias."

- Melanie Glass, Segovia 2002

"...traveling with the group, and staying with his Spanish family was an extraordinary exercise in independence, developing self-esteem, and learning to adapt in strange surroundings.... We would whole-heartedly recommend Rassias to any prospective participants."

- Family of André De Russy, Spain

"I am also grateful for an amazing experience; one that I would say has made the biggest difference in my life. I find that I really study people more now. I listen more. I think more. And, I have been given a taste of a culture that I truly want to immerse myself in. I do plan on continuing my Spanish..."

- Ben, Spain

"The experiences Alex enjoyed this summer were over the top fantastic! He is still high on France, everyone from Rassias, and the other kids in the program, and most importantly he loves showing his command of the language. We couldn’t have asked for more—life experiences and another language all wrapped up in one incredible package! The only question we have: how do you
do it?"

- Harry and Ellen Levitt, parents of Alex and Teddy, France

"There I was, 35,000 feet above the Atlantic Ocean, by myself, on the way to Spain to live with people who I’d never met, who didn’t speak any English, and who ate things like octopus for dinner. What would octopus taste like? And even more important, what was I thinking? I was hoping to immerse myself in a different culture and travel and explore new places, and now I was beginning to understand the full meaning of the expression “be careful what you wish for”.

Actually, I wasn’t alone. On the plane were 25 other high school students with the Rassias Summer Language Program who shared the same zest for adventure and wanted the opportunity to learn about another country as well. When we arrived in this new and different country, we discovered that we shared common interests in travel and learning about another culture. For the next week, we collectively got past the shock of waking up and not knowing where we were, and then hearing Spanish voices drifting through the window coming from the alleyway filled with Spanish bakeries opening in the morning. Everything that I did throughout the day was an adventure - fumbling my way through figuring out how to make a phone call overseas from a public pay phone, finding the post office, trying to buy stamps, buying postcards, and keeping track of my euros. We gradually got used to this new lifestyle and grew to love the “siestas” in the afternoon. We traveled around for hours, driving from city to city in our van. There were three adults who traveled with us; a Master Teacher and two Assistant Teachers, one of whom used to live in Spain. We began our travels in the ancient walled city of Avila, then drove south to the Roman cities of Merida and Caceres. We spent time savoring the beautiful city of Sevilla on the banks of the Guadalquivir where we took in a flamenco show before heading back north to the famed university city of Salamanca. At last we arrived in the city of Pontevedra in the region of Galicia in northwest Spain.

One of the reasons that I had chosen to live in Pontevedra for my homestay with the Rassias program was that it was far away from any tourist sites and I knew I wouldn’t see other Americans. The day had come when I had to leave the other students and go meet and live with my Spanish family and I still didn’t even know who they would be. I got off the bus and walked toward a crowd of people wondering who was going to meet me. Suddenly, someone called out what I thought was my name, a woman who was identifying me from a picture I had sent to the program administrator earlier that summer. She introduced herself to me rapidly in Spanish. I was able to pick out some of the words but not enough to fully understand what she was saying. I thought I heard her say she was my mother. I asked in English if she was looking for me but she just kept on speaking in Spanish. I asked her to speak slowly and then I realized she was saying she was my mother, my Spanish mother! She kissed me on the cheeks and graciously welcomed me with open arms as part of her family. After introducing me to the rest of her extended family, we drove off to her apartment in the city of Pontevedra.

I soon settled into a routine of walking with my Spanish grandmother to school every morning to take Spanish classes. In the afternoon, I would be excited to find out what the day’s excursion would be; whether visiting a nearby beach or getting a tour of a city such as Santiago de Compostela that is so rich in culture that the guidebooks don’t do it justice. Other days, I would just relax and enjoy the afternoon with my family. I would walk to the store and pick up bread for our afternoon meal that my “mother” prepared. My family often took me to their country home on weekends where we would play tennis, go swimming, or play pick-up soccer with my Spanish “cousins.” Some days we would spend hours eating outside at their country home, sitting under a canopy of kiwis and grapes and gazing at the view of the Atlantic Ocean in the distance. My favorite times were just spending time with them - talking, joking, and laughing, playing card games, or taking silly photos. Some nights my family would take me out to Spanish cafes in the city where they would introduce me to their friends and we would talk for hours and hours into the wee hours of the morning. Usually my “mother” would bring me to her closet and squeeze my feet into what she considered more appropriate shoes before taking me anywhere. I think she was horrified that the selection of shoes that I brought to Spain included only several pairs of flip flops and a pair of sneakers. I was thinking comfort, while the women in Spain think fashion. Everyday there was something new to discover and explore, even if it was just the language. None of the extended family really spoke English, and I was amazed at how well I could understand them in Spanish and they could understand me. One day at the beach I taught my Spanish cousin, Pablo, to say “she sells seashells by the seashore” and soon the whole extended family was saying it.

The days flew by and before I knew it the time had come to say “goodbye” or rather “adios” to my Spanish family. As my ten-year old “cousin”, Ines, hugged me in tears because I was leaving, I realized how much I would miss my Spanish family and how much I had learned from them. I would miss the way the Spanish make time for family and friends, their lingering at cafes, their animated conversations and the way they live life with gusto. I would miss the contagious laughter of my Spanish “grandfather”, the incessant chatter of my ten-year old “cousin”, the spirited debate of my “mother” and “aunt”, and the caring nature of my “grandmother”.. I would miss their custom of kissing people on both cheeks, even when meeting someone for the first time. I would even miss the fashionable shoes that all the women in Spain wore! Opting to spend my summer abroad had proven to be a magical experience as I learned what is was like to navigate life in a foreign land and assimilate a different culture. In the process, I have made some very good, lifelong friends. And so, to answer my own question, “What was I thinking?” I was thinking it would be fun to take a risk and try something different…and I was right.

Oh, and by the way, octopus tastes like chicken. "

- Allie Young, Pontevedra, 2007