Spring Break in Spain? (Or France? Or China?)

Northwest Academy has partnered with two non-profit organizations to offer exchange trips over spring break to China, Spain and France.

“Students will spend two weeks living with a host family and attending school with their host students,” Scott Kerman, the Dean of Curriculum, said. “They will also have opportunities to tour important sites in these countries. But the best experiences will be hanging out and spending time doing what their host families normally do.”

Students will travel to Paris, France, Beijing, China or Valencia, Spain, depending on what language they are currently studying.

“This program is unique because students get to live with and go to school with people who live in these countries,” Kerman said. “This will be a total language and cultural immersion experience.”

Students will spend a majority of the time with their host families.

“It is up to the host families to find activities that will give our students the experience of what it is really like to live in these countries,” Kerman said.

Students will attend school and after-school activities with their host siblings. This means that in Beijing, students might have school days up to 12 hours long; in Paris, students will spend a lot of time simply hanging out with friends and practicing their French and in Valencia, students will attend the Las Fallas Festival with their host families.

The Las Fallas festival, an annual event, promises to make the Valencia trip especially exciting. It originated as a feast day for Saint Joseph, but over the years it has evolved into a 5-day celebration centered around the burning of ninots, or giant wooden dolls. Students will not have school for the first week of their exchange and will spend the days celebrating the festival with food, dance, fireworks and all-night parties.

“It seems really fun,” Bernard Cohen, a sophomore and third-year Spanish student, said. “I figured that if I go to Valencia and I spend a little time immersed in Spanish culture then I’ll get a little more passionate about it. There’s a giant festival going on, you get to meet people of another culture, eat some great food—I’m excited.”

Students must be in at least Emerging level (second year or above) to qualify for the exchange.

The trips cost $1,650 per student, not including airfare. Airfare can cost between $1,300 and $1,500, depending on the destination.

“Spending time in other countries, especially when you get to really get to know people who live there, is one of the best experiences in life,” Kerman said. “You learn a lot about other places, cultures and perspectives.”

Kerman has been on exchange trips himself and highly recommends them.

“The best part of my experience was making friends with people my age in these countries and getting to experience what it’s like to live there,” Kerman said. “It’s a much more dynamic experience than staying in hotels, eating in restaurants and touring museums and other sites.”

Northwest Academy is pairing with two nonprofit organizations for the exchange: Education, Language and Culture and Northwest International Student Exchange.

Students will depart from PDX on Saturday, March 14th and return on Sunday, March 29th.

Application forms must be turned in by November 13th.