Homestay Language in Action (15hrs activities)

This program met several of my travel and language learning goals. Having visited northern Italy several times in the past, I was eager to discover the Puglia region. I have also been rather passively studying Italian for the past several years, but had had no opportunities to speak the language. Another goal was to take a language course in Italy that would create that opportunity both to speak and to enlarge my vocabulary. At the same time, I did not want to find myself in a course with others who were not as motivated to learn Italian and might speak English outside of class; I was looking for an immersion experience. My experience with the Home Language International program responded to all of these goals. I enjoyed the daily classes, but even more the immersion setting where the language lesson did not stop after the class was over; through ongoing conversations with Ivette, my host, on all sorts of topics, my vocabulary was greatly enriched, and I had ample opportunity to improve my speaking and comprehension. I also fully enjoyed discovering the Puglia region with my host, with whom I visited neighboring towns and organic farms, as well as the local sights, market, and restaurants. I was also very pleased with my host's generous culinary offerings, preparing delicious dishes using local ingredients, including a variety of fish/seafood. We definitely hit it off. The small town of Locorotondo and the Puglia region are wonderful locations for this type of program.