Throughout college, I had an interest in international travel. I looked into a few opportunities, including studying abroad for class credit, interning abroad to satisfy my internship requirements, and working with Camp Adventure, but unfortunately none of them worked out. Internships and classes abroad turned out to be pretty expensive and scholarship options were not looking promising. Camp Adventure was more affordable but unfortunately, I wasn’t accepted into their program. (No hate though! I still think it’s a great program to look into if you like kids and are interested in travel.) In 2018, after solidifying my plans to graduate early with a few extra coins in my pocket thanks to my Walmart internship (shoutout to the Homewood Honeys for making Arkansas fun!), I decided to look into working abroad before it was time to take on the corporate world.
I hit up Ms. Google in search of any inexpensive opportunities I could find and came across CIEE’s Teach in Spain Short Term Volunteer Program. This 3 month program offered the experience of living with a host family while volunteering as a part time English teacher at a local school. It required no teaching experience or certifications and only cost $900, which was way lower than the other programs I had previously researched. So my non-teachin’, non-Spanish speakin’, barely money havin’ self sent in an inquiry. Keep reading to learn more about my experience from application to placement. Now full disclaimer, please remember that I do not work for CIEE nor do they know that I’m writing this post, so anything that I say is based on my fleeting memory, their website, and any old emails I can find. So take this with a grain of salt lol.
Basic Qualifications
Based on the website, the basic qualifications to be eligible for their short term volunteer programs are as follows:
Native English speaker
Citizenship in the United States, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, or the United Kingdom
Completion of at least 2 years of college level courses
Age 59 or younger when the program will start (Meaning if you are well out of college but have a small break between careers or you’re looking to change direction all together, you are probably still eligible to apply!)
Application Requirements
The application for the January session was due October 1, so you can probably expect your application to be due about 3 months before your program. This is where my fleeting memory comes into play. I have no idea what the exact application elements actually were. I’m going to do my best though. Here we go…
Resume
Recommendation Letters (I think you need 2?)
Proof of college courses (I had to provide a transcript with my anticipated graduation date I believe)
Cover letter or Personal questions (Something along those lines)
Valid Passport or Proof of Passport Application
Ok, so hopefully that gives you some general guidance but obviously you will need to check the website to confirm. But if you are considering applying, maybe this list at least reminded you to get your resume together, to start thinking about who will write your recommendation letters, and to apply for your passport ASAP.
Next Steps
Samantha Erwin (not sure if she still works with the company) was a huge help throughout the whole process. I had at least 1 short call with her when I was first looking into the program and she was also my main contact throughout the application process. Always there to answer any questions I had! I honestly do not remember if there was an official interview process but I got accepted pretty quickly. I think I turned in my application on October 1st and got an email on October 17th asking for a clarifying piece of information. Once I confirmed what they needed, I was accepted the very next day. They review applications on a rolling basis so a 2ish week turnaround is probably normal.
Once accepted, I had to put $500 down towards the total cost as a “commitment deposit” to secure my spot in the program. Once your spot is secured, you will be sent a survey link to note your hometown, school, and host family preferences. There is no guarantee but they do take preferences into strong consideration. I believe everyone received placements at the same time, about 2 months before our program date (in mid-November). Once you receive your placement information, you will be asked to pay the remainder of the balance and can also start looking into flights. (I heard that flights are cheapest to book six weeks before departure!) Based on one of my emails, participants were also enrolled into a pre-departure course but I don’t remember that at all so best of luck to ya!
In order to participate in the program, you will also be required to send some information for a background check and need to complete a few preliminary forms. Based on my emails, the CIEE staff should ask for the necessary information to request a “Certificate of Sexual Conduct” on your behalf (since you’ll be working with children). You will also need to apply for a State-Level Background Check for whichever region of Spain you will be living in. You’ll also have to schedule a doctor’s appointment to fill out the CIEE Medical Form. It will ask for your health and vaccination information. (Spain only required routine vaccinations when I went, not sure how COVID-19 will impact that now.) Lastly, CIEE will help get you signed up for iNext travel insurance.
Connecting with Other Program Participants, Your Host Family, and Your Host School
Samantha, the CIEE representative, created a private Facebook group for all of us to connect prior to departure. A few of us added posts to the group including our future placement information to see who would be working nearby. (I ended up having 2 other participants in my town so we actually met up a few times while abroad!) You can also use the Facebook group to connect with others in your city if you want to plan your departing flights together. Later, we ended up making a WhatsApp group and using that more often.
I don’t know exactly how I got access to my school coordinator and host mom’s information but I was also able to reach out to them before my departure. My host mom was actually an English teacher herself so communication was pretty simple. We even connected and set up a video call via Facebook so that I could see my entire host family before the program!
Final Thoughts
Overall, I thought the application and enrollment processes through CIEE were really simple. The staff kept me up to date every step of the way so I was never left lost or wondering. Samantha was also super helpful any time I had a question. Each step of the process was clear and within 3 months, I was ready for my adventures abroad! This whole section of my site is dedicated to my teaching experience so of course, you will learn more over time but I would definitely recommend CIEE if you are looking for opportunities like this!
Save $200 With These Referral Links!
Hope this served as your sign to step outside of your comfort zone and teach abroad! I thoroughly enjoyed my experience! And if that wasn't enough, I also have a referral link that will save you an extra $200! (I wish I would've had one of these before my trip, $700 to cover housing, meals, placement assistance, etc. while living abroad for 3 months is honestly a steal! That would normally only cover 1 week in a hotel lol.)
And of course there's no hiding that there is benefit for me too if you use my referral link because if you get $200, I also get $200. Win win lol. However, I'm not in it for the money. I genuinely did enjoy my experience and would recommend a thousand times! In fact, I did not even realize there was a referral program until after writing this blog post. Anyway, hope you enjoyed!
Comentarios