Students spend summer practicing language skills and exploring Spanish culture

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Perched above a deep gorge in the mountains of Andalusia, the town of Ronda, Spain, feels to visitors like a storybook brought to life. With its dramatic cliffs, cobbled streets and the iconic Puente Nuevo bridge spanning the El Tajo gorge, Ronda has long inspired artists, poets and travelers — among them Penn State students who took part in the College of the Liberal Arts’ Spanish Language and Culture faculty-led course this past summer.

The students spent six weeks in the historic town as part of an immersive education-abroad experience led by faculty members Miguel Ramírez-Bernal, associate teaching professor of Spanish, and Susana García-Prudencio, associate teaching professor of Spanish, and supported by Spanish graduate students Romi Román and Ana Sofía Semo Garcia.  

“What makes the Ronda program special is how quickly the town embraces our students and how naturally they begin to grow in their language skills and personal confidence,” García-Prudencio said. “I’ve seen students arrive nervous and unsure, and within days they’re crossing the Puente Nuevo like locals, chatting with their host families and engaging fully in class and community life.”

Ronda’s small-town charms offered students a chance to truly connect with each other, their professors, their host families and the broader community.

Scarlet Davies, a global and international studies major and Paterno Fellow, said she enjoyed the surprising warmth of Ronda’s tightly knit social fabric.

“On my first day, I went for a walk with my host mom, and I swear she knew every third person we passed,” she said. “It was so comforting. There’s a feeling that everyone belongs here, and everyone is seen. I didn’t expect to feel so safe and embraced so quickly.”

Shannon Keane, a Schreyer Scholar double majoring in biochemistry and forensic science, described Ronda as the perfect middle ground between a bustling city and a close-knit village.

“It’s technically a city, but it feels like a neighborhood,” Keane said. “Everyone knows someone who knows someone. I became a regular at the café near my homestay, and the waiter there would always ask about my classes or recommend a new pastry to try. That personal connection made such a difference.”

A typical weekday started with fresh breakfast in the home of a host family, followed by a walk through the winding alleyways and bougainvillea-draped balconies to the Conservatorio Profesional de Música de Ronda, where classes were held. The program includes three courses chosen based on each student’s academic needs and Spanish background.

Classes were active, engaging and often moved outside. In the “Tú Eres El/La Guía” (You are the guide) assignment, for example, students researched historical landmarks and then presented them live to their peers at the actual site and sometimes in front of centuries-old ruins or panoramic cityscapes.

“We weren’t just studying the past, we were living in it, walking through it,” said Avery Snowden, a political science and Spanish double major and Schreyer Scholar.

The afternoons included long lunches with host families often joined by grandparents, aunts or cousins and followed by the cherished Spanish tradition of “sobremesa,” which involves lingering at the table for leisurely conversation. For many students, it was their favorite activity, allowing them to deepen their relationships and language fluency.

Meanwhile, the weekly excursions to Andalusia’s most culturally significant cities — Granada, Cádiz, Sevilla, Málaga among them — weren’t just sightseeing tours, but opportunities for students to apply their knowledge in real-world contexts.

In Granada, students said, they stood in silent awe in the Hall of the Ambassadors in the Alhambra palace, imagining what it felt like to be a diplomat centuries ago.

“Walking into the Hall of the Ambassadors, I felt this chill,” Snowden recalled. “The scale, the history — it was like stepping back in time. I’ll never forget that feeling.”

In Sevilla, students wandered through the vibrant Plaza de España and later shared tapas with their professors under twinkling lights.

They explored nearby hidden gems like Grazalema’s mountaintops, the cliff-clinging path of Caminito del Rey, and caves like Cueva de la Pileta and Cueva del Gato.

Students shared that they didn’t notice their Spanish improving until they realized they were suddenly, effortlessly using it.

“It would hit us in these everyday moments,” Davies said. “Like when we were talking to a coach at the local track after a workout. We didn’t prepare or rehearse, we just talked. And afterward we looked at each other and said, ‘Wait… that was a full conversation in Spanish!’”

For Keane, the adjustment to a fully Spanish-speaking household was intimidating at first, but ultimately transformational.

“It was hard at times because there were moments I didn’t understand or felt unsure. But that’s what made me grow,” Keane said. “I learned to keep an open mind, to adapt and to embrace not knowing everything.”

Snowden agreed, noting, “At some point, I stopped translating in my head and just started thinking in Spanish. That shift was subtle but so powerful.”

Ask the students about their favorite memories, and you’ll hear about everything from weekend festivals like Ronda Romántica, where students dressed up in 19th-century attire and danced in the streets, to quiet moments with host families over breakfast.

“That morning café visit with my host mom changed everything for me,” Davies said. “We talked for hours. It was the first time I felt like I could really connect not just with the language, but with another person’s world.”

When the six weeks ended, saying goodbye wasn’t easy for the students.

“The final banquet with all our professors and host families was so emotional,” Snowden said. “It was a celebration, but also a goodbye to a chapter that shaped us. We knew we’d carry it with us long after.”

Would they recommend the Ronda program to others?

“Without a doubt,” Davies said. “It taught me about language, culture, and most of all, it taught me about myself. I learned that stepping out of your comfort zone is the only way to grow.”

“It’s not just a study abroad program,” Keane said. “It’s a challenge, a home, a community, and a memory you’ll hold close for the rest of your life.”

“If you want to become fluent not just in Spanish, but in navigating the world, you need to go to Ronda,” Snowden added. “You’ll come back fluent in confidence.”