The first annual Volley & Language Program was a huge success. BIP had a total of thirteen Europeans from Spain, Italy, and Slovenia staying with American host families for two weeks in July. They spent a week in the Orange County and South Bay areas and a week in the Santa Barbara and Five Cities areas.
The girls studied English formally 2-3 times a week with the lovely Miss Lydia who was running this program through The California English Academy ( http://californiaenglishacademy.com/). Immersion was a very large part of the experience as the girls went about life with their host families, always communicating in English.
Fun was had by everyone. The group made a trip to Disneyland, many of the girls went to Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Universal Studios. The girls all enjoyed some beach time with a fun barbecue day in Santa Barbara and a beach volleyball tournament in Pismo Beach.
We look forward to growing this program in the coming years as it was such a positive experience for all involved and a lifelong memory for the young Americans and Europeans.
Thank you to all of our host families for opening up your homes to these young girls. Thank you to our coaches who helped out with some of the trainings. And thank you to all others who helped make this first year such a success!
