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Xperitas Experience Archive

 

Welcome to the Xperitas blog archive. Find teacher, student and family perspectives on language and cultural immersion travel. You can also find useful tips for traveling abroad and past Xperitas news and events. Inspired to tell your story? We would love to hear how language immersion travel has transformed your life. Travel joyfully!

Transformational Travel for Over 50 Years

A Two-Way Street

This June, The Blake School, an independent high school in Minneapolis, departed for a Mandarin Chinese immersion program with Xperitas. The educational journey was a result of a year of preparation planning between the school’s language department, Xperitas and our partners in Asia to develop a six-week-long program.

A Family Tradition

Xperitas team members bumped into Jill Gabel, of Fargo, North Dakota, at a recent parent meeting we attended at an area high school. Jill was a high school student participant in a French immersion program thirty years ago with ISE (now Xperitas), and now has two sons in our programs.

2018 Spring Travel Recap: Trip Leaders

During the Spring 2018 travel season (March - May), Xperitas groups traveled to seven different countries for French, German and Spanish language immersion experiences. Overall, it sure sounds like it was a great spring for our language immersion programs!

2018 Spring Travel Recap: Parents

While many parents speak directly to the positive impacts of their child's cultural and language immersion experience, from things like improved self-confidence to sharpened language and cultural competency skills, many parents also mention that the Xperitas program was a learning experience for their entire family.

Building a Successful Immersion Program

Barbara Koester's first travel group started small, with only two students from her school. Now, 31 years later, her travel group has grown to 28 students. We asked her advice for high school language teachers looking to get an immersion program approved, and how to turn that program into a consistent success.

2018 Spring Travel Recap: Students

All Spring 2018 language immersion program participants have returned home safely from their trips abroad. As we look forward to the summer travel season, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the past year, which was one of our best ever!

2018 Teacher Appreciation Day

On this Teacher’s Day, 2018, Xperitas salutes ALL teachers for the crucial role they are playing in developing the young people who will be the decision-makers in our communities for decades to come.  But we especially applaud those teachers that have had the courage and commitment to travel with their students to foreign countries and cultures, each doing their small but vitally important part in creating a generation of young global citizens.

Exceeding Expectations

I have been collaborating with Xperitas since 2008 to take my Spanish students overseas, and I cannot imagine working with a more dedicated group of professionals.

Travel, Language Immersion, and Family Stay

Our Xperitas planned school exchange has earned the accolades of students, families, administrations and communities, and the impact and connections reach well beyond the individuals traveling.

Extension of My Classroom

Over 20 years and 17 trips later, I can't imagine traveling with anyone else.

2018 Global Leaders Conference

Xperitas held our annual Global Leaders Conference in Bloomington from January 26-28. We were joined by about a hundred language teachers from across the United States, all of whom are leading immersion programs abroad in 2018. Many of our international vendors and partners also sent representatives to meet with us and share ideas about traveling abroad with students.

Nicole Weaver

Nicole Weaver, a high school French and Spanish teacher in Denver, is the author of several award-winning trilingual children's books.

2018 Alumni Scholarship Winner

We are pleased to announce the winner of our 2018 Xperitas Alumni Scholarship: Lily Hauptman of Ladue Horton Watkins High School in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Xperitas Participants Help Others

Due to safety concerns in the aftermath of hurricanes Irma and Maria, we made the decision to cancel our Puerto Rican programs planned for 2018. The students from the canceled groups were disappointed, but many were determined to help. Read how they took action.

2017 Alumni Scholarship Winner

Cara Meyer was the recipient of our 2017 Alumni Scholarship. Cara traveled to France and Germany with Xperitas in 2016. Recently, we caught up with Cara, who reflected fondly upon what her Xperitas program, and the scholarship, has meant for her future.

New Executive Director

We are excited to announce that Leslie Gale became the new Executive Director of Xperitas on November 6. Learn more about her plans for Xperitas here!

2017 Language Program Recap

All 2017 language immersion program participants have returned home safely from their trips abroad. As we look forward to 2018 and begin planning next year’s programs, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the past year, which was one of our best ever!

2017 Spring Language Program Recap

Our 2017 spring travelers have returned! As your child prepares to depart, read reviews of what these travelers had to say about their family stay experience abroad and the lifelong connections they made.

What is "American?"

When we prepare to travel to a new place, it’s important to dig deep and think about our own home, too. Use this blog as tool to reflect on what it means to be American. 

2017 Global Leaders Conference

At this year's Global Leaders Conference in January, Xperitas launched the Educator Advisory Council (EAC) to discuss items that will help Xperitas enhance its existing programs and processes. The long-term goal of the council is to partner with teachers on an ongoing basis to get a pulse on current issues and challenges facing the field of education.

Alumni Stories

Welcome to our Alumni Story Series, where we share what our alumni are doing post-travel and how their experience has influenced their lives.

A Parent's Perspective

As a parent, you want to ensure your child’s family stay abroad will be safe, fun and life-changing in all the right ways. Jackie, parent of Sophia, a past France program participant, told us how attitude made the biggest impact on her daughter’s experience.

French Host Family Story

As a parent, you want to ensure your child’s family stay abroad will be safe, fun and life-changing in all the right ways. Jackie, parent of Sophia, a past France program participant, told us how attitude made the biggest impact on her daughter’s experience.

Tips for your trip abroad

Preparing for your trip this summer? Read about a past participant's experience to learn 10 travel tips to know before you go!

Girl peeking out a window

Share Your Language Immersion Experience

Whether you have traveled recently or long ago, your perspective is valuable to the Xperitas family of language and cultural immersion explorers. We travel for the love of language, but it is the connections we make along the way that stay within our hearts and minds. Send us your story today.