VaughanTown Volunteer Review: My Week Speaking English in the Spanish Countryside

Exactly one week and one day ago (at the time of writing) I was running from the terrace to the bathroom to the luggage storeroom to the bus parked outside our beautiful hotel in Castilla-La Mancha. I was the last one to board the bus back to Madrid after my first programme as a VaughanTown volunteer. That should give you some insight into how much I didn’t want to leave.

When you’re a self-employed solo traveller like me, you are constantly looking for opportunities to meet new people on the road. You sign up for walking tours, food tours, chat with people on planes, and volunteer. So when I saw a blog post about VaughanTown by Vicky from Vicky FlipFlop Travels, I was instantly intrigued and had to discover more.

Because who wouldn’t want to spend a week in the Spanish countryside near Madrid with free food and accommodation in exchange for talking in their native language all day? Yes, you read that right. And I bet you’re intrigued to find out more about the VaughanTown volunteers’ programme and my experience now, too.

What Is VaughanTown?

Richard Vaughan is a Texan and Hispanophone who started a corporate language school in Spain. 20 years ago, he expanded the school to include English-speaking “towns”. These are week-long (Sunday – Friday) programmes in hotels around the countryside outside Madrid where half of the attendees are native English speakers and half are Spanish people. The Spaniards who attend already have great English skills but want to improve their confidence when speaking and listening to native speakers.

English-speaking volunteers can be anyone native to a country like the UK, USA, Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Others with a native-level proficiency in English (perhaps they’ve lived in an English-speaking country for decades) can also volunteer. England, Scotland, the USA, Australia, and even Sweden were represented in my programme.

These are the current VaughanTown Spain locations (but they change all the time):

• Hotel Izán Puerta de Gredos in Barco de Ávila
• NH Collection Royal Palace Hotel in Aranjuez
• Palacio del Infante Don Juan Manuel in Belmonte
• Intur Alcazar de San Juan in Alcazar de San Juan
• Hotel Balneario de Sicilia in Jarabar

My VaughanTown programme was in Belmonte so I can only talk about my experience there. But from chatting with other VaughanTown volunteers, the general structure is the same across all programmes in all locations.

Read more about what Vaughan says about the VaughanTown programme here. 

Applying To Be a VaughanTown Volunteer

Since the Spanish speakers are parting with their hard-earned cash to improve their English (or their boss is!), Vaughan doesn’t accept just any old random anglophile for their programmes. You need to demonstrate that you are committed and enthusiastic about their mission by filling in an application first.

There’s a performance requirement at VaughanTown (more on that later!) so I mentioned my Drama and Screen Studies degree (finally, it came in handy!) in my application. Plus, I achieved a TEFL certificate back in 2017 and have dabbled in teaching English before so I mentioned that too.

You won’t be teaching English on a VaughanTown programme. These were just “reasons” I wrote on my application of why I thought I’d be a good VaughanTown volunteer. All the other volunteers had led interesting lives and had plenty of travel stories which are far more important than any teaching experience on this programme. And despite my half-arsed attempts, I still cannot speak Spanish. This is a plus when applying to VaughanTown!

Once you’re accepted onto one VaughanTown programme, you don’t need to apply again for others. You can just check their website for upcoming programmes and sign up for one. Every other VaughanTown volunteer on my programme had completed at least one programme in the past and one person had even completed around 40!

Apply to be a VaughanTown volunteer here.

Arriving at the VaughanTown Programme in Belmonte

I flew into Madrid on Saturday 5th February 2022 and stayed overnight in a hotel near the meeting point in the northern part of the city. The next day, I plodded like a turtle with my backpack strapped to my back to the meeting point. I attempted to work out who was an anglophile and who was a Spanish student from the groups of people waiting outside the building.

Thanks to the pandemic, we all had to report to the office for a pre-programme rapid antigen test. I had already made certain assumptions but when Carmen, the programme director, knew my name before I had a chance to speak I realised I was probably the youngest VaughanTown volunteer by a noticeable margin.

Since it’s a free opportunity, I imagine VaughanTown is popular with English-speaking university students looking for a budget travel experience during school holidays but maybe not in February. Though I should point out it’s been a few years since I graduated!

We boarded the bus to Belmonte and despite having a two-hour drive ahead of us, we wouldn’t have time to get bored. Carmen instructed the English speakers to sit opposite a Spanish person so we could begin our first one-to-one conversation session. We arrived at our hotel and had some time to get unpacked and eat lunch before diving into the VaughanTown programme.

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VaughanTown Schedule

Every day was different but this was the general VaughanTown schedule:

• 09:00 – 10:00: Buffet breakfast
• 10:00 – 11:00: One-to-one conversations/free time/rehearsal/debate practice
• 11:00 – 12:00: One-to-one conversations/free time/rehearsal/debate practice
• 12:00 – 13:00: One-to-one conversations/free time/rehearsal/debate practice
• 13:00 – 14:00: One-to-one conversations/free time/rehearsal/debate practice
• 14:00 – 15:00: Lunch
• 15:00 – 17:00: Afternoon siesta
• 17:00 – 18:00: Group activity
• 18:00 – 19:00: One-to-one conversations/free time/rehearsal/debate practice
• 19:00 – 20:00: One-to-one conversations/free time/rehearsal/debate practice
• 20:00 – 21:00: Entertainment hour
• 21:00 – 22:00: Dinner
• 22:00 – 23:00: Social time and games

Before I attended VaughanTown, my biggest concern was the number of one-to-one sessions because I can be quite introverted. But looking back at my schedule, I never had more than three one-to-one sessions in a day and I had at least one hour of extra free time every day. Some of the one-to-one conversations were fake conference calls, telephone sessions, and debate practice.

We always did different things during our one-to-one conversations. Sometimes we’d walk up to Belmonte castle, see the windmills, grab a coffee, stroll around the village, and I even forced (I mean, politely asked) one of the Spaniards to go to a local bar with me. The programme director and master of ceremonies gave us new idioms and phrasal verbs to use every day as icebreakers which were super helpful.

The group activities were also fantastic. We visited Mont Reaga Winery for Wednesday’s group activity and I cannot remember the last time I laughed so much as I did during Monday’s group activity.

If the idea of fake phone calls and debates sound daunting, they shouldn’t. The programme director and master of ceremonies (the fantastic Carol on this programme) explain everything beforehand. And if the activities sound daunting to you then just imagine how the Spanish speakers feel!

VaughanTown Evening Entertainment

One of the other parts of the programme that might seem “daunting” is what happens during the evening entertainment hour. On Thursday night, the Spanish speakers deliver a presentation in English but on the other nights, it’s a mix. During the day you might rehearse little skits as I had the pleasure of doing twice. The master of ceremonies will give you the scenario or a script so you don’t need to bring anything or worry about creating it yourself.

Some of the English speakers planned presentations to perform during the entertainment hour but it’s not compulsory. During my programme, some of the other volunteers talked about a Latin festival in their city, Amish people in their community, and performed songs.

I was certain I wouldn’t do a presentation. But on Wednesday night, I presented LGBTQ+ terms in English that the Spanish speakers may or may not have seen before. This, of course, was a vulnerable thing for me to do. Not only was I presenting (something I hated at university) but I was telling 20 people I only met three days before that I identified as part of the queer community. Luckily, everyone was so lovely and they weren’t afraid to ask questions.

This moment will probably go down as a highlight of 2022 for me, it was that special.

VaughanTown Mealtimes

Every mealtime, we sat in assigned seats so that every table had a mix of Spanish and English speakers. We moved around every two days which was great because we had a chance to speak to people we might not have seen much so far in the programme. VaughanTown is all about speaking English in a relaxed environment. Mealtimes were just as important as any part of the programme.

Like any programme with food (and wine!) included, if you enjoy meaty Spanish fare then you will probably enjoy the generous three-course meals they serve at VaughanTown hotels. They can (and do) cater to dietary requirements but if you’re vegan or vegetarian then I’d expect lots of salads and fruit. Maybe pack some snacks in your luggage just in case you don’t like what the kitchen is serving for dinner that day.

VaughanTown asks for any dietary requirements on your application. But I would also email the programme director once they’ve confirmed your place to be 100% sure they are aware.

Exploring Beautiful Belmonte in Castilla-La Mancha

Aside from meeting interesting and friendly people (and not cooking for a week!), the hotel and village of Belmonte were both beautiful. It was a stroke of luck that my free time was often scheduled during sunset so I managed to snap some photographs in gorgeous light.

I read Don Quixote (in English obviously) before visiting Spain and I’m so pleased I did. There are lots of Don Quixote references around Belmonte. Not just the windmills (or los Molinos) but there was also a statue of the Man from La Mancha himself in the village. Even curtains hung over entrances to the houses around Belmonte had apliquéd designs of him and his squire, Sancho, on them.

Ultimately, it was exciting to stay somewhere that I never would have chosen to travel to in a million years.

So, What’s the Verdict on Being a VaughanTown Volunteer?

Most of the other VaughanTawn volunteers were retired so I was often asked the question, “why are you here?”. But, you know, in a polite tone, not an accusatory one! It must be strange to see a person of working age using their precious time off work to travel to the Spanish countryside to do a programme like this.

But I had so so much fun and was genuinely sad when the programme was over. As someone who usually stays in hostels by myself, why wouldn’t I enjoy an all-inclusive trip for almost free to chat with interesting people?! Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone is so important at any age and it’s often very rewarding.

Like most other VaughanTown reviews, I absolutely recommend anyone applying to VaughanTown at any age. If you want to teach English in Spain then this would be a great experience to put on your CV and will ease you into the world of teaching languages. I also hope to volunteer on another VaughanTown programme in a different location at a later date. My only reservation is that the Belmonte programme set the bar so high that any others will pale in comparison.

And that’s a review of my experience as a VaughanTown volunteer! Have you heard of VaughanTown? Are you considering the programme? Let me know in the comments below!

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