Housing

In order to give members of the group the best opportunity to come into close contact with Spanish life, each student lives with a Spanish host. This arrangement is considered one of the prime elements of the Hamilton College program. All homes have been visited and carefully inspected before being chosen, and every effort has been made to ensure that each family has a sincere interest in getting to know Americans. Only those hosts receiving high recommendations from former students are retained from year to year. Only some of the families will have members of student age; while the director of the program has tried to find such homes, the main criterion for selection has been the personality of the señora herself.

Students are expected to conform to the schedule established by the head of the household. Luncheon (usually served between 2:00 and 2:30) and dinner (normally served between 10:00 and 10:30) are taken with the Spanish family. To aid in placement, students are asked to fill out a confidential housing questionnaire. While the Academic Year attempts to accommodate all individual requests, the director-in-residence makes the final decision in room and board assignments. Students are expected, under normal circumstances, to remain with the Spanish family during their entire stay in Madrid. Although the program does not provide full room and board during Christmas and Easter vacations, students may remain with their Spanish families during these times if they themselves make special financial arrangements with the head of the household, entailing payment of one half of the lodging fee normally paid by the program while classes are in session.

1999-2000 group at the Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy