THE WAY (Spain)

Winter 2022-23

To find out more about MIAMI in THE WAY, click this image to see a short movie.

December 27, 2022 – January 19, 2023
(final meeting online on Jan. 21, 2023)

Applications accepted on a rolling admission basis
Application Deadline: October 5th, 2022
Limited to 25 students. Apply early for this very popular experience!

Program Fee: $3,950

Academic component

• 6 credit hours in Spanish, 300 level elective credits for your minor or major
• Credit hours that will count toward the Global Perspectives Miami Plan and Experiential Learning requirements

Highlights of the trip

• Learn about what Goethe called “the first milestone in the construction of Europe”, namely, El Camino de Santiago, one of the greatest pilgrimage routes of Medieval times.
• Engage in a time for reflection and discernment, both as individual pilgrims and as a community.
• Explore Spanish culture and practice your Spanish language skills.
• Visit some of the most attractive pilgrimage sites, from Merida to Santiago de Compostela, as detailed below.
• You can get in shape! We will walk and bike every day

All majors are welcome

For more information, contact:
Dr. José Domínguez-Búrdalo
domingj1@miamioh.edu
(513) 529-4520

Apply to this program!

We will start our Way in Santa Lucía del Trampal (Cáceres). Going through the Camino Mozárabe, we will walk up to Trujillo (first segment). After visiting Salamanca and the Romanesque city of Zamora, we will drive toward the Gothic in Burgos, stepping onto the so-called French Road. In Burgos, we will start biking. We will bike for three days until León (second segment). Then, we will go back to hiking between Cacabelos and Santiago (third segment). In all, we will walk for 11 days and bike for 3 days. Also, we will have tour guides in Toledo, Mérida, Salamanca, Zamora, Burgos, Frómista, León, Ponferrada, O’Cebreiro, Samos, Santiago de Compostela, and (optional) Madrid.

Miami Students biking on the Way of St. James

A Few Comments about The Way by Miami Students:

• I believe it helped me be a more well-rounded human.
• I feel that El Camino did make a lasting impact on my life. It showed me that I could do things physically and mentally that I didn't know I could before.
• I'm much more at peace and know myself better, and I understand spirituality in a way that I never have before as someone who isn't religious.
• The Way has made a lasting impact on my life in a way that I experience daily, and as a lasting change on my character and my personal life long goals. The Way led me to meet many impactful pilgrims, and experiences, that opened my perspective on The Way I view life.
• To this day, I try to take time to do a day trek or a few days similar to the time I had on The Way in order to re-center myself. It helped me to realize the important things in life.
• The idea of learning by doing, explicitly mentioned in several cases, extends not only to history or architecture, but also to language. This is experiential learning.
• [It] provides a very natural way to practice learning the Spanish language. I learned more Spanish on this trip than I did in my entire history of Spanish class.
• On the Camino, other Spanish-speakers are native speakers and challenge one to improve both speaking and listening skills in the language.
• In the classroom, language interactions are structured and great for practice; along The Way, they are authentic and you have no choice but to succeed if you really want whatever it is you're trying to communicate and assimilate.

Miami Students at the Puerta del Perdón (Todos perdonados)