61. How to Raise Multilingual Kids While Worldschooling with Kelly Thornhill from Adventures in Spanish

🌍 Founder and mom, Kelly Thornhill, shares what led her to buy a one-way ticket to South America, spend 15 years building businesses in Argentina, worldschool her daughters and create Adventures in Spanish!

👍 We break down the reality of raising multilingual kids on the road, including funding a nomadic lifestyle, building a business from the back of a camper van, and navigating regional Spanish dialects!

LISTEN NOW TO:

• Transport back to wine country in Mendoza, Argentina or deep sea diving in Taganga, Colombia.
• Solve the classic language-learning dilemma by balancing immersion and formal academics for kids and adults.
• Hear the benefits of multilingualism from a mom who prioritized it while worldschooling through Spain and South America.
• Learn about the online classes and transformative, accessible Spanish immersion programs in Málaga through Adventures in Spanish. 

CONNECT WITH KELLY THORNHILL:

• Adventures in Spanish Website: https://adventuresinspanish.co.uk/ref/20715/

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Transcript

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Suzy

Ever dreamed of trading the conventional classroom for the open road and raising multilingual kids along the way? Today we chat with Kelly Thornhill, a world-schooling mom who turned a one-way ticket to South America into a 20-year language adventure. From translating on horseback with Argentinian gauchos, to launching immersive Spanish programs for families worldwide, Kelly knows exactly what it takes to turn language learning into a vibrant lifestyle. Whether you’re trying to keep a language alive in your own home or planning your next big family getaway, listen to the end for Kelly's expert tips on funding a life of travel, conquering language barriers, and the transformation that is possible when Spanish finally clicks! 

Welcome to the Wonder World School Podcast. I'm Suzy, a travel-loving money nerd, mom of two, and our family lives between Spain, Colorado, and soon, Japan. On this show, we discuss the stories, logistics, and finances of traveling families and the many ways to learn along the way. Today we get to know Kelly Thornhill. Welcome to the show. Tell me where you're calling in from and a little bit more about you and your family.

Kelly Thornhill

Hi Suzy. So, my name's Kelly Thornhill. I'm originally from a small town called Sandbach in Cheshire in England, and I now live in Abersoch, which is on the Llŷn Peninsula in North Wales. I live here with my partner Deb and my two teenage daughters.

Suzy

And I know you have some travel experience into South America, which I'm really excited to talk more about because it's a place that my husband and I spent quite a few months, and your opportunities with Adventures in Spanish, which is the online program for Spanish, and also you do in-person opportunities in Spain.

But let's step back and get to know you a little more and what travel looked like growing up for you.

Kelly Thornhill

Well, at age 17, I bought a one-way ticket to the Greek island Rhodes. It was a summer season. I worked in a bar called Cool Cats, spelled with K's. And I spent the summer working there.

I fell in love with the travel lifestyle while I was there. And that travel bug then took me around Europe. So, I visited, lived in Germany for a while, in Copenhagen. And while I was traveling, I realized that language was a barrier. And I decided that the next time I traveled, it would be to somewhere where I could actually communicate with the people. So, I'd studied a bit of Spanish at school and it kind of seemed like the obvious choice.

As soon as I finished my degree, I bought a one-way ticket to Venezuela and off I went, like you do.

Suzy

Yes, of course. Of course. Tell me a little bit more about your travels once you got to Venezuela.

Kelly Thornhill

Buying a one-way ticket to Venezuela with a little bit of Spanish was quite a thing to do. So, the basic school Spanish that I had turned out to be quite valuable for me when I was there. Most of the other backpackers had—we kind of didn't have any Spanish at all and were pushing me forward to negotiate the lifts, we were hitchhiking, to negotiate the room rates, the logistics, all of that kind of thing. So, it was pretty much sink or swim for me, which was brilliant for my confidence when I was there. I spent a year in Venezuela, so traveling around, I did intensive Spanish courses, I taught English, I did PR for a travel company that organized rafting trips.

And after about a year traveling and working in Venezuela, I moved over to Colombia, a little tiny fishing village called Taganga, which is on the Caribbean coast. So, everybody kind of goes to Cartagena and the well-known, and I went to Taganga. One of the best diving spots in South America, actually.

So, I spent about nine months there diving and, you know, learning the street Spanish. I traveled around Medellín, Bogotá, and then headed to Ecuador. I struck gold in Quito, really, because I got a job teaching English in a language school that provided my accommodation and also one-to-one private Spanish lessons every day.

And that really boosted my Spanish. So, all of the street Spanish that I picked up in Venezuela and in Colombia, I was able to kind of give it some structure and it really boosted my Spanish. That's where everything really started to click for me in terms of the language.

And I eventually arrived in Mendoza in Argentina in January 2004. So, that was around four years after I first landed in Venezuela. And I stayed in Argentina, then I stayed in Mendoza there for 15 years.

Suzy

I love that you focused on learning Spanish, like you said, in the streets, more the casual Spanish. But then once you did combine it with a little bit more of an academic Spanish with the classwork, that's when it really came together. Do you think that's a good order to learn Spanish for an adult versus a kid learner?

Or do you actually recommend to go in the other direction where you have more of an academic foundation and then you go into the community and immerse? Or does it really not matter? It's just a matter of putting the time and energy and effort into learning the language.

Kelly Thornhill

I think it's kind of like riding a bike. You can look at the bike and it looks like a good bike and you kind of know where the handles are, you know where the seat is, but until you actually get on the bike and ride it, you don't really know how to do it. And language learning is like that, I think. So, it's important to know a little bit about the grammar and the words and the structure and a bit of the language.

But unless you're actually able to practice it in real life or with people to, with the actual speaking of it, that's when it all starts to come together. So, for adults, I think adults especially, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves because we open our mouths and we want to speak the Spanish, it needs to be perfect. Whereas the kids are more, they're a bit braver, they're not really too bothered, they'll just have a go and learn it along the way. So, there is a path for children and adults.

But I think if we can combine both the learning of the academic structure with the practical element of the language, I think that's ideal, really.

Suzy

I bet we'll talk a little bit more about language when we get into Adventures in Spanish and how you give those immersive opportunities to people learning Spanish. But let's go back to Mendoza, which my husband and I spent quite a bit of time there and just fell in love with the city and the views and the wine country. So, I can see why you spent 15 years there, but tell me a little bit more about your life in Mendoza at that time.

Kelly Thornhill

What happened to me as soon as I arrived in Mendoza, I knew that it was a special place for me. You know, you get that feeling sometimes, don't you, when you arrive somewhere for the first time. I arrived in January 2004 and it's the middle of the summer. So, there was nobody around and everything was closed. And I was like, I didn't have any money. And I had a tent and I ended up camping in the park next to the zoo. And I could hear, you know, the lions roaring and it was all quite—it was all quite surreal.

It was very easy for me to find my way when I arrived in Mendoza because I felt that connection to it immediately. And one of the first jobs that I got was as a translator. Because of the Spanish that I had, I was able to approach businesses and let them know that I did speak Spanish. And the first job that I had was as a translator on multi-day horseback rides through the Andes.

With the gauchos and the sleeping under the stars and the asados and the mate, even today I have to tell you, Suzy, that that has got to have been my best job ever. It was just—it was just fabulous. So, if anyone's listening to this wondering whether learning Spanish or any language is a good idea. Yes, I would definitely say yes, for sure.

Suzy

It sounds wonderful. It can open up opportunities, including, like you said, one of the best jobs you've ever had, being able to be on horses in the mountains, translating. It sounds wonderful.

Kelly Thornhill

You just never know, do you, where these opportunities are going to take you? I launched an English language magazine. We were in the right place at the right time. We were in Mendoza wine country. We were just riding that wave of it becoming internationally famous. So, that went really well and we launched the Grapevine Wine Tours.

Before we knew it, we were bringing clients from the US, from the UK to Mendoza, organizing their trips around the vineyards, arranging their accommodation, their transport.

And I was involved with arranging large groups of students who wanted to come to Mendoza and learn Spanish.

That experience on its own has been fundamental. It's been crucial in helping me run the immersion trips that I run today as part of Adventures in Spanish. And my daughters were born in Argentina. They were born in Mendoza and they are 15 and 17 now and they're already planning their return to Argentina when their exams finish. Yeah, the travel bug doesn't fall far from the tree really, Suzy, I don't think.

Suzy

Absolutely. And how old were they when you ventured back to the UK?

Kelly Thornhill

Three and six, so quite young.

Suzy

Did they have a pretty strong foundation in Spanish by that point?

Kelly Thornhill

I saw how my daughter, my eldest daughter, who was six at the time, she was fluent in Spanish. We didn't speak much English at home in Argentina. It was all about the Spanish. So, when we moved back to England, my daughter didn't speak much English.

And within a few months of being back in the UK, she was starting to lose her Spanish so quickly, the English was taking over. It started to worry me. That's really how Adventures in Spanish was born. Our schooling journey has been anything but conventional and honestly, I wouldn't have had it any other way.

They'd grown up completely immersed in Spanish, in Argentine life and the culture. And so the language wasn't, it wasn't a subject, it was just life for us. As I saw that my daughter was starting to lose her Spanish, I was like, you've got to be kidding me. This can't be a thing. This is who they are. So, I made the decision to home educate them.

I took them out of mainstream education because they weren't offering any languages at the local schools, and I world-schooled them for six years. It was a full commitment to saying that the world is their best classroom. And I know that I, as world-schoolers, we have that in common, don't we? That learning happens everywhere.

That keeping their Spanish alive was worth building our whole educational approach around it, and that's what we did. So, we traveled through Spain, we backpacked, we went back to Argentina, we learned through living. Of the different subjects that we did, I made sure that we were doing them bilingually. We wove Spanish into every single day so it wasn't as a lesson, it was more of a lifestyle, and that's the advantage I think as home educators, homeschoolers, world-schoolers we have.

When we're not in the conventional schooling system, we can bring the language into everything. It worked for us. My daughters are now 15 and 17 and they're multilingual. They're fluent in Spanish, fluent in Welsh. We now live in Wales, in North Wales. They're fluent. My youngest daughter is sitting her exams at the moment in Welsh. They speak French and of course they have English. And it's not because they sat at a desk drilling the verb conjugations like as we were talking about earlier. It's because language was always for them in context. So, it was more natural, it was alive, it was connected to something that they were interested in, something that was real and meaningful for them.

And like I said, that whole experience is the entire foundation of Adventures in Spanish. So, everything that I teach today through Adventures in Spanish, every course I design, every immersion trip that we run, it all comes from having lived the language like I lived it with my children and my own experiences in South America. Because I know in my bones what it takes to raise a bilingual child and I know what it feels like when it actually works. When families come to me and say we want our children to speak Spanish, I understand exactly what they mean and I know exactly how to help them get there because I've done it twice.

Suzy

And you've seen Spanish in a lot of different dialects. Do you find that once you have a strong enough base in Spanish, those dialects and local variations are not as intimidating as when you're still in the learning phase?

Kelly Thornhill

Yeah, that's a great question. When I left Ecuador, Quito, having had those one-to-one lessons, and I arrived in Argentina and I was like, what? What is this? Have I got to start all over again? I didn't understand. The grammar was different. What's this, vos? But they don't use vosotros. What's the...

The other thing was the accent from Buenos Aires. So, I had a friend called Juan Pablo from Buenos Aires and I couldn't understand anything he said. I had to get a Lunfardo dictionary to be able to understand what he was talking about.

So, it took me quite a while to understand and get the balance right, I think, between the informal and the formal language. So, with my friends, it was very informal when we'd be having an asado. But then when I was running my business, I needed to switch to formal because I was talking to the bank manager, my accountant, and it was all in Spanish. And I, yeah, I made more than one mistake there using language I shouldn't have done in the wrong kind of situation.

But like you said, it's confidence. So, today I'm absolutely fine. I talk a lot to my students to make the language your own. If you're comfortable saying gracias, but you hear someone saying gracias, stick to what you want to do, how you want the language to be for you.

One of the things that while I was running the travel agency, I did quite a few radio interviews in Mendoza. And of course, the interviews were all in Spanish and I sounded like a Mendocina. And even now when I go over to Málaga and I'm—I meet up with the language school that we've partnered over there, straight away they pick up on my accent. They're like, "Argentina, sí. Mendoza, sí." So, you know, it's a thing.

One thing that I tell my students is to make the language your own because you need to get to know your Spanish self. When we learn a new language, we're learning new ways to express ourselves and that personality, that new personality that comes through by using different vocabulary that you're not used to is essentially a different person. So, it's important to get to know that person, to embrace them, just to start to feel as comfortable as you can, you know, speaking Spanish.

Suzy

And I bring up these questions not to intimidate someone who's trying to learn Spanish and wondering, gosh, I'm never going to get to that point that I can navigate between multiple countries. I think it's clearly possible. And also, like you said, make it your own. It is a journey. Fluency is not a "well, today I'm fluent." It's an ongoing process and there are phases to it where you unlock certain levels, let's say.

Like I've noticed that here in Spain, where I can have casual conversations, and with some people it's easier than with others. But I know that as I progress, that will get easier and easier. But then there might be an opportunity where I go to Argentina and it feels like you're back to level one. But you know that you've already made progress. You can continue to do that. And that it's almost finding a love for the process as much as it is trying to get to a certain achievement level.

Kelly Thornhill

Absolutely. I like to have Post-it notes around my house that say things like, "Lighten up, Kel." It does, you know, don't take yourself too seriously.

Suzy

Oh my gosh, I need to put those. Exactly.

Let's just chat a little bit about the financial and logistical side because you have created businesses in other countries. You have funded all different sorts of world-schooling and traveling over many years, and now with your Adventures in Spanish. If someone were hoping to have a life of travel, maybe similar to what you've been able to cultivate in your life, what are some of the tips and tricks to both funding and logistically making this work?

Kelly Thornhill

That's the question that everyone wants to ask, but sometimes feels awkward about, right? And I love that you've asked it so directly because I think it's important to be honest about this. So, when we first came back to the UK, I had to let my Argentina business go. It was really hard, but there was no way that I was going to be able to continue to do both businesses. I just couldn't; logistically impossible.

So, when we moved back and I made the decision to world-school the girls, the financial reality was very much front of my mind. So, we weren't independently wealthy. We didn't have a trust fund. I was saving up to get a camper van and had a lot of determination. And I had a skillset that I hadn't quite figured out how I could monetize it yet. So, I knew that I was fluent in Spanish, but I didn't quite know what—and I knew I was creative, you know, I've got a PR background.

I sat down with a friend and I looked at what I did have, and I had 20 years of living and breathing Spanish in South America, two bilingual daughters who needed to maintain their Spanish, and a deep understanding of what it actually takes to raise children in a different language. But like you said, I'd already created, built businesses in Argentina. I mean, if you can build a business in Argentina, by the way, you can pretty much do it anywhere.

Suzy May Wander

Yes, I'm sure the bureaucracy is—maybe it's similar to Spain, let's say. Maybe worse.

Kelly Thornhill

Yeah, I think it's on the par with Italia.

So, I slowly started to realize that that was valuable. My actual life experience was valuable. Adventures in Spanish, I started it almost organically really, and initially, it was about funding our lifestyle and keeping the girls learning the Spanish and getting the money together for the van.

And so I was teaching a few families, I was teaching some face-to-face classes and a few online lessons, and the word just started to spread. I seemed to be quite good at it naturally. And very quickly, it became something much bigger than just a way to fund our lifestyle. It became a mission for me because every family that I worked with reminded me of why it matters so much.

So, the joy on a child's face when they realize that they can actually communicate in another language, the pride that you feel as a parent when you watch them, I don't know, order their food or their churros or their helado for the first time, that never gets old. I relive those experiences a lot, especially with the students that I take on the immersion trips when they're so reserved in the beginning. They don't want to go into the panadería. They don't want to order the helado. They don't want to order the churros. But when they do it for the first time and they break down that barrier, it's just—it never gets old.

So, yes, Adventures in Spanish funded our world-schooling lifetime in the beginning, but it also became the thing that I'm most proud of building. So, the camper van trips were wonderful and they still are, but helping hundreds of families give their children the gift of Spanish, that's the real adventure for me. So, our lifestyle isn't separate from the business. It is the business.

Suzy

I love that, to be able to meld the two together with a passion and a skillset that you have. So, now I must know more about Adventures in Spanish. Tell me more about what is offered, how the program has evolved. I know there's a mix of online classes, but also a really big, key component is these immersion trips. Fill me in on everything that we need to know about Adventures in Spanish.

Kelly Thornhill

I built Adventures in Spanish as a framework to build on lived experience, not just theory. And it grows, and it started to grow, and it grows even more because it works. So, today we run around 10 online live Zoom classes for home-educating, homeschooling, world-schooling children from ages 6 to 18. I also have self-paced courses. So, these are holiday courses, a beginner's course that families can do together with their children. I've published children's books as well along the way.

I get my students involved in the project. We look at where we want to base the book, what animals are there in that country. So, the first one that I did was about a butterfly who is making their migratory journey down to Mexico in time for the Day of the Dead. And the children got involved and the images for the book. That's a bilingual book called Ya Estoy Llegando. It's lovely. I wrote it with acclaimed storyteller Jude Lennon.

And we did a second one as well called Fernando Baila el Tango, which of course is set in Argentina about a tango-dancing flamingo looking for a dancing partner. The children that I teach Spanish to did the illustrations for the book.

We also run one-to-one classes. So, children who are preparing for exams and they need some extra one-to-one support, we provide all of that online. I'm most proud of my immersion trips. I've been delivering these classes since 2014.

And it's great that children can learn Spanish this way, either face-to-face in person on any of the lessons or the courses we've got. But the whole ethos really is being able to get out there in the community and speak the Spanish with the Spanish people. Four years ago, I partnered with a language school in Málaga. I've been running immersion trips to Málaga since. Usually around 25 students that come on each trip.

And the students stay with a local Spanish family, so they wake up in the morning and they have their breakfast with their Spanish family. Then we meet at the language school, we have the Spanish lessons. We do a couple of hours in the morning in the classroom, but then we're out and about. We visit the local mercadillo, we do some interviews with people in El Parque, we go to the beach, then we stop for lunch, and in the afternoon we have some activities, so cooking classes, sports on the beach, a visit to the city, the Alcazaba, all of that. And it's all in Spanish.

It's quite incredible to see the children on day one, really nervous and shy and not knowing anybody and not knowing if they want to speak Spanish or not. Every day at 11 o'clock, we have a break and we go over to the panadería across the road. And that's the first opportunity for the children to actually speak Spanish to somebody who doesn't speak English. The children have to speak the Spanish with them. It's like—it's transformative. It's like they go into the panadería one child, and they transform. And they come out with their bread or their pastry or whatever under their arm and it's like they're a different child; it's transformative.

Suzy

They're like, "I did it, I did it. I spoke Spanish." How did you land on Málaga?

Kelly Thornhill

I was looking for somewhere with easy access, easy flights, somewhere authentic that wasn't too touristy. The language schools are in one of the barrios, which is one of the neighborhoods just on the outskirts of the city center. We have the local cafes and the local restaurants in that area. And it's not English. They don't speak English. It's all Spanish spoken. It needed to be an opportunity for them to practice the Spanish in real life. So, that's why I opted for Málaga.

We're looking at running trips in Barcelona next year and in Madrid as well. It's a different experience though, isn't it? So, I'm looking at how the program will change depending on which city we're in.

Suzy

Absolutely. And how long are the immersive trips to Málaga for each of the trips and when do they run? And I'm also curious at what level of Spanish should ideally a student obtain prior to doing an immersive? Or do you even have students that come with very little Spanish ahead of time?

Kelly Thornhill

So, the trips are usually a week, so it's Sunday to Friday, usually. They are suitable for complete beginners, so if a child doesn't have any Spanish at all, right up to children who are preparing to sit exams. We're able to split the groups depending on ability. So, the beginners will go in a beginner's group, the improvers in an improvers group. We have a minimum age of 11 for the homestay, but the host families take families as well. If they prefer to travel together as a family, I've tried to make it as accessible to everybody really. It's not just for children who want to take part in the homestay; it's for families as well who want a family experience.

Suzy

When is the next opportunity if someone wanted to join along for the next adventure in Spanish to Spain?

Kelly Thornhill

The next one is in October, so we depart on the 17th of October. I'm flying out with the group from Liverpool Airport in the UK, and we'll have the 18th—the Sunday is a free day to explore. Lessons will start on the Monday. So, we have the Spanish lessons in the morning, the afternoon activities, and then lots and lots of time for beach and swimming in the sea and eating churros and helado and all of that that goes with it.

Prices for the trip start at like around £390 and for a full experience, so for a full immersion experience, it's around £950 per child. So, that would include all the accommodation, full board, the Spanish lessons, the activities, everything. So, it's an accessible program for anybody's budget really, which is what I wanted to be able to do as a fellow world-schooling mum. Yeah.

Suzy

Yes. And I'm curious with the families from the UK that are opting to get their Spanish started for their kids with you. Do they often have a connection to Spain? Or what has been their motivation for wanting their kids to learn Spanish?

Kelly Thornhill

In my experience, there are two types of parents that contact me. The parent who is keen for their child to learn Spanish because they understand the opportunities themselves that it will bring their children in the future. And then the child who is just absolutely fascinated and wants to learn Spanish because maybe they're into Argentina, the football team, maybe they're into Messi. There we go. I think nowadays with social media and sports and of course...

Suzy

Like my kids.

Kelly Thornhill

And Bad Bunny and everything that's kind of going on, it's really raised the profile of Spanish as something that's interesting to learn, to do, to be able to communicate with more people. That's usually what comes from the children; they want to be able to communicate with other children in a different language.

Suzy May Wander

Absolutely. There's a whole world of Spanish-speaking artists, musicians, like you said, activities, the sports we know right now. Mexico is one of the main hosts for the World Cup.

Let's talk about some of the challenges but also the wins. And I do like to talk about this because I think we can paint this beautiful picture of living abroad and raising children abroad and also starting a business. But I know that there's challenges to it. So, I like to be realistic to all those aspects of it as well. But we'll also finish on all the positive parts, too.

Kelly Thornhill

I love this question. Thanks, Suzy, because I think we do a disservice to people when we only share the beautiful parts, right? So, if I'm really honest, when I started Adventures in Spanish, I was doing everything myself. So, I was doing the teaching, the admin, the marketing, the website, the social media, designing the courses, organizing the trips, you know, all of it. And when you're a solo founder, especially when you're world-schooling at the same time, there are days when it feels completely overwhelming, right? I mean...

And that's when the self-doubt comes in as well. I mean, is this actually working? Am I good enough? Maybe I should just get a normal job. That's real. And when I started the Adventures in Spanish, the home education, the world-schooling market wasn't what it is today. Convincing families that online lessons, online Spanish lessons with a real teacher was a good idea was quite tricky. I mean, we're talking before COVID. I was trying to solve a problem that a lot of families didn't know that they had yet.

And that changed, of course, enormously since 2020 when the whole world understood then what online learning looks like. And I was home-educating two children as well, two daughters. We were world-schooling. We were living this unconventional life. And I was trying to run a business as well.

And so there were days when I was teaching a class from the back of the van. There were days when the girls needed me and the business needed me at the same time. And gosh, there were days when I just felt like I was failing at all of it, all at once simultaneously. And then the guilt that kind of comes, particularly as a mum, I think as well. I don't think it's something that we talk about enough. The guilt of being distracted by work when you've chosen the lifestyle precisely because you want to be present with your children.

Suzy

Oh yes, I feel that too. And I'm a little nervous heading into summer where I really want to have all this time with my children, make it magical, make it special, while also continuing my passions, my business. And so I feel that tension is strong, especially with younger kids who have higher needs perhaps. I'm sure this has shifted now that you have teens, right? It feels different maybe now, but you've also lived this for many, many years.

Kelly Thornhill

The thing that I want to say about all of those struggles is that every single one of them is what's made Adventures in Spanish what it is today. So, the loneliness that I felt in the beginning taught me to build community, which is exactly why I care so deeply about creating that sense of family around our affiliate program and the immersion trips. The financial uncertainty taught me to be creative, taught me to be resourceful, and to really understand what families need, but more importantly, what they value. And the juggle of being a mum and a business owner.

I think that makes me a better teacher, if I'm honest, because I understand exactly what the families I work with are going through. I'm not just their Spanish teacher. I'm a fellow world-schooling mom who's lived the same adventures, wrestled with the same challenges, all of that. So, it's not in spite of the struggles; it's because of them that Adventures in Spanish is what it is today.

The wins—the best question ever because I'm positive. I don't like sitting in the problems. I like to move forward and find the solutions for things. So, the biggest win of all, of course, is my daughters. So, I've got to start there because that's everything else flows from there. Like I said, my girls are 15 and 17 now, multilingual. They're confident, they're curious, they're globally minded young women who can navigate the world in ways that most people their age can't.

Suzy

Totally.

Kelly Thornhill

So, when I watch my 17-year-old hold a conversation in Spanish with someone that she's just met, when her brain—when we get to the airport and her brain just switches into Spanish, then I'm like, it's all been worth it. And that's the win that I measure everything else by because on the hardest days in the business, the days when the tech breaks and the self-doubt creeps in and all of that, I come back to that.

I'm also super, super proud of what we've built in Málaga. When the confidence shifts and they build the friendships and they've got the memories, I genuinely feel emotional about that because I can see the progress and what an impact it's having on their lives. And I have families come back for a second trip and a third trip. That's the most profound endorsement I can imagine for a business.

I've been building an affiliate program over the last few months and the response has genuinely blown me away. So, I've got bloggers and world-schooling creators coming on board and sharing Adventures in Spanish with their communities, which is just fabulous.

Suzy

Yes, we get to help each other along the process.

Kelly Thornhill

Absolutely. I think one of the biggest goals as well this year has been to stop being the only teacher in Adventures in Spanish myself, as well. Because as much as I love teaching, I can't scale a business if I'm doing everything myself. I've been hiring and onboarding freelance Spanish tutors to deliver our group classes. And the quality of the people that want to be part of it is fabulous. It's so humbling. I'm very, very grateful.

I mean, a few years ago, I was just a world-schooling mum trying to keep my daughters alive, you know, with the camper van. And now I'm running this Spanish language school and organizing immersion trips to Málaga and building an affiliate program. And it's not something that I take lightly; I don't take it for granted, not for a single day.

Suzy

Let's make sure people who are listening who are very motivated about your Adventures in Spanish, where can they get a hold of you? Learn more about your opportunities.

Kelly Thornhill

My website is www.adventuresinspanish.co.uk. All the details of the courses and the lessons that I run are on there. There's information about our immersion trips, and I've also got a section with a lot of free learning resources as well. So, learning resources for children and for adults.

I also run free taster lessons as well. For any families who are thinking about learning Spanish but haven't quite managed to find the right tutor for their child yet or are not quite sure what to do, then you can book onto one of my free Spanish taster lessons and see if Adventures in Spanish is a good fit for your child.

Suzy

I love it. This is great. Let's wrap up with a couple of quick lightning round questions just to get to know you and some of your favorite parts about—I know some of these will pop up to South America, which I'm really excited about. Okay, you can only ever live in three countries. What are they?

Kelly Thornhill

Argentina, no question at all; it's in my blood. Spain because, well, Málaga absolutely has my heart. And Wales because there's nowhere on earth quite like coming home to the mountains and Snowdonia.

Suzy

Best or worst food you've ever had?

Kelly Thornhill

Best food? I mean, it's got to be the Argentine asado. Of course, you can't speak to an Argentine that doesn't put Argentine asado as their best food, right? Worst food? Something very dodgy that I ate in a market in Bolivia. I don't even know what it was; I just think I'd like to just scrap that from my memory, actually.

Suzy

Yes, but as far as the Argentina asado, it's an art form there is what my perception was. And it is an all-night affair. So, there's a lot of similarities with Spanish culture in that regard. If you could teleport to one place right now, where would it be and why?

Kelly Thornhill

Taganga, Colombia, without a shadow of a doubt. That tiny fishing village that I first went to when I first arrived in South America. I would be back in the water in a heartbeat, and I am determined to take my children there one day.

Suzy

Sounds delightful. And Colombia is very much on my radar as well. I have heard that the Spanish is slightly easier maybe than some of the other parts of South America.

Kelly Thornhill

Absolutely, I would definitely agree with that. Colombia is more neutral and it's more sing-songy. What I like about the Colombian Spanish is that it's feliz día, happy days—when they're saying goodbye, they say feliz día. I mean, that's just lovely.

Suzy

That's a great way to end a conversation. Feliz día, have a happy day. Well, thank you for taking us back to South America through your adventures and your recollection of living in beautiful Mendoza and Adventures in Spanish. I hope that more families are like, hey, let's learn more Spanish, so that when we come to Spain or we go to South America or Central America, it gives us even more of an opportunity to really immerse ourselves in the culture and the language. Anything else you would like to add before we wrap up?

Kelly Thornhill

Just to say, Suzy, I'm here to help any homeschoolers, world-schoolers with any of their Spanish learning needs, so just reach out.

Suzy

And I'll end on feliz día.

Kelly Thornhill

Feliz día!