Alejandro Armenteros

Alejandro was born and raised in Cádiz, Spain but finished high school in Kingston, TN. Here he earned the nickname, "The Spaniard", which he loved. Back in Spain, Alejandro studi...

Alejandro was born and raised in Cádiz, Spain but finished high school in Kingston, TN. Here he earned the nickname, "The Spaniard", which he loved. Back in Spain, Alejandro studied at the Universidad de Granada and graduated with degrees in Law (2000) and Political Science (2003). He also started a third degree (Philosophy). As you can tell, Alejandro has an interest in learning and academics! He has always been interested in the history of political thought, a passion that sheds light on his academic journey. Alejandro has also lived and worked abroad starting with Aarhus, Denmark (1999-2000) and then Edinburgh, Scotland (2003-2005). These past years he has worked as a private guide in Andalucía, and led bike tours for a US company (2010 - present). Alejandro loves languages and currently dedicates his free time to studying German. Recently, he has been spending many months in Germany turning himself once again into a student. But, Alejandro says, “above all, sport is my passion”. He is an outdoors person now: swimming, cycling, running, and playing tennis. He especially gravitates towards endurance sports. Out of this passion, he has become well-versed in nutrition, a topic he can spend hours conversing on. Alejandro loves to work with foreign travelers, especially Americans, to whom he still feels quite connected after his high school year in Tennessee and summers spent working in the Smoky Mountains. Alejandro feels like an ambassador showing his home country to others. He is very aware that there is more to a language than just the grammar and the vocabulary. Without experiencing first-hand the culture that lives with the language there is no real learning. He understands very well the importance of why it makes so much sense to spend time in the country where the language of study is spoken. As to his private life, Alejandro has no children of his own but instead he has a niece and a nephew who constantly remind him that he’s become a professional uncle no ("Tito Ale"). You are really going to enjoy having Alejandro as your program director. He looks forward to welcoming you to Spain and sharing with you all that his country has to offer!
Email: info@soleducation.com
University Attended: University of Granada (Granada, Spain)
Year Graduated: 2003
Languages Spoken: German, Spanish

Carmen Perez

Carmen María Pérez was born and raised in Málaga, a port city in the south of Spain and part of the famous “Costa del Sol”. As an undergrad, she attended the University of Granada (UG...

Carmen María Pérez was born and raised in Málaga, a port city in the south of Spain and part of the famous “Costa del Sol”. As an undergrad, she attended the University of Granada (UGR) and completed her Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education and Sports. While at the UGR Carmen participated in the Erasmus exchange program and studied abroad in Athens, Greece for 9 months. Carmen also possesses a Master’s in Personal Training and a Master’s in Research in Sports Science (both from the University of Granada). Most recently, she completed a Master’s in Teacher Training in Secondary Education from the University of Valencia. As you can see from her schooling, sports are her passion! Carmen loves rock climbing, hiking, mountain biking, swimming, soccer, judo and kayaking. While she was a university student, she worked as a swimming instructor and a camp counselor for teenagers. Carmen also has an interest in languages and has studied English for many years and she speaks a little bit of Greek from her time abroad. Carmen loves traveling and meeting people from different cultures. She works as a travel guide in the summers in Europe so she has visited many countries such as Portugal, Italy, Greece, France, Switzerland, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia. Other interests are playing the guitar, listening to music, going out with friends, animals and nature. So as you can tell, she is a very active person! You will enjoy meeting Carmen and having her as your director while in Spain. She looks forward to welcoming you to Granada and showing you all that it has to offer.
Email: carmen@soleducation.com
University Attended: University of Granada
Year Graduated: 2006
Languages Spoken: Spanish, French, Italian

Edu Lizana

Eduvirgen Lizana, or Edu as she likes to be called, was born and raised in Algarinejo, a small Andalusian town outside of Granada, Spain. As a teenager she always dreamed of being able to co...

Eduvirgen Lizana, or Edu as she likes to be called, was born and raised in Algarinejo, a small Andalusian town outside of Granada, Spain. As a teenager she always dreamed of being able to communicate with people from other countries. This desire led her to pursue and complete a Master’s degree in Translation & Interpreting (English and French) from the prestigious University of Granada. Edu was selected as an Erasmus student for 10 months to study at the University of Silesia in Poland (the Erasmus is a very prestigious European Union scholarship). When she finished her Master’s degree in 2007, Edu immediately set off to travel. Her first stop was Italy where she worked for a tour operator. After that, Edu moved to England for 2 years. In England, she taught Spanish at a private school for girls. She found teaching a foreign language to students from 5 to 18 years of age to be an incredibly enriching experience. Edu has also worked and participated in different Volunteer Camps in Andalusia for teenagers. She loves traveling and meeting people from different cultures. Because of this Edu has visited many countries in Europe, such as Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Czech Republic. Since 2002, Edu has volunteered with a non-profit organization in her hometown which is dedicated to the young people of the community. She actually co-founded this organization with her friends in order to dynamize the local community through activities that focus on the environment, theater, culture and education (its called Asociación Juvenil Don Pedro Ruiz de Algarinejo). Besides traveling, Edu has a passion for animals, handicrafts, reading, cooking and learning all sorts of new things! You are really going to enjoy having Edu as one of your directors. She looks forward to welcoming you to Spain and sharing with you all that Granada has to offer!
Email: info@soleducation.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eduvirgen.lizanasoldado
University Attended: University of Granada (Granada, Spain)
Year Graduated: 2003
Languages Spoken: French, Spanish

Germán Casado

Germán Casado was born and raised in Durcal, a small Andalusian town outside of Granada, Spain. He holds a Master’s Degree in Translation & Interpretation (English, French, & Ital...

Germán Casado was born and raised in Durcal, a small Andalusian town outside of Granada, Spain. He holds a Master’s Degree in Translation & Interpretation (English, French, & Italian) from the prestigious University of Granada. He also has a degree in Business French from the Business Chamber of Paris. Germán has studied and lived in France, Belgium and Italy, where he perfected his language skills. He is a true outdoor enthusiast! Germán has worked for sporting events such as the World Championship for Alpine Skiing in the Sierra Nevada (Granada), and the World Cup for mountain biking. Germán is skilled at rock climbing, mountaineering, mountain biking, skiing and roller blading. There isn’t much Germán doesn’t do! Besides travel and outdoor extreme sports, Germán has worked as a producer for documentary films for the BBC and other European programs that focus on Andalusia. Since 1997, Germán has operated a travel and study abroad business in Granada for North American and European students. He also combines his work as a study abroad director with leading hiking trips to the Alps and the Atlas mountains. You will really enjoy having Germán as your director! Granada is his speciality!
Email: german@soleducation.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001521099783
University Attended: Universidad de Granada (Granada, Spain)
Year Graduated: 1994
Languages Spoken: Spanish, French, Italian

Gonzalo Iglesias

Gonzalo Iglesias was born and raised in the town of Jerez de la Frontera near Cádiz, Spain. Gonzalo’s passions have always been the outdoors and travel. Gonzalo first came to Granada to s...

Gonzalo Iglesias was born and raised in the town of Jerez de la Frontera near Cádiz, Spain. Gonzalo’s passions have always been the outdoors and travel. Gonzalo first came to Granada to study at the University of Granada (UGR) where he received his degree in Physical Education & Sports. While at the UGR, he was honored with not one but two Erasmus awards traveling as an exchange student to Lahti, Finland for 9 months and to Montpellier, France for 9 months. He also participated in the Séneca exchange program which took him to Huesca, Spain for 9 months. Part of this last experience was while he completed his Master’s in Teacher Training in Secondary Education at the University of Valencia. When not in school Gonzalo has always worked as a travel guide. He has worked as a tour leader and mountain guide since 2001 in Spain, France, Slovenia, Croatia, Greece, Bosnia, Romania, Ukraine, Morocco, Portugal and Italy. Gonzalo is also an avid kiteboarder and kiteboarding instructor teaching the sport at the University of Zaragoza and in Tarifa. Gonzalo also enjoys rock climbing and has worked as a climbing instructor for the University of Granada. As you can tell, Gonzalo takes his love of the outdoors and interests in physical education to the next level! Gonzalo relies heavily on his use of languages for his guide work and as such has studied English at Cambridge University and spent a year abroad studying French. Gonzalo loves traveling and his journeys so far include biking, kayaking and backpacking trips. He rode his bike 4,000km over 1 month traveling from Finland to southern France (Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg and France). In the US he biked from San Diego to Santa Cruz, CA (1,000km over 3 weeks). For kayaking he kayaked along Spain’s southern coast for 4 days from Agua Amarga to Cabo de Gato. He also has backpacked all over the world including Russia, Sweden, Latvia, Estonia, Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Turkey, New York, and Colorado Canyon. Other sports and activities that Gonzalo enjoys are windsurfing, surfing, paragliding, skiing, snowboarding, swimming, hockey...you name it;) Gonzalo has a natural love of meeting new people and sharing with them everything a new place has to offer. You will be in very capable hands with Gonzalo as one of your SOL guides!
Email: gonzalo@soleducation.com
University Attended: University of Granada
Year Graduated: 2010
Languages Spoken: Spanish, French, Italian

Isabel Aldama

Isabel Aldama is originally from a small city in the north of Spain called Santander. She has lived in Granada since 2005 and loves everything that the city and region have to offer. Isabel ...

Isabel Aldama is originally from a small city in the north of Spain called Santander. She has lived in Granada since 2005 and loves everything that the city and region have to offer. Isabel understands the importance of a study abroad experience for language learning. She lived in London and Cambridge for 2 years where she perfected her English and got to experience life abroad through work and study. Isabel loves teaching and working with people so in college she studied to be an English teacher and took classes in Santander, Cambridge and Madrid. Isabel has worked as an English teacher around Granada for many years now. For her, Granada is one of the most interesting and cultural places to live and she loves sharing it with others. In addition to teaching, Isabel enjoys travelling and pottery, which is her favorite hobby. You will love having Isabel as one of your directors. She looks forward to welcoming you to Granada!
Email: info@soleducation.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/isabel.aldama.7
University Attended: Escuela Oficial de Idiomas Cantabria (Cantabria, Spain)
Year Graduated: 1997
Languages Spoken: Spanish

Miguel Pinto

Miguel was born and raised in Lisbon, Portugal to Spanish and Portuguese parents. He grew up speaking both languages practically from birth. Aware of the importance of knowing different lang...

Miguel was born and raised in Lisbon, Portugal to Spanish and Portuguese parents. He grew up speaking both languages practically from birth. Aware of the importance of knowing different languages, his parents enrolled him in Lisbon’s British Kindergarten, and later he studied at Lisbon’s Spanish Institute, a Spanish school in Lisbon. From a very early age Miguel started to embrace a bilingual and international environment especially since every year people from different parts of the world would arrive at his school. At the age of twenty Miguel moved to Granada for the first time and instantly fell in love with this beautiful city. The Arabic influences reminded him of his hometown in Portugal and, although he was in completely different surroundings, he found a special connection between Lisbon and Granada, considering both of them to be his home. Leaping from one city to the other throughout the years, Miguel has lived in Granada since 2011 working as a translator and teacher. As a teacher he prepares groups of 20 students for the Portuguese exam of the Over 25 University Admission Exams. While in Lisbon, in addition to teaching Spanish and Portuguese, he worked in an amusement park, as a special effects technician on an Irish film crew, as a tour guide in Lisbon´s Bairro Alto, helped organize a painting exhibition in Oslo, Norway and was one of the producers of “Flamenco is Time”, a flamenco festival that took place on the island of Majorca in 2013 where Tomatito performed, one of flamenco’s greatest performers. As you can see, Miguel stays busy and has many varied interests and talents! Some of his greatest passions are music, cinema, reading, travelling and getting to know new places. After being welcomed in so many places he has visited over the years, he’s always looking forward to returning the favor and welcoming new visitors. You are really going to enjoy meeting Miguel and having him as one of your guides in Spain.
Email: miguel@soleducation.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009491088285
University Attended: University of Granada
Year Graduated: 2003
Languages Spoken: Spanish, Portuguese

Rocío Monteoliva

Rocío is a true granadina! She was born and raised right in Granada. She loves her hometown because one can find and do every kind of outdoor and cultural activity. Her father is a well-kno...

Rocío is a true granadina! She was born and raised right in Granada. She loves her hometown because one can find and do every kind of outdoor and cultural activity. Her father is a well-known alpinist from Granada who made the first winter ascents of routes in the Sierra Nevada mountains (apart from other alpinist activities in Spain, Peru, Bolivia and the Alps). She inherited her love for mountains and climbing from her father. When she was just a baby her parents would take her hiking every weekend. They would also take her traveling around Europe and South America (her mother is from Colombia). When she was just 4 years old she started skiing. Growing up, she spent several months in Chile for ski training. Rocío took part in ski competitions from the time she was 8 until she was 19. She participated in the Spanish Championships, International Championships in France and Chile and the Spanish University Championships. She always ranked among the first three positions in Andalusia and ranked fourth in the Spanish Championship. After competing in ski competitions for 11 years she started working as a ski teacher until she moved to Germany in 2008. During her years working as a ski instructor she studied Translation and Interpreting at the University of Granada (English, German, French and Japanese). Apart from Translation and Interpreting she also took postgraduate courses on how to make art accessible to the visually and hearing impaired. Rocío has lived and studied abroad in several different countries (Scotland as an Erasmus student, Ireland for an English course, and Germany for 5 years). Rocío finds her greatest joy in nature and traveling. She is also an active climber and alpinist and has been to the top many famous mountains such as Mont Blanc and Mulhacén. She has gone rock climbing, ice climbing and skiing everywhere in Spain, the UK, Germany and France. Rocío enjoys trying any kind of nature-oriented or extreme sport (from paragliding to kitesurfing to bungee jumping). She has also taken road trips around Europe and Africa in her van (Germany to Turkey, Greece to the UK, Slovakia to Morocco, Hungary to Portugal). As you can see, Rocío is quite the adventurer! She truly loves languages and getting to know different cultures (and foods!). She feels that learning about other cultures allows her to see things from a different point of view. Rocío loves working with people and is very excited to be your program director! She cannot wait to meet you and share with you her passion for languages, culture and most of all - Spain!
Email: rocio@soleducation.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Rocio.Monteoliva
University Attended: University of Granada
Year Graduated: 2010
Languages Spoken: Japanese, German, French, Spanish