Elie Lion

Elie Lion was born in Toronto, Canada and grew up speaking both English and French fluently. He moved with his family to Granada, Spain when he was 15 years old and fell in love with the And...

Elie Lion was born in Toronto, Canada and grew up speaking both English and French fluently. He moved with his family to Granada, Spain when he was 15 years old and fell in love with the Andalusian city. Elie got a degree in Education (working with youth) and his greatest passions are teaching and travel. Elie speaks French, English, Spanish and German. Due to his language skills he has lived and worked in France and Germany and has guided travel trips all over Europe. During the 1990s, he was the Director of a center for problem teens in the outskirts of Versaille, France; a position he held for 5 years. While as director of this center, his duties included creating projects with the teens to get funding for winter, summer and spring sports vacations which included activities like skiing, rafting, rock climbing, and canoeing. Since 2007, Elie has taught English at a local language academy in Granada. He teaches to all ages ranging from 4 years old to 65 years of age. As a Tour Director and guide, Elie worked for Travelplan and EF Tours. He has guided in Scotland, France, Germany, Belgium, Holland and Spain. He has been fortunate to lead programs to some of the most beautiful cities in Europe such as Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness, Paris, Avignon, Koln, Bruges, Amsterdam, Barcelona and Granada. In his spare time Ellie enjoys scuba diving and catching live music. You are really going to enjoy having Elie as your assistant director. He looks forward to welcoming you to Spain and all that Granada has to offer!
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1272163679
University Attended: Jarvis Collegiate Institute (Toronto, Canada)
Year Graduated: 2012
Languages Spoken: Spanish

Amaya González

Amaya was born and raised in Valencia, Spain. When she finished high school she decided to spend a gap year working abroad in order to improve her English. This gap year turned into a three ...

Amaya was born and raised in Valencia, Spain. When she finished high school she decided to spend a gap year working abroad in order to improve her English. This gap year turned into a three year experience! While abroad she lived in London and Den Bosch (Holland) and it was during this time that she really developed her passion for travel and languages. She also started studying Arabic which took her to many Arab countries such as Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Qatar. In 2005 Amaya moved to Granada to begin her studies at the prestigious University of Granada where she earned a degree in Translation and Interpreting (Spanish-Arabic-English Translation). She is now finishing a Master?s degree in Teaching from the University of Granada. Life has taken her to many faraway and exotic places but she always returns to Granada - a city she is fascinated by! Amaya?s hobbies include traveling, reading, photography, listening to music (especially jazz, flamenco, and rock bands of the 70s), hiking and, of course, going out with friends and enjoying the amazing tapas of Granada! Amaya looks forward to welcoming you to Granada!
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008315437017
University Attended: University of Granada (Granada, Spain)
Year Graduated: 2009
Languages Spoken: Arabic, Spanish

Beatriz Guardiola

Beatriz Guardiola was born and raised in Granada, Spain in a neighborhood that rests at the very foot of the world-renowned Alhambra Palace. She has lived all of her life in Granada and know...

Beatriz Guardiola was born and raised in Granada, Spain in a neighborhood that rests at the very foot of the world-renowned Alhambra Palace. She has lived all of her life in Granada and knows the city very well. She?s a natural explorer and this helped her explore all the hidden parts of the city growing up. Beatriz holds a degree in Psychology from the University of Granada (2014). After studying abroad in college for a year in Oslo, Norway via the coveted Erasmus Scholarship she discovered her interest in the English language. She loves surrounding herself with multicultural environments and meeting people from other countries. She went to Norway to work on her English but also because she loves the snow. She is an avid snowboarder during the winter months in Granada. The rest of the year she keeps active playing basketball in a local team and practicing aikido. She?s been the trainer for various basketball teams in Granada and has been a referee for 7 years now. She has also worked as a camp counselor at a swimming camp for children. Currently, she is in charge of Public Relations at a restaurant in Granada. In this position she is able to continue practicing her English. Beatriz also spent 3 months as an au pair (2014) in London working for a family. She said it was an incredible cultural experience living with a family while in England. Beatriz is a very positive person full of energy. She has an outgoing personality and looks forward to welcoming you to Spain and sharing with you all that Granada has to offer!
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beatriz.g.salvatierra
University Attended: University of Granada (Granada)
Year Graduated: 2013
Languages Spoken: Spanish

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: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/isabel.aldama.7
University Attended: Escuela Oficial de Idiomas Cantabria (Cantabria, Spain)
Year Graduated: 1997
Languages Spoken: Spanish

Pilar Molina

Pilar was born in the city of Granada but has always lived in Alhama de Granada, a small and picturesque town located between Granada and Málaga provinces. After finishing high school she m...

Pilar was born in the city of Granada but has always lived in Alhama de Granada, a small and picturesque town located between Granada and Málaga provinces. After finishing high school she moved to Granada (city) to study English philology at the University of Granada (UGR). During her time at the UGR she studied abroad as an Erasmus student in Galway, Ireland. During her time abroad she was able to travel all over the country. One of her greatest passions is traveling and getting to see new places and meeting interesting people. When she finished her degree, she started a Master’s program in “Teacher Training and Language Teaching for High School Students” in Córdoba. Her dream has always been to become an English teacher. That year she learned a lot and spent two months as a teacher’s assistant for an English class at a local high school. She also found Córdoba to be a very interesting city and enjoyed discovering the hidden charms of its streets, plazas and monuments. Having met her main goal, and with a desire to continue learning, she decided to follow new experiences outside of Spain. She lived for a time in Winchester, a small city south of London, and worked as an “au pair”. During her free time she traveled all over the United Kingdom. She then took a job in Gloucester, working in quality control in a factory that produced beauty products. On the weekends Pilar worked in a restaurant. Her goal was always to continue practicing her English and through her work experiences she was able to do so. Pilar says that what she gained most from her time abroad was that it allowed her to grow more as a person. Her words of wisdom for study abroad students are that leaving your home and traveling to another country helps you grow personally and professionally. When Pilar returned to Spain her dream came true - she was offered a job in Madrid to work as a high school English teacher. Pilar loves working with teenagers. She likes to help them, give advice and guide them during this very crucial time of their lives. What she loves most about her work is the feeling that she is helping their confidence grow and giving them the tools to advance in their paths. In regards to her hobbies, in addition to travel, Pilar loves sports; running, hiking, bike riding, paddle ball, volleyball and soccer. Basically, Pilar is a very active and dynamic person and loves playing any group sport. She also enjoys photography and loves animals. But, above all, she loves making others laugh! She considers herself to have a great sense of humor but she is also very responsible. Being a guide has been one of her hobbies in her free time - she has had the good fortune of living in parts of the world where people love to come visit. Its for these reasons that she is very excited to be a part of the Sol Abroad team and to welcome you to Spain this summer. You will enjoy meeting Pilar and having her as one of your directors!
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100011650437503
University Attended: University of Granada (Granada)
Year Graduated: 2013
Languages Spoken: Spanish

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: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rocio.Monteoliva
University Attended: University of Granada (Granada)
Year Graduated: 2010
Languages Spoken: Spanish, French, German, Japanese

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, & Italia...

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: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001521099783
University Attended: Universidad de Granada (Granada, Spain)
Year Graduated: 1994
Languages Spoken: Italian, French, Spanish

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: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eduvirgen.lizanasoldado
University Attended: University of Granada (Granada, Spain)
Year Graduated: 2003
Languages Spoken: French, Spanish