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It is a bone-chilling and gray March day in Madrid as we huddle on a busy corner with 20 other English speaking volunteers from around the globe. Nearby, an equal number of Spanish executives eye us with looks ranging from timid to terrified. We are waiting for a bus that will take us three hours from Madrid to a hotel near the ancient village of Barco de Avila in a remote area of the Gredos Mountain Range. For the next eight days our two groups will be sequestered together for an intense English immersion program called Pueblo Ingles (previously known as Englishtown). The program is expensive for the Spaniards. English speaking participants are volunteers paying their own flight to Madrid in exchange for an "almost free working vacation" with eight days accommodations and all meals in Spain.

Come along with us on a rich and rewarding journey that will transform our two distinctly different groups from shy strangers to cherished friends. Our Anglo group is a composed of writers, musicians, chemists, artists, executives, students, and retirees from the United States, Australia, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The Spaniards are mid- to- upper level executives with companies like Vodaphone, Microsoft, Oracle, Mercedes-Benz, Cemex, and the Bank of Spain. They share the common need to understand and speak English in their careers.

Here's how a typical day at Pueblo Ingles works. Think of it as a "musical Spaniards talk-a-thon." Talk begins at breakfast at 9 a.m with two Anglos and two Spaniards at each table. By 10 a.m. we are paired off each hour for one-to-one conversations. There is levity and laughter, but schedules are rigidly structured and maintained. The Spaniards love to walk so most of our talks are outside walking the pathways of the past in the crisp and invigorating mountain air.

There are no assigned conversation topics, virtually anything goes. There is only one hard and fast rule: No Spanish Allowed! A late lunch at 2 p.m. and dinner at 9 p.m. follow the same format of four per table and new partners at each meal. Spanish wine flows freely with both meals. Following lunch a welcomed siesta until 5 p.m. gives our vocal chords time to rest.

After siestas, we convene at the Meeting House for group discussions, skits and impromptu performances and more one-to-one talk sessions until dinner at 9 p.m. As each day passes, dinner hour becomes longer as we linger with new friends over wine, coffee and (of course) conversation. Bedtime is rarely before midnight.

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