San Giovanni – I keep coming back!

When I started to look for Italian schools, what I wanted was a doorway into the real Italy, beyond the swarming mobs of tourists and the MacDonalds and Starbucks that you find in the big cities. But at the same time, I wanted to be close enough to famous cities —you can’t study all day. After much research, I decided on the school in San Giovanni Valdarno, a family-run school in Tuscany.

That was almost ten years ago and since then, I have been coming back to the little school in San Giovanni Valdarno every year. Why? Because I get a taste of what it’s like to live in Italy. The town is perfectly convenient to get around—everything is within walking distance, and an easy, flat walk at that. You can bike five minutes out of town and find yourself in the beautiful Tuscan countryside. By train, it’s 40 minutes to Florence and only thirty minutes to Arezzo.

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Lindau – where on earth is that?

When I decided to improve my German last year, I wanted to do it somewhere with a friendly atmosphere, in a place where I have a lot of leisure possibilities and in a region or city which I hadn’t yet been to.

So, I noticed this school in Lindau, Bavaria, and I suddenly started to really look forward to going there and seeing what it was like!

On my trip from Oslo to Munich I started to read up on the beautiful countryside of the south of Germany and I couldn’t wait to see all that in real.

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Salsa classes, horse riding … And Spanish!

Howdy,

My name is Cameron, from Texas, USA and I want to talk about my Spanish Abroad Program in Chile this year.

My experience in the school in Santiago… Well, I’ve been studying in Santiago for 3 weeks now, and it has been amazing!!! I can´t believe that the staff at the school could be so incredibly helpful, and so willing to work around what you want to do….anything you need, you just ask – they help you as many times as you want!

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Spanish and amazing nature!

Hi, my name is Mario, from Switzerland.

I was to the school in Bariloche from May 14th until June 6th 2008.

I chose this language school because I wanted to study Spanish in a small city in Argentina. I didn’t know anybody before the moment I began my studies.

My first impression of the school was very positive. When I arrived at the school on Monday, everything was very organized. I did a placement test and started soon at the level: Principiante 1B (beginners 1B). Lessons started on time as usual. Teachers were very kind, competent and well prepared. The teachers normally spoke Spanish in class, but it was also very useful the fact that teachers could in fact speak other languages, enabling them to explain and understand some grammar aspects by establishing comparison among languages. Thanks to the flexibility of the professors and administration I was able to sit for an exam every week and to get an advanced level in only eight weeks.

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Staying (MUCH) longer than I’d planned!

I’m French but I used to live in Florida. As my working permit was expiring I had the option to go back to France or move to another country. In United States I met a couple people from Chile. We immediately became friends and they would go on and on about how great their country was. I thought that I had to see that for myself and I decided to move there, probably for a year or two at the most. That was the plan…

I have to admit that Santiago was something else! Apart from the fact that the city was much more developed than I thought, I was pleasantly surprised to find cute streets, beautiful buildings, a rich culture, a very positive atmosphere and lots of vegetation.

Sure this was nice, but I still spoke no Spanish and if I were planning on staying, I had to find a Spanish school. The first one I found was expensive and only proposed individual classes: this wasn’t the right way to make friends (after all, I only knew those two Chileans I met in the US!). This first school I visited actually was the one that directed me to the School where I ended up studying. A school vouching for another one? I had to check it out.

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The City of Bridges (and its musical nightlife!)

I would really like to tell you something about the not so well known side of Porto, just waiting to be discovered – the nightlife you can enjoy in this amazing city, whatever your taste!

Of course, Porto is well known as Portugal’s second largest city and the ‘capital of the north’, home to a historical centre, recognised by UNESCO as a ‘World Heritage Site’. It also contains several impressive bridges that cross the river Douro, taking you from the city centre to the world famous wine caves. Each bridge has an impressive unique architecture that makes them stand out and give Porto a unique landscape. In Porto you must take the opportunity to travel in one of the traditional barca boats and see a different side of this fascinating city!

But this is common knowledge for every tourist. I want to tell you about the sometimes overlooked but truly fantastic nightlife!!

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Saludos desde Lima!

I’m learning Spanish in Lima. Apparently, the school I’m at is quite new, but it doesn’t seem like it at all. All the teachers and staff are very professional, so so SO nice, and everything is really well organized!

There is so much culture in Peru, with the food, music and people. I’ve learnt a lot of Spanish in just 4 weeks, and feel much more confident with my Spanish now. The class sizes are very small, so we all get a lot of personal attention. We do learn grammar, but the whole focus is on using it, putting it into practice, getting used to speaking in Spanish and understanding Spanish when we’re spoken to.

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Tango and more in Buenos Aires!

I studied Spanish only in High School, but not since then. So I thought it would be a great idea to take Spanish classes in South America. I decided to go to Argentina, because I wanted to experience the people and culture of Argentina. I was a bit nervous and very excited, curious about the people and culture.

I knew all of the stereotypes – Tango, soccer and meat eating. I have eaten a lot of meat, watched several Boca, River and Superclasico ‘futbol’ matches and have combined my Spanish course with Tango classes! In fact I spent one of my first afternoons in a Tango class organized by the school, dancing Tango with another student from the school. I was a bit unaccustomed to dancing so close and intimately, but it was funny, and obviously no problem once you got used to it!

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‘Pizza moments’ in Sorrento

We are sitting on the terrace eating a fabulous pizza and catching a bit of sun. What a nice life! I can’t believe my colleagues, they come from all over the world to stay in one of the best places in the world. Well, when I say colleagues, we aren’t at work, we are studying Italian in what must be the best school in Italy! The school is in such a beautiful location, with sea views which simply inspire you to learn!

The ‘pizza moment’ (a daily tradition for us!) is such a good way to get to know the other students and create friendships that last even when the course has finished. What is more, here you can continue your lessons even when you have finished the course because it’s possible to have lessons on-line with the teacher of your choice, after you leave the course. So, when I am back home and am crying because I am no longer in Sorrento learning Italian, I can carry on with my studies and keep in touch with my colleagues,….. but and it is a BIG ‘but’, I won’t be able to buy the same pizza as the ones you can buy in Sorrento!

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Seafood and Samba in Salvador da Bahia!

I couldn’t have chosen better than Salvador da Bahia – a city with a tropical climate, beautiful beaches, a rich cultural and historical heritage, and joyful, welcoming people living a relaxed, easygoing lifestyle. I just returned from a Portuguese language course in Salvador, and this magnificent city on Brazil’s northeast coast has everything you could imagine… and more!

The first thing that I loved about Salvador was definitely the local cuisine which is specific to the region – Salvador is a seafood-lover’s paradise! I would highly recommend the moqueca, which is a large seafood stew that comes with crab, lobster, or shrimp, as well as a wide variety of vegetables… yummm! Also, do not leave Brazil without trying acarajé. It is the name for an amazing snack that originated in Western Africa: fried black-eyed pea fritters stuffed with delicious shrimp. Nowhere else will you find such an interesting, delectable mixture of African and Brazilian culture and cuisine than Salvador!

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