Don’t miss the festival in Nerja

If you’re going to Nerja for your Spanish course this summer, then don’t miss out on the town’s fantastic festivals! Flamenco, opera, ballet, gospel and jazz… whatever your tastes, Nerja has a concert for you! You can buy your tickets to some of the best concerts at the school office, such as the José Mercé concert. Who is José Mercé? Well, he’s one of the great flamenco artists of modern times, and he’s coming to Nerja Thursday 26 July. A regular to Andalucía’s summer festivals, José started his recording career at the age of 13 and now is perhaps the most successful singer on the flamenco scene.

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Living it and loving it in Malaga!!

It’s all change in our school apartment this week! Three new students have arrived and they will be sharing the apartment with me for the next two months. They are so sweet – there’s one Swiss, one Italian and and one Russian. The Italian girl is so nice and most importantly she cooks the best pasta I have had in years! The Swiss girl is always doing exercise and is so fit, and the Russian girl is really funny.

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Sea, sand and sun in Malaga

I have been so busy with work and school and I am loving every minute! The Spanish classes are great and I never get bored because there is so much variety in the teaching methods.

The girls at work are so sweet and are always helping me with my Spanish. If I don’t pronounce things right they won’t give me what I need until I say it right, which is great for my Spanish! After work sometimes we go out for drinks which is great. I always get asked where I’m from and people are always really friendly.

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Living La Vida Loca in Malaga

I have been in Malaga for 3 months now…and I only booked two weeks to begin with – now I don’t feel like I can leave!

Malaga is seriously different to all the other cities I’ve visited because it is just so Spanish and Andulcian!

So much has happened! The best being I got a job working in a bar right on the beach and it is so gorgeous. The people are so friendly at work. I always have to talk Spanish because no one talks English, but they teach me loads of new stuff including some funny chat up lines. lol.

Apart from that I have had some new housemates who are all lovely and everyone is always so amazed by our great school apartment with the spectacular view! I still feel lucky eating my brekki everyday on the terrace.

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Why Malaga’s only problem is its name!

Did you know that thousands of people of all ages come to study Spanish in Málaga every year? This may surprise you, but read on, and you’ll find out why.

Málaga city has just one major  problem – its name! “Málaga” unfortunately is also the name of the province that includes the resorts of Torremolinos, Fuengirola and Marbella  and as a result many people think that Malaga is the just like them – you couldn’t be more wrong – “chalk and cheese” doesn’t do it justice. Luckily they are far enough away not to have any impact at all on life here in Malaga city.

Málaga is in fact one of the best destinations in Spain for studying Spanish and enjoying Spanish culture, and the facilities at the school in Málaga are second to none.

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¡Bienvenido a Barcelona – my tips for your course!

There are a few things that I wish I had known before I arrived in Barcelona.  The first thing that would have really helped me was if I had known that a building’s 1st floor is actually the 3rd.  Sound confusing?  Well let me explain.  There is ‘la planta baja’ (ground floor), ‘el principal’ and THEN ‘la pisa una’ and so on.  Armed with this knowledge, it would have been much easier to find exactly where my host family lived (although it was quite amusing to knock on a complete strangers door and explain that I was going to be staying with them for a short while!)

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Muy Bonito Marbella!

My visit to Marbella was a very pleasant surprise! Located on the Costa Del Sol, I must admit that I’d expected the city to be full of tourists and lacking in character. I’m pleased to confirm that this is not the case at all!

I arrived in the evening and was delighted to find the sun still shining. The taxi ride from the bus station to the school provided a ‘mini’ city tour, and after depositing my luggage in one of the on-site apartments, I set out eager to explore.

The school is located just five minutes’ walk from the beach, and I soon found myself strolling along the promenade in the evening sunshine. The seafront is lined with bars, restaurants and ice cream parlours (yum!), and I was in good company as I meandered along the shore. Holidaymakers and locals young and old were also taking advantage of the pleasant evening, and the place buzzed. Even though I was alone, it was impossible to feel lonely! The hum of conversation and the aroma of fresh fish being barbecued on the beach made this one of my favourite places to relax during my time in Marbella.

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More tales of Malaga!

When I first tried to find the Malaga school, I couldn’t find the road of the school on a map of the area. The reason was that I hadn’t been looking for a lovely little pedestrianised street, which is where you can find the school!

When I arrived the students were gathering outside the school buildings, chatting with their new friends before their classes started. I took some photos, but I had a little time before the school was expecting me, so I wandered down the road to the beach (literally no more than two minutes’ walk).

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Exploring Malaga

I really liked the Malaga by the beach school. Inside the elegant school building there was quite a ‘big family’ atmosphere, which I think was due to the small size of the school, relative to Malaga (Premium) at least. It is impossible not to be taken with the lovely gardens of palm trees surrounding the school – they provide plenty of shade so you can just relax!

The member of staff showing me around then gave me a confiding look and asked whether I would like to try a delicious fruit smoothie at a lovely little seaside bar that she knew. Naturally, I acquiesced, so we crossed the road from the school to the beach, and she led me to a little rustic bar with an open terrace overlooking the sea. I was spoilt for choice by their range of freshly squeezed fruit juice combinations, and we sat sipping our drinks while I went through my questions about the school, pausing occasionally to appreciate our peaceful surroundings.

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Why Madrid is one of my favourite places in Spain…

If you’re like me and you’re not much of an urbanite, then you may not think that Madrid is the ideal place to study Spanish….however you’d be wrong – very wrong!

In fact, I think that Madrid is one of my favourite places in Spain. Let’s see, the people, the food, the shopping….wow! AND they have siesta time in the afternoon (which you have to admit is awfully civilised!)

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