You simply cannot learn Spanish in Cusco without a trip to one of the world's most prized cultural and archaelogical sites: Machu Picchu. These ancient ruins were one of the most important discoveries in history, and shed light on the lives and customs of the Incan people - not to mention the views are unreal!
The first adjustment: nearly everyone spoke English to me at the San José airport. Like some of the more tourist-oriented towns, the prices switched to dollars. While I understood when the airport staff converted to the prices to colones, I still wondered why they said "thousand" instead of "mil" for the amount.
By AmeriSpanista Julie, who just returned from a long-anticipated trip here.
Sámara Beach, or "Playa Sámara", is a small beach town in South Guanacaste, Costa Rica that has lots to offer the student craving Costa Rica study abroad. While it is not a "resort town" by any means, the town offers plenty of opportunities to explore and practice Spanish, not to mention restaurants/"sodas", shops, nightlife and even a couple homespun galleries and animal refuges.
My name is Courtney and I am studying Spanish in Cusco, Peru.
I am 23 years old and I am from the state of Kentucky in the United States. I study at the University of Kentucky and this year I will graduate with two degrees, one in International Studies (my specialization is in the developing world) and the other in French. For my degrees I spent one year studying abroad in Caen, France and two summers doing volunteer work in Uganda. After I graduate, I plan to obtain a Master's degree in Public Health focusing in Global Health.
We've been featuring news articles, most recently from CNN's Conde Nast Traveler, that feature several AmeriSpan locations in various run-downs of the best places to go. Recently CNN released its "Top 5 Cities in Mexico" list, where three cities home to AmeriSpan's Mexico Spanish schools are located.
By Reza R., Guest Blogger and Volunteer Abroad participant in Buenos Aires, Argentina
I remember vividly the first day that I started my work at the orphanage. I was accompanied by Maria, who is the project coordinator from the school for all the international volunteers and interns working in Buenos Aires. It was a 1.5 hour commute from the center of city. We had to first take the subte (metro), and then a train to the Provincia (outskirts of the city). It was a much anticipated visit. After all, I had been in Buenos Aires for over a month now, studied as much Spanish as I possibly could, and now I was able to carry a simple conversation. I was ready to begin!
Language immersion is a global trend making headlines left and right! A BBC UK article entitled "The Cult of the Hyperpolyglot" discusses the community of those who learn more than two languages, and the ease with which it propels them around the world!
Today was my first day in the City and it has been very interesting. First of all, one difference I was made aware of right away last night was the existence of manual elevators. The place where I am staying has an elevator but you have to manually shut the door before it will work and then manually open it. I have never seen this before and had no idea what it was. I usually take the stairs but when I was carrying my luggage up I used the elevator and the fact that it was manual was very strange to me.