Study Abroad Blog

French Updates: Surfing & Diplomatic Relations

AmeriSpan is pleased to announce updates to our French Language & Fun and Professional Development programs. For those interested in learning to surf the waves on the incredible beaches of Biarritz, while learning French, check out our French & Surfing in Biarritz, France program. Biarritz is home to many top surfing competitions, such as the annual Biarritz Surf Festival. Open to all French and surfing levels, participants receive an hour and a half of daily (M-F) surf instruction from Pol Plantec, a highly skilled surfer who started the HASTEA Surf School. These lessons are tailored to your individual needs and skill level. 

Spanish for Teachers & Educators: 3 Favorites

One popular type of AmeriSpan Teacher and Education courses are our Maestro Spanish for Educators programs offered in Mexico and Costa Rica. AmeriSpan Maestro programs are for teachers and educators in all fields to immerse themselves in the Spanish language and regional culture, while learning about local teaching customs. These programs aid all educators with the rapidly increasing Limited English Proficient (LEP) students and parents who primarily speak Spanish.

With the growing Hispanic population in the United States, these programs are an exceptional opportunity for teachers to be exposed to the culture and language of their students and parents. By learning about the Latin American educational setting, it will be easier to relate to LEP students, their parents and the common struggles they face in US classrooms. It is remarkable what educators can take from the program and bring back to their classrooms, schools, and districts.

Teenager Study Abroad: 7 Things to Consider

When choosing a Teenager Study Abroad program for high school students it is important to do your research.  Here are 7 Things to Consider:

1. Level of Supervision - AmeriSpan offers 3 levels of supervision for Teenager programs. The Summer Camp programs are fully supervised. In Junior Immersion programs, Teens have to learn to balance supervised activities, free time, and a curfew. Independent Teen programs offer no supervision and no curfew, making them best for families or extremely mature and well-traveled teens.

2. Program Intensity - Are you looking for a program that focus on classroom hours and language intensity? Would a program filled with activities, excursions, and recreation be more important? Or are you looking for that perfect balance? Knowing just how a Teen will spend a day in the program is important.

Learning Arabic in Jordan: The Food

Want to learn Arabic? We recommend taking a close look at our program in Amman, Jordan.  I just returned from a trip to Jordan and will be blogging over the coming days and weeks about my experience. The bottom line, I highly recommend the school in Amman and the country of Jordan. Wow is what comes to mind as I think about my experience.

People seem to love this photo of spices at a little store in Amman, so I thought my first blog would be about the food in Jordan. Since I have been on a diet since I returned a few days ago, you can surmise that I found the food delicious.

Learn Italian and the Tastes of Sicily

Italy, as you already know, is renowned for its unique traditional cooking methods and flavors that tie together the bounties of the Mediterranean and the fresh vegetables and spices of the countryside.  We regularly see commercials zooming in on red and white sauces, meats, and pastas being tossed onto a plate from an overflowing pot and know immediately what kind of food we're being sold. In our 'Italian and the Tastes of Sicily' class, you can explore a world you may never have been exposed to otherwise!  

5 Reasons to Study Abroad in Ecuador

 Choosing a study abroad program can be overwhelming. Luckily, AmeriSpan Study Abroad is here to help! Today, we will look at five great reasons to study abroad in Ecuador.

1. Learn Spanish - Well yes, you already knew that! However, Ecuador is an excellent place to learn Spanish. Particularly if you are choosing an immersion program with a homestay, you will find that the Ecuadorian people are very kind, friendly, helpful, and encouraging on your quest to master Spanish. You can choose to study Spanish in the capital of Quito, the beach town of Montanita, or in the Andean city of Cuenca. Click to learn more about Studying Spanish in Ecuador.

Top 6 Ways to Stay in Touch During Study Abroad

Before you study abroad, take the time to figure out how you will keep in touch with friends and relatives back home, and in your host country as well. If your cell phone and cell phone carrier offer international service to your host country for reasonable rates, great! But if not, don’t despair. There are options out there! 

1. Cell phone: A great option is the Mobal GSM World Phone. They are fairly inexpensive to buy, require no contract, you pay only when you use them, you keep the same phone number whenever you travel, and work in 150 countries worldwide. Read an article about this great phone here: Keeping In Touch While Studying Abroad

2. Phone card: AmeriSpan has an international phone card with special low rates, access to over 150 countries, and your friends and family can even messages for you. 

3. International country codes: Participants & their families should know how to dial internationally. Country Calling Codes is a website that includes all country calling codes, and instructions. 

Don’t go to Spain!

 Why would you go to a place that might entice you to stay forever? The people are far too generous and they have too much fun. Who wants the freedom to sit on the beach with a glass of sangria, to eat tapas after 10pm or make the last meal of the night breakfast? What about taking a siesta could possibly call you? 

Affordable luxury is way overrated. It’s simply too easy to travel from one metropolitan city to another in two hours on a world-class train. In one city one may overeat the finest ham, see three cathedrals and the world’s oldest university in one afternoon. Who needs it? Taking a relaxing drive along la Costa del Sol would just be entirely too beautiful. 

Medical Spanish in Chile

 Looking for a SALUD Medical Spanish program?  Have you considered Santiago, Chile for a Medical Spanish course?  Santiago is becoming a very metropolitan and modern city. Many people who visit notice its clean streets, wonderful metro system and attractive skyline. The city has its beautiful and not so beautiful neighborhoods. The SALUD Medical Spanish program takes place in one of the nicest neighborhoods, Providencia. Providencia’s main streets are lined with restaurants, shops, hotels, and nightclubs. You will find a diverse mixture of Chileans and travelers in Providencia. It also houses families in residential areas, while travelers can visit museums and various points of interest. It is centrally located within Santiago, and Santiago is centrally located in Chile, making it a perfect base for travel throughout the country and to other destinations in South America.     

Spain Spanish Schools? ... OMG!

Spain Spanish Schools was the term you just googled, and "OMG" was your reaction when Google informed you that there are 8,700,000 results to your query.  You thought you were over the hard part, you had finally found the time, the money and had even chosen Spain as opposed to umpteen other Spanish-speaking countries. You were ready to learn Spanish in Spain! It was going to get easy from here... but 8,700,000 results.

What are you going to do now? (Hint: Spain Spanish schools)

Top 10 Inside Tips: India

 1. Buying & Bargaining. Shop owners insist that they are giving a variety of discounts to you and only you. i.e. the “Pretty Girl” discount,  “First Customer of the Day” discount, “Last Customer of the Day” discount, etc. You can easily spot “touters” after getting taken once or twice. Often times, the hotels and taxi/rickshaw drivers work together and they make commissions at the shops. Bargaining is a must. If a street vendor tells you 50 rupees for some bananas and an orange, he probably would have told a local 10 rupees. Never accept a first offer. Walking away is the best way to get a good deal. If they want your business, they will call you back over. When riding in rickshaws, negotiate a price prior to getting in. Bigger cities like Mumbai have rickshaws with fare meters. Also avoid buying tour packages until you get in country. Many hotels have travel agencies on-site that can organize great tour packages for reasonable rates.

2. Saris. Saris range in price from 15 USD to hundreds, even thousands of dollars. When Sari shopping, opt for something more elaborately decorated if attending a nice function like a wedding. The more intricate detail the better. Saris can also be extremely difficult to wrap, so consider asking for help from a local instead of attempting to do it yourself. Remember, you may only wear it once, but there is tons of fabric so you can always get a nice sari turned into a fabulous western style dress or wall tapestry upon return home.