Experience
Spain And Learn Spanish
Studying In Spain At
Don Quijote Language School
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| Spain
is a really seductive country. In January 2000 I came from Brazil to Salamanca
(In the North West Spain) for a short stay to learn Spanish and see for
myself all the´exotic landscapes I imagined while hearing fairy tales
in my childhood. I decided to stay longer and four years later I'm still
here. In my opinion this country is one of the best places to live in the
world. In the lines below you'll find out why Spain is so interesting and
why it is so important to learn Spanish nowadays. Life is good in Spain
and people know how to enjoy it. It's one of the sunniest countries in
Europe (mainly around the Mediterranean Sea), perfect to drink something
on the various terraces in the street or splash in their beautiful beaches
during the spring and summer. This is probably the best time to go visit
the peninsula, if you're going on holiday, but the Canary Islands (in the
Atlantic) are a tropical paradise, with good weather all the year. The
delicious cuisine is varied and includes different dishes like paella(rice,
vegetables and meat or prawns), “jamón” (pork meat cured with salt
and oil) and high-quality seafood, served with excellent wines. It's very
common to eat at a tapas restaurants in the evenings, when a lot of people
go out for a walk or to meet their friends. A "tapa" is a small piece of
meat or seafood served with wine, beer or "mosto" (wine without alcohol)
and is an important aspect of Spanish culture. The siesta is another important
characteristic; in almost all cities the shops close for 2 or 3 hours after
2 p.m., and most people sleep for at least 15 minutes before going back
to work, so it's difficult to buy stuff in this period (of course nowhere
is perfect). In medium-sized and large cities you'll find an amazing In
Salamanca, for example, you can go out at 10 p.m. and stay out all night
long, moving from pub to pub and talking to people in the streets. Spanish
culture is original and artistic, a result of the influence of many cultures
such as Roman, Gypsy, Arab, and Celtic, among others. This mixture is clear
in the architecture, music, dance, and in the different "fiestas" like
"San Fermin" (Pamplona), the "Feria de Sevilla" (Seville) or the Holy Week
in many cities. |
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Well, it's
quite difficult to overview in a paragraph a culture so complex and varied.
If you see that it will be an experience to remember forever, because it's
magic and plenty of exotic sensations. An exotic culture, fine weather,
good food and a lot of entertainment. This simple formula brings over 50
million tourists to Spain every year, more than the native population (around
40 million). So, while you're travelling you can also meet people from
many other countries, and it makes your experience even more interesting.
Most tourists are from the United Kingdom, Germany and France. There are
options for all tastes and pockets, but generally speaking it's cheap to
travel in Spain if you compare it to other European countries. For example,
you can find a double room starting at 30 Euros a day or meals from 5 Euros/
person. Spain has a good infrastructure and you'll find all you need to
stay with total comfort. As well as 47 airports, there are railways and
motorways connecting all parts of the country, including some high-speed
trains. The cities are safe and you can move around with tranquillity,
but of course you have to exercise the same caution as travelling in other
countries, mainly in the big cities like Madrid or Barcelona: do not expose
too much money and jewellery in public places, read maps discreetly, avoid
walking alone at night in quiet areas, etc.
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Bullfight
during the Feria de Sevilla
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If
you're visiting Spain for a few days you can stay without learning the
language, because there are many English speakers in the most popular cities
and it's possible to meet your needs with a minimal vocabulary in Spanish.
However, for a longer stay your life will be much easier if you learn some
Spanish, because you'll need a broader range of services, not always related
to tourism, and sometimes you won't find an English speaker to help you,
for example while opening a bank account or getting documents in government
institutions. Learning Spanish can be useful for you even if you
aren't visiting Spain or Latin America. Spanish is now the second world
language as a vehicle of international communication and the third as an
international language of politics, economics and culture. It's spoken
by over 500 million people worldwide, and it's the official language of
21 countries. In the United States the Hispanic population has grown by
60 per cent in just one decade. At present there are 35.5 million Hispanics,
representing 12.5 per cent of the total population of the USA. These numbers
have created a lot of new business opportunities and increased the demand
for many others, like media in Spanish, properties in Spain (mostly from
external investment), translation services, and of course for Spanish
courses, for which the demand has doubled worldwide in the last ten years. |
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| There
are many Spanish language schools in Spain, but the level of quality and
range of services are very different between them. Don Quijote is one of
the top quality schools and the largest organization in Europe offering
Spanish immersion courses, providing most of the services you need to study
Spanish abroad. They have a good range of courses, including intensive/
super intensive, preparation for exams (DELE, Chamber of Commerce), for
teachers, teenagers, professionals (health, business, tourism), and specialized
courses combining language with sports (golf, sailing) or culture (flamenco,
literature, wine tasting, etc). The classes are offered in Barcelona, Madrid,
Granada, Seville, Valencia, Salamanca, Tenerife and Malaga in Spain, Guanajuato
(Mexico) or Cusco (Peru). You can choose a city or combine many destinations
in the same stay. Courses can be booked with accommodation in home stay,
student flats or don Quijote's residences. There are also many services
included in the price and they offer you more guarantees than any other
school. In Don Quijote you will learn Spanish faster and at the same time
have fun with different excursions and extra activities and meet people
of many different nationalities. You can order a free brochure with more
complete information by Clicking
Here.
Well, learning
Spanish and living in Spain have been some of the best decisions I have
taken in my life, for the experience I acquired and the improvement I got
for my career. Now I feel as if Spanish culture is part of my own, and
I also learn from other cultures by meeting people that come here. I have
travelled to many places, but if I had to recommend only one of these countries
to spend time in (or live in) it would be Spain. When I talk to the friends
I've met here who have returned to their own countries they always tell
me about something to miss here they are waiting for the next opportunity
to come back. If you come to Spain I'm sure you'll be the same.
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To find out
more about Don Quijote Language School Click
Here
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