February 17, 2011

Meet the School: Maceio’s School Coordinator

Meet Pedro Lucena, School Coordinator of AmeriSpan's Portuguese school in Maceio, Brazil.

What is your background?
I am 33 years old. I am from Brazil and live in a beautiful city called Maceio. When I was 18 I started attending Law School and spent 5 years there until I graduated, but Law was never my "thing", so as I was crazy about languages I became an English teacher. After some years teaching English, I started teaching Portuguese to foreigners. Love at first sight!

Do you travel abroad often?
I've never been abroad, but would love to someday.

Have you studied abroad?
No, I haven't.

February 16, 2011

Meet the School: A Head Teacher in Sao Paulo

Meet Marilia Cannavale, Head Teacher of AmeriSpan's Portuguese school in Sao Paulo.

What is your name?
Marilia Cannavale

What is your background?
I am 48 years old, college educated, and live in São Paulo, Brazil. I am divorced.

Do you travel abroad often?
Unfortunately not.

February 15, 2011

Meet the School: Sao Paulo’s General Director

Meet Marcia Camisa, General Director of AmeriSpan's Portuguese school in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

What is your background?
Im a Lawyer, 33 years old, single, and living in Sao Paulo.

Do you travel abroad often?
Yes, at least twice a year.

Have you studied abroad?
Yes, in California.

Which languages do you speak or have studied?
Portuguese, English and Spanish

February 13, 2011

Meet the School: Tenerife’s Head of Studies

Meet Salomé Torres González, a teacher and Head of Studies (Coordinator) at AmeriSpan's Spanish School in Tenerife.

What is your background?
I am 45 years old, married, have two daughters and two degrees (Latin and Greek and Spanish Literature), twenty years of experience, over eight-hundred hours of training, no car, and many friends!

Do you travel abroad often?
Not as much as I would like. Once every two years (more or less).

February 10, 2011

Why Spanish Immersion?

Spanish immersion programs, are they worth it? You've taken Spanish in school, you've met Spanish speakers from different parts of the world, and you've finally decided to continue to round off your knowledge of Spanish. What next? Should you invest in going abroad or is better to stay home?

Video: Learning Spanish in Spain

So what is the answer?

Read more on “Why Spanish Immersion?” »

February 8, 2011

Arrival in Santo Domingo

By Candice S., guest blogger studying Spanish and Latin Dance in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

So yesterday went rather smoothly.. I caught my flights on time, and there were no delays or problemas. I tried to follow the Amerispan packing rules and only take a carry on suitcase… haha! Unfortunately, the only part of the rules I followed was the “carry-on suitcase”. I didn’t really follow the packing guide, so my suitcase was bulging at capacity and the lady was like, “I’m sorry ma’am, but you’re going to have to check that bag. It has to fit in this,”..then she pointed at that little rectangular stand about half the size of my suitcase!! Haha! What’s funny is that I was really stressing at home thinking I was going to take that 40lb bag on the plane with me and trying to make sure I could lift it over my head to put it in the overhead compartament! I literally laughed out loud at myself.

February 1, 2011

Studying Spanish Safely in Playa del Carmen

By Alisa W., guest blogger studying Spanish in Playa del Carmen, Mexico

The end of my third week here in Playa is almost here. I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I will be very excited to get home and enjoy some air-conditioning! On the other, I do enjoy Playa and the friendly people. I also especially enjoy spending many afternoons on the beach getting a tan!

February 1, 2011

Jordan Situation Analysis

AmeriSpan has been providing travel safety updates for Egypt over the past few days, as we recognize the political and social turmoil here is of great concern at the moment. We will continue to post updates on this situation and recommend you visit the State Department website for any immediate updates to national advisories. Recently there has also been media buzz regarding protests in Jordan, which are on a much smaller scale.

The director of our partner school in Amman writes, "Our programs will not be affected. The school will remain open as things in Jordan will remain normal. The demonstrations that have been going on in Jordan on Friday paid off. They were organized to topple the corrupted government, and the king finally dismissed it today. We expect no or only small scale-demos in the future. Things can not be compared to Egypt. The monarchy here enjoys wide acceptance, and its only the governments that come and leave."

There are currently no advisories from the State Department. To keep abreast of all issued travel warnings made by the State Department, visit: http://travel.state.gov/travel

January 31, 2011

Egypt Situation Analysis

UPDATE 2/01/11: The State Department is aiding the evacuation of non-emergency US government workers and the safe return of all Americans in Egypt. Unfortunately, communication with Egypt remains interrupted. Cairo's airport is running, but flights and travel to and from the airport have been affected by the demonstrations. Americans with loved ones currently in Cairo are being urged to contact the U.S. State Department and Embassy in Cairo at EgyptEmergencyUSC@state.gov, or at 1-202-501-4444.

Over the past few days, there has been a lot of news coverage of the ongoing protests and evacuations in Cairo, Egypt. AmeriSpan has been receiving a fair amount of questions on the safety of travel to Cairo, Alexandria, and surrounding areas in the coming weeks, and for now we are keeping our ears to the ground as we await details from our partner school. As the internet and texting have been shut off by the Egyptian government, contact with Egypt is difficult.

Our analysis:

The U.S. State Department has recommended that American travelers avoid travel to Egypt until this social unrest dies down. US Citizens currently in country will be evacuated. Its website has frequent updates and information regarding contacting the U.S. Embassy and Department of State in Cairo concerning evacuation plans and travel to Egypt.

AmeriSpan will be waiving fees of any students signed up for Arabic classes in Cairo who need to postpone or cancel. As always, we invite any concerned students to contact us with any questions. We will be updating this page as new information arises.

Here are links to sources providing background information and constantly updated information regarding this situation:

US Department of State's Travel Warning for Egypt

CNN's Unrest in Egypt: Questions and Answers

January 31, 2011

Learning Spanish: Why Costa Rica is Popular

Learning Spanish in Costa Rica is one of the most popular educational travel activities. People of all ages including teenagers and adults are studying in Costa Rica. Now you can, too! It’s an inexpensive, exotic, relaxed, and exciting way to immerse yourself in another culture and the Spanish language.

AmeriSpan’s Spanish school in Flamingo Beach is a beautiful location, flanked by natural beauty and friendly locals. The school facilities are just a five minute walk to the beach and features a pool and shuttle service to homestay locations – it doesn’t get any better than that!

While in Flamingo Beach, one can explore the flawless natural white and black sand beaches, observe the unique wildlife and plantlife, practice their new Spanish with any of the well-educated nearby residents, and more!

Learn Spanish in Costa Rica

Flamingo Beach Spanish School