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Amauta Spanish School - Cuenca
February 2010
This week I visited The
Amauta Foundation Spanish School. Here
I met with Mayra Cardoso and Narcisa Ullauri who have been
running this establishment for about 14 years. The
school is set in a beautiful colonial house in the historical centre of
Cuenca. It
is very well located in the city within walking distance of most
Hosterias, restaurants, museums etc.
The
Amauta Foundation is a non-profit organization devoted to education,
and also research on social and environmental issues in South America
- with special emphasis on Ecuadorian studies. It
donates a portion of its income to local welfare projects.
Narcisa
advised me that a person who does not have any Spanish knowledge and
would like to at least be able to have conversational Spanish could
spend 3 hours per day for 4 weeks and more than likely be able to go
out and have a reasonable conversation in Spanish. These
lessons are one-on-one at $8 per hour.
This photo is of the
Inner court yard of the
Amauta Foundation
How about something different? I love the idea of a “The Traveling
Classroom” . This
is a great way to see this beautiful country plus be learning Spanish
as you would in a classroom. To learn Spanish whilst traveling sounds
just great to me, and especially for those of you who do not
wish to be stuck in a normal classroom.
Participants
will experience four destinations:
- two in the highlands: Quito, the capital
city of Ecuador and the beautiful city of Cuenca,
both Cultural Heritage Sites; and
- two in the coastal region:
the picturesque beach town of Montañita
and the beach city of Manta.
The "class" will spend
one week in each location to experience different activities
and varied adventure opportunities while continuing Spanish language
studies with the same quality standards and academic follow-up as you
would experience in a classroom.
Read more
The best way to learn the language in any country is to actually live
amongst the people.
So why not consider a family
home-stay. Be
welcomed into an Ecuadorian home and not only learn more of the
language but also the local culture. Host families are carefully
selected and are generally within a 10/30 minute walk from the school. Want
to know more Read here
Do these look like happy
students?
On a personal note: My
Spanish is slowly coming along but I know that I want to take
a one-on-one course.However, I also know that I will have to commit
myself to it.
As each day goes by the more
I want to be able to converse more with the people. So
I have a plan to set aside one month (don’t know which one
yet) and just go for it.
Amauta
also offers Academic
courses: anthropology
of Ecuador, the history of Ecuador, colonial and contemporary Latin
American art, and environmental studies of Ecuador. Read more
This is a one-on-one
lesson
But wait there is more.
Like many Spanish schools in Ecuador Amauta
turns into a Salsa
dancing class for students
on some afternoons.
This is also a great way to
continue learning the Ecuadorian culture. In addition there
are FREE
Ecuadorian cooking classes and also museum tours.
If you
would like more information about Amauta Foundacion Spanish School you
can go direct to the website www.amauta.edu.ec
or
send through an inquiry below.
Make sure you mention my name ("Dixie") and receive
extra special attention.
Amauta
Spanish School
Hermano
Miguel 7-48 y Sucre
Cuenca, Ecuador
Telf: (593-7) 2846 206/ 2853671
Cell: 098426218
Email: programs@amauta.edu.ec
Web:
www.amauata.edu.ec
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