Language courses in Spain - anyone have any experience?

[DrGerry]

¡touché!

jIyaj (1)

tlhIngan maH! (2)

A time ago, mi sig was: Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam (Today is a good day to die)

1: I understand.
2: We are Klingons!

[Locutus]

buy' ngop! lu', jIyaj.
Qo', tlhIngan jIHbe', Human jIH!
'a 'op tlhIngan Hol vIjatlh, lo'laHghach Dunqu' ghaj.
Qapla', jejjaj tajlIj!

Rought translation:
That's great! Yes, I understand.
No, I'm not Klingon, I'm human!
But I speak some Klingon, it's very beautiful.
Goodbye, may your knife be sharp!

(Don't ask me to pronounce any of that though )

My favourite Klingon quote has got to be: bortaS bIr jablu'DI', reH QaQqu' nay' (Revenge is a dish best served cold)

[Dr. Nick]

Damn you all and your Esperanto.

[DrGerry]

Qapla!

[Karoch]

Perhaps you must consider that in a very tourist and big city like Valencia or Barcelona, the amount of tourist will make very easy speak in others languages that are not spanish. If you go to a tavern and it is full of english people, you will not speak and learn spanish.

In my little city there are a famous (here, of course) academy. Perhaps there are some of interest to you.

http://www.languagecourse.net/escuela-curso-lacunza-escuela-internacional-san-sebastian.php3

[Wernazuma III]

Originally posted by Locutus
Wernazuma,
Thanks for sharing. I imagine being in a Spanish-speaking country as an exchange student or as basically a tourist are two different things. But in those first few weeks, were you able to have at least simple conversations with people, things like asking for directions or ordering something in a shop (beyond just pointing at what you want )? Or did you mostly find yourself relying on English or whatever?

Rely on English in a Spanish speaking country? Os courfe!

Asking for directions was the first thing I learnt - I'm very bad at orienting myself and probably would get lost in a 300 inhabitants village without foreign help...
Ordering in shops is more difficult. I still have probelms with "kitchen Spanish" because we had a nana or housemaid who had to do everything for the minimum wage (ridiculously little money).
Yes, I was able to communicate basic things after about a week, even tell short episodes like answering "How was school?" - " Bad, I don't understand much. There's this nice girl though." and stuff like that. But, again, it was a completely Spanish speaking environment in the first weeks, no English, no German, nothing.

[yaroslav]

Originally posted by Locutus

Yaroslav,
Yup, much will depend on the fellow students and companies behind it. That's one of the reasons for posting here: I won't know my classmates until I get to Spain but I'm hoping to learn a thing or two about the company before I sign up (here or elsewhere).

I think that you've been provided a good number of them here. However, if I can do anything about it, please tell me

I know Madrid will be good for sightseeing, but do you know happen to know about other leisure activities? This might be hard for you to answer if you've only moved there recently, but how's the nightlife? And are there many opportunites for sports, hiking and other things to do (for tourists)?

Let me say one thing, although it can sounds very bizzare. There is no city in Spain where the nightlife isn't worth of a full life spent in it. I've been in Malaga, Madrid and Barcelona nights and they're wonderful. And as far as I know, Valencia and other cities are as good as any of the formers.

About sports: there is a pretty decent number of installations facilities, although I believe Barcelona excels at it.

Hiking: There are many things worth a hiking, but also there are in many other spanish cities. However, there is no too much beatiful nature near here. For hiking in the nature I'll recommend either the North of Spain (Santiago's way) or Andalucia in the spring.

I have considered finding a job, but I want this to be a vacation as well. I've hiked through Egypt a few weeks ago (which was very fatiguing, though great to do) and I plan on backpacking through North America next year, so I want this vacation to be a quiet and relaxing one
Though if I can get an easy job as English tutor (which the brochure for "don Quijote" mentioned as a possibility) or guide or similar I certainly won't turn it down.

Well, I can't tell you, but English-speaken people is always wanted.

If the languague course works out, I think you'll definitely be seeing more of me in this forum and any other interesting Spanish/Spanglish hangouts around here

We'd like to see you here more often in any case

[Locutus]

Karoch,
Very good point. But of course, I'm going there both for vacation as well as to study, so the advantage of touristy areas is that they're be lots of stuff to do. But I definitely have some thinking to do regarding location -- thanks to you, tammander and Niessuh I now have about a gazillion schools to choose from

Werna,
I figured as much But it's good to hear you were able to have some basic conversations after a week (though you did go under considerably different circumstances of course) -- that's exactly the sort of thing I hope to accomplish (anything more would be a bonus, but not realistic in such a short time).

So, did it ever work out with that girl?

yaroslav,
Good, so I won't have to worry about getting bored wherever I go, that's very good to hear

I definitely don't plan on this being my last visit to Spain (it will be my third visit so far -- fourth if you count the Canary Isles -- but the first one in which I will seriously care for learning the language), so wherever I'll be going, I'm sure I'll get to see other parts of the country as well in the future. It's a great country

[yaroslav]

Thanks, but you should say four times without a doubt. The canary Island are as Spanish as Madrid is

[Wernazuma III]

Originally posted by Locutus
WSo, did it ever work out with that girl?

No, it didn't. But it was one of very few disappointments in this regard in Chile. It was heaven! One of three girls in my school wanted to date me - and I was a very shy guy and with little self-confidence. That changed there...

[Unspeakable Horror]

Good luck Locutus And have fun

We'd like to see you here more often in any case

I second that