Social Activities - Colonial Spanish School, Quito Ecuador

Immersion program: We offer this free to all our students, to help you to quickly acclimatize to life here in Quito. Whatever the time/day, we’ll pick you up at the airport and take you to your accommodation. On your first day of study, we’ll pick you up and take you to the school, introduce you to the teachers, and show you around the school. When you’ve finished your classes, we’ll take you back to your accommodation.
In the following days we’ll be at hand to help you with cashing travellers’ cheques, finding ATMs you can use, making calls back home, etc. We’ll show you a little of Quito and help you get to know the (sometimes confusing) transport system. Basically, we’ll help you get to know and feel at home in Quito.

Activities to complement your studies ....

Home stays: Many of our students choose to stay with an Ecuadorian family (we arrange this). This not only gives you a home away from home, but also plenty of opportunity to practice speaking Spanish. The families look after you, give you the chance to take part in everyday life, such as going shopping or family get-togethers and parties.

Language practice activities : Once a week we run some kind of practice activities. These are fun activities! Typically we run some kind of interactive game which is first fun and sociable, and secondly gives students plenty of opporuntity to put into practice what they’ve been studying in class.

Cookery classes: Once a week, one of our teachers prepares a typical Ecuadorian dish with the students. This is a practical way to learn how to make some of the dishes that you may have enjoyed eating here. You will see the kinds of ingredients we use here, and some of the traditional cooking methods. It’s a sociable event which gives you the opportunity to chat with other teachers and students in the school, and above all, to practice using the Spanish that you have learnt in your classes. If students are interested in taking a professional cookery course, we can put them in touch with professional chefs.

Salsa classes: Salsa, Latin America most famous dance, can be daunting if you don’t know the basic steps. So once a week we organize salsa and merengue classes where you can learn the basics and and gain more confidence to go out to the lively bars and clubs in Quito! We also have an arrangement with a dance school if students want to take a professional dance course (of about 10 hours).

In your free time…..

Cultural program: We organize one or two cultural events per week. In the day we organize visits to museums, galleries, cultural centres etc. In the evenings we go to restaurants, bars, music concerts, the theatre, etc. These trips give you a chance to learn more about Ecuadorian culture, but also give you the chance to get to know other students and teachers better, and of course, to practice your Spanish.

Weekend Trips: Each week, we organize a weekend outing for students. We arrange trips to places that our students want to visit, usually the full weekend. Typically, we go these visits so you have the chance to see rural life in Ecuador. We visit tourist attractions such as Baños (a small town at the foot of the Tunguragua volcano), Otavalo (the most famous indigenous market in Ecuador, surrounded by beautiful countryside), Cotopaxi (one of Ecuador’s most famous volcanos), Papallacta (thermal springs, where you can relax in steaming water whilst enjoying views of the Andes) etc.

We also try to organize trips to areas with special festivals, where you will get a fascinating insight into Ecuadorian cultural heritage. We visit, for example, Latacunga during the ”Mama Negra”, a festival which blends Catholocism with pre-Catholic traditions. We go to indigenous villages to see the “Inti Raymi” celebrations which have their roots in Inca rituals.

You must pay these trips, it have reasonable prices per a full weekend, all included. These weekends trips are a sociable and relaxing way of practicing your Spanish whilst getting to know more of Ecuador.