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7 Extraordinary Benefits of Learning Spanish If You Like to Travel
7 Extraordinary Benefits of Learning Spanish If You Like to Travel
Whether you’re looking to travel to Peru or other parts of South America or you’re just lining up your next challenge, studying a second language is a valuable thing to do. The benefits of learning Spanish, particularly if you have designs on travel, can’t be understated.
So, if you’re looking for inspiration for why you should learn Spanish, read on as we take you through the six main benefits of picking up this language up.
Studying Spanish makes travelling abroad a whole lot easier
If you’ve yet to embark upon a journey through South America, you probably don’t quite appreciate the difficulties that you come across as a monolinguist or solo English speaker in these parts.
Want to get to another city? You’ll be needing the colectivo, or possibly the micro. (more…)
The 5 Best Peru Hiking Adventures For Your Bucket List
The 5 Best Peru Hiking Adventures For Your Bucket List
With the ridge of the Andes Mountains slicing the length of the country and 6,000m mountains that make the most adventurous drool, Peru is a trekker’s paradise. Some of the best Peru hiking options are easily accessed either from Cusco or by a bus journey from Lima, so strap on your hiking boots and get ready to hit the trail!
1. The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Cusco
Easily the most famous of all trekking in Peru, the Inca Trail that leads you directly to Machu Picchu is a classic hike, combining history and sublime landscapes with the chance to end your journey the exact same way the Inca would: at this former estate for Inca royalty.
There are several Inca trekking routes in Peru that go to Machu Picchu, however, the classic Inca route is a four or five-day 43km hike that winds up into the mountains beyond the Sacred
Valley, summiting three high-altitude passes before terminating at the ruins for sunrise on the final day.
This definitely ranks among the best hiking in Peru and the experience of travelling in the footsteps of this former civilization is one you won’t forget in a hurry. (more…)
The best way to learn Spanish: 8 scientifically-backed methods
The best way to learn Spanish: 8 scientifically-backed methods
Is Spanish easy to learn? What’s the quickest way to learn Spanish? What is the best way to learn Spanish?
These are just some of the questions that you asked yourself – and the internet – when you first started learning Spanish. There are plenty of ways that you can study Spanish – and plenty of debate around their effectiveness. But which are actually work?
Is it possible to learn Spanish in a month?
Before we begin, let’s put to bed a question that touches the lips of a lot of first-time language learners: is it possible learn Spanish (or any other language) in a month?
In a word, no. (more…)
The best 5 Cusco Applications
The Best 5 Cusco Applications
In this article, we will recommend you the Best 5 Cusco Applications you will want to use while living in Peru. Or when preparing your trip to Peru. Because once registered for your Spanish course in Cusco you will start preparing yourself for your adventure and Spanish immersion experience in Peru.
Obviously this will involve a lot of reading about Cusco and about Peru. There are many, many good blogs and articles online to be found.
For instance, here is a good link about what to pack for your trip to Peru.
Or this one with important cultural tips you need to know.
And if you are interested in the culture of Cusco, there is this interesting Cusco culture blog.
But of course there are great apps too, that wil be very usefull before and during your stay in Cusco. Here is a list with The best 5 Cusco Applications that will make your phone your personal assistant before and during your stay in Cusco. These applications will make your packing easier, but also the Spanish learning process, your stay in Cusco and maybe further travel. And the best part? They are for free!
Best places for Dinner in Cusco
Best places for Dinner in Cusco
After four weeks of living in Cusco – I’m taking Spanish lessons in Peru here at the AMAUTA Spanish School – it becomes hard to find some new nice places to go to for dinner. In contrast, when you are a new bee, it seems to be hard to make a choice between all the good and nice restaurants around. There are some really comfortable and good-quality restaurants in Cusco with affordable prices I can recommend.
Restaurant INDIGO
I think many travelers and Spanish students in Cusco agree that “Indigo” is always the right choice. Located close to AMAUTA and to the Plaza de Armas, right next to the club “Liberty”, INDIGO
offers a menu with a huge range of Peruvian and Asian cuisine. You should really try the Indigo Sandwich with Avocado! But- it’s not only the food that makes the “Indigo” to what it is. After dinner, for those who like, you can order a dhisha for only 25 Soles and choose your favorite drink of the Happy Hour (2 for 1). You can also asked for games at the bar, like yenga.
Speed up your Spanish Conversations with locals in Peru
Speed up your Spanish Conversations with locals in Peru
Our Spanish teaches in Cusco made a list with words in Spanish with a double or even multiple meaning. Many people learning Spanish in Peru struggle with those words, especially in daily conversations. Multiple meaning words can be quite a challenge: there are spelled and pronounced exactly the same but………the meaning is totally different.
With our list of words in Spanish with a double meaning, you don’t have to worry anymore about your conversations with the local Peruvians, or with your host mum in Cusco! No more embarrassing (or funny) situations because you “missed’ a small detail…. Like for example not being sure if you were talking about animals or flames! 🙂
So let’s go to the animal/ flame case first. Here is our list of Words in Spanish with a multiple meaning so you can Speed Up your Conversations in Spanish with locals in Peru. (more…)
Spanish Lessons in Peru with fun fieldtrips
One of the things I enjoyed most during my Spanish lessons in Cusco (Peru), are the field trips. Learning Spanish in Peru is a great way to improve your Spanish quickly: during the four hours per day in small groups with my teacher, I spoken more Spanish than I’d ever done during my Spanish course home.
But the best opportunities to practice Spanish, to learn about Peruvian culture and to explore Cusco, were the field trips organized by AMAUTA. During one of those trips we went to the Qolwanpata Inca Park in Cusco. Here you can read my report of my Spanish lessons in Peru with fun field trips. (more…)
Spanish Immersion in Peru: exploring Cusco
Spanish Immersion in Peru: exploring Cusco
Reflections on a Field Trip to the Almudena Cemetery with our Spanish Teacher
A trip to a cemetery may not be everyone’s idea of an uplifting experience. I love cemeteries of all kinds, so when my the teacher of my Spanish Course in Cusco tells us that for our field trip today, we will be walking to the cemetery, I am curious, and, a little excited. I am imagining grey slabs of stones etched with dates and epitaphs, in rows, some new, some covered with moss. This would, itself, be interesting enough.
When we arrive, however, I can see why the Almudena Cemetery—Cementario General de Almudena—has been described as “the happiest place in Cusco.” Learning Spanish in Peru and living in Cusco, life surprises me every day. I never thought I would get so much out of this Spanish Immersion program in Peru. (more…)
7 Reasons to Learn Spanish This Year
7 Reasons to Learn Spanish This Year
Do you Always envy people that seem to speak in other languages as if it were very easy?
In reality, learning a new language can be tough and at times even frustrating. Especially the start can be difficult. But let me tell you: it is worth all the trouble. Especially learning Spanish can be mind-opening! Learning a new language brings many advantages to it!
And if you study a new language in the country where it is the native tongue, like in Peru, it can become a whole game-changer – and not only for your language abilities! Being bilingual opens doors and creates opportunities that do not exist for a monolingual.
In this blog, we have listed 7 Reasons to Learn Spanish This Year.
Will they convince you to make learning Spanish a priority for this year?
(more…)
What do our volunteers in Peru say about their experience?
What do our volunteers in Peru say about their experience?
“Volunteering in Peru and learning Spanish at AMAUTA in Cusco was a great experience. There are lots of Spanish schools here in Cusco, that’s true. But no Spanish school in Cusco is like AMAUTA!
The whole AMAUTA Team, including the teachers, the administrative staff, and the housekeeping, are extremely nice and help you with anything! After six weeks of living with a host family, I moved to the apartments of the school. The rooms in the student residence are very nice and clean. I felt safe and at home. The volunteering was amazing. I felt welcome, and that I could truly do something for the kids. It was very nice.“
This is what Hendrik Schmid from Germany says about this experience learning Spanish in Peru and volunteering in Cusco. Hendrik worked at an after-school program on the outskirts of Cusco. We caught up with him to ask about his experience volunteering here with the kids in a poorer district of Cusco. (more…)
