Post: #1

Long story short- I have 6 weeks to learn Spanish starting at the end of June. One of the people I work with did 6 weeks in a full immersion course in Guatamala when he was younger, and recently sent his son to Panama for the same thing.

I've decided to do a similar program- I just need to decide on a place. I heard that Central American girls are usually really ugly- so I thought I'd see if anyone here had any recommendations.

Post: #2

Uh High Chance of Getting laid or low chance?

Argentina.
Spain.
Colombia (iffy).

Post: #3

(01-30-2012 08:48 AM)[email protected] Wrote:  Long story short- I have 6 weeks to learn Spanish starting at the end of June. One of the people I work with did 6 weeks in a full immersion course in Guatamala when he was younger, and recently sent his son to Panama for the same thing.

I've decided to do a similar program- I just need to decide on a place. I heard that Central American girls are usually really ugly- so I thought I'd see if anyone here had any recommendations.

Quito in Ecuador, private lesson 7 or 8 dollars an hour, great nightlife 5 or 6 days a week. dirt cheap, enough hot girls around and close to Colombia.

Post: #4

Just got back from Antigua, Guatemala. Private spanish lessons for $5 per hour, there are like more schools than I have ever seen before. Pretty cool town, decent nightlife, lots of hotels and hostels in all price ranges. There are plenty of americans and europeans there, so even while you are learning spanish you can still hang out with some people who speak english. Six weeks is probably long enough that you will get bored, but short enough that you will have a good time. You spanish will really improve if you take 1-2 hours of classes a day, and also converse with some chicas.

Post: #5

I've studied at 8 different schools in 5 different countries.

Vida Verde in Quito blew them all away. Excellent school, I've come to the conclusion that if I had to get really and I mean really good again this is the only school I would go to.

I have zero affiliation with them.

The more I study at other places the more lucky I realize I was to find this place, seriously go and you will thank me.

Post: #6

Just a tip, if you're a total beginner I would do Michel Thomas' courses before you go. Its 8hrs for the Foundation course and another 4hrs for the Advanced. I think you can get the foundation as an iphone app for about $40.00.

You learn a couple of hundred words but the amazing thing about them is the way he gets the grammar into your head, without teaching any horrible grammar rules or tables. He gives you really memorable little rules of thumb that help it all stick, and the constant focus on actually producing sentences right from the first lesson really imprints the bones of the language into your brain, so you can flesh it out with vocab later.

I did both for German before doing serious vocab, and man was it nice to have basically all the grammar uploaded into my brain. Made it so easy to learn and absorb the language from there on. Am working through Spanish now and finding it just as good.

Post: #7

For Spanish you should probably decide what kind of Spanish you want to learn - Castilian (Spain) or South American. I'm not sure how extensive the differences are (members of the forum that can help here please chime in), but from the leanings of the fellas here, most seem to want to hit South America to hunt, so maybe that would be the way to lean...

Post: #8

red,
are you in a classroom setting or one on one? I have tried classroom and it just doesn't work. I need solo. How close are you to fluent after all the classes? I have several friends that have been hitting schools and estimate that fluency would take 6 months of really dedicated ass busting. thoughts?

Post: #9

You guys aren't native Spanish speakers and you guys go to Ecuador? Guatemala?
Don't mean to throw the topic off thread, but do you guys not feel any kind of danger there?

And T-MAC, I don't think you can become too fluent in spanish in 6 weeks. Your friend who says 6 months of really busting your ass seems more realistic..

Castilian Spanish (spain) vs Latin American Spanish

I recommend learning Latin American Spanish.
Castilian uses the "vosotros" conjucation to address "they". You have to learn how to conjucate more.
Latin Spanish uses "Ustedes" and it conveniently conjucates the same as "ellos".
I can speak "Castilian" fluent but it is pretty useless unless I'm in Spain.

And I don't think i'll be going back to Spain anytime soon after going to Latin America for a month. Girls are way easier..

Post: #10

6 weeks at six hours a day, doing your homework? You'll get intermediate if you study!

I studied in Guate and Nica.

I recommend Guate - this time of year, Lago de Atitlan is probably the most beautiful spot in the world. It's a three hour chicken bus ride from the capital. USD 150 a week for lessons, room and board. Bottle of bear is about 1USD

In Antigua, the same costs about USD220 for the better schools (5 hours a day). Bottle of beer is USD4 but night life is far more sophisticated with lots of Europeans.

From Antigua you can go to the Carribean, Las Grotas de Lanquin, Tikal, climb volcanoes, etc. and all that on your weekends. SO I recommend Guatemala... yoll see the country the best time of year and have time to enjoy it. And it's dirt cheap. Hook up the Big Ox guide company and climb Acatenango. Tell me how you did. Took me 10 hours with a real hangover and 40lbs on my back, fuck it was a BITCH. But awesome...

Safe is as safe does. If you're stupid, you'll get robbed, so be smart.

Post: #11

(01-30-2012 07:59 PM)T-Mac Wrote:  red,
are you in a classroom setting or one on one? I have tried classroom and it just doesn't work. I need solo. How close are you to fluent after all the classes? I have several friends that have been hitting schools and estimate that fluency would take 6 months of really dedicated ass busting. thoughts?

one on one, I don't waste my time in classrooms. 6 month 4-6 hours of classes you can be upper intermediate/advanced level if you go to a good school.

There is no magical line that you cross and become fluent. It's a process. I know people who claim fluency and they can't speak for shit. I know people who say their ___language is pretty good and most would say they are fluent. Just depends on ur modesty/ignorance of both the language process and ur ability.

If someone tells me they are fluent I ask them to explain quantum physics to me in that language, or how do you say gasket? piston? turbine? lug nut? what's the word for vortex, super nova, etc. in that language....not sure I could do that in English so does that mean i'm not fluent??? Do these words even exist in that language? It's a slippery slope, and everyones definition of fluent is different.

I'd say I'm currently low level advanced, I can have 1 on 1 conversations for hours with minimal problems, but still can't express myself fully, don't understand everything on tv, etc.

Bc many schools I have studied at aren't that good for advanced level students I am kind of stuck in this zone currently.

I speak good enough to get a Latina naked and I don't currently need it for work so being stuck here isn't the end of the world.

Post: #12

(01-31-2012 09:26 AM)redneckpunk Wrote:  If someone tells me they are fluent I ask them to explain quantum physics to me in that language

LOL! I can't even explain that shit in English, haha...

Post: #13

(01-31-2012 09:42 AM)ElJefe Wrote:  

(01-31-2012 09:26 AM)redneckpunk Wrote:  If someone tells me they are fluent I ask them to explain quantum physics to me in that language

LOL! I can't even explain that shit in English, haha...

right that's the point, your fluent in English but if Carl Sagan and Steven Hawkins were discussing this you and I would have no idea what they were talking about.

When guys I work with talk about repairing cars in English I have no idea what they are saying.

The only people that usually ask are you fluent? Are people that speak 1 language.

If they speak more than 1 language they ask how's your Spanish/French?

Post: #14

(01-30-2012 03:59 PM)Neil Skywalker Wrote:  

(01-30-2012 08:48 AM)[email protected] Wrote:  Long story short- I have 6 weeks to learn Spanish starting at the end of June. One of the people I work with did 6 weeks in a full immersion course in Guatamala when he was younger, and recently sent his son to Panama for the same thing.

I've decided to do a similar program- I just need to decide on a place. I heard that Central American girls are usually really ugly- so I thought I'd see if anyone here had any recommendations.

Quito in Ecuador, private lesson 7 or 8 dollars an hour, great nightlife 5 or 6 days a week. dirt cheap, enough hot girls around and close to Colombia.

Great to see the Quito Love up in this thread. As far as fun goes, I can vouch for the city and the Pacific Coast beach towns. Highly recommended.

Also, more expensive is Salamanca in Spain. But as stated above, the first decision is "Castilian Spanish (spain) vs Latin American Spanish"

Post: #15

(01-31-2012 06:11 AM)ElJefe Wrote:  6 weeks at six hours a day, doing your homework? You'll get intermediate if you study!

I studied in Guate and Nica.

I recommend Guate - this time of year, Lago de Atitlan is probably the most beautiful spot in the world. It's a three hour chicken bus ride from the capital. USD 150 a week for lessons, room and board. Bottle of bear is about 1USD

In Antigua, the same costs about USD220 for the better schools (5 hours a day). Bottle of beer is USD4 but night life is far more sophisticated with lots of Europeans.

From Antigua you can go to the Carribean, Las Grotas de Lanquin, Tikal, climb volcanoes, etc. and all that on your weekends. SO I recommend Guatemala... yoll see the country the best time of year and have time to enjoy it. And it's dirt cheap. Hook up the Big Ox guide company and climb Acatenango. Tell me how you did. Took me 10 hours with a real hangover and 40lbs on my back, fuck it was a BITCH. But awesome...

Safe is as safe does. If you're stupid, you'll get robbed, so be smart.

Problem with Antigua is too many gringos, not as much opportunity to practice Spanish out and about on the street. Many locals try to speak English.

Columbia or Ecuador probably a better option.

Post: #16

Colombia is a no-brainer.

gotta see if its so good as they say.

Post: #17

I'd go to south america, because its way cheaper and it's spanish is easier...

Post: #18

Peru, Ecuador, and especially Bolivia have the easiest to understand Spanish. They speak slowly and enunciate. Soon after that is Colombia.

Argentine and Chilean Spanish is a mess.