The day is in honor to the great writer Don Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, who passed away on this date in the year 1616 in Madrid.

Cervantes was known as "El Manco de Lepanto", the greatest writer of his time, leaving behind his immortal work "El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha", as well as other great literature such as "La Galatea", "Viaje al Parnaso" and his "Novelas Ejemplares".

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Vayamos a Museo de Chocolate!

Only about 7 weeks left at AMAUTA! Time sure is flying while studying Spanish in Cusco! I think I finally became acclimatized, as walking up the hill from Plaza de Armas no longer makes me feel like I’m going to die from lack of oxygen. Of course, this may be helped by the fact that I found a gym in Cusco (wahoo!) and I have been working out three times a week. I’ve been told if I can work out here, I’ll be able to run for miles and miles when I return to Canada!

This past week I visited “el Museo de Chocolate” here in Cusco with my Spanish class. The museum is only about a ten minute walk from the AMAUTA school. (By the way, did you know AMAUTA means teacher in Quechua? Cool, huh?)  The museum is completely free to visit, and it’s full of really fun and interesting facts about Peruvian chocolate. Come on, who doesn’t like chocolate?! They offer you free chocolate tea upon entry as well as the option to try a piece of chocolate (you get to choose from over 15 different typesJ).

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Week 3: No money? No problem! Free drinks for all!

Yesterday, my Spanish class went on a field trip with my Spanish class to the Center for Traditional Textiles in Cusco. We had the opportunity to learn how textiles are traditionally woven as well as the complexity of skill it takes to create these masterpieces. I loved that we got out of the classroom to learn about Peruvian textiles, which is a staple of Peruvian culture.

Speaking of Peruvian culture, on our way to the textile museum, we also caught a glimpse of another interesting tidbit of Peruvian culture – the Caminos del Inca car race!
We saw a crowd of people gathered in front of the Plaza de Armas, and after inquiring our teacher told us that they were waiting for the cars to come through the Plaza in 2 hours!

I am really enjoying my time here at AMAUTA. Not only do we visit museums during Spanish class, but I also have the opportunity to get to know the people that work at the school. For instance, I asked the chef here at the school, Oscar, if I could watch him cook (because I love cooking) and he said “Yes, of course you can help me!” Lunch is served at 1:30PM daily, so I spent an hour and a half helping Oscar in the kitchen, talking about life, work, and food- in Spanish! (What a great opportunity to utilize my conversation skills that I have been learning in class!) We made a vegetable soup, pasta and rice pudding for dessert. ¡Que bueno!
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Learning a new language is challenging at the best of times however, following these handy hints will help make the process a lot easier (and fun too!).

• Use flashcards, and keep them with you EVERYWHERE you go.
• Label all your surroundings in Spanish.
• Do not expect perfection! Expect mistakes, and do not be embarrassed by them.
• Develop an “ear” for the way the language sounds – watch films, television, listen to the radio, etc.
• Be consistent with your learning – practice for a set period every day.
• Talk to yourself!

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One of the nicest things of studying Spanish in any country where it’s spoken is the cultural immersion. You do not only improve your Spanish language skills but you learn so much about local culture, habits, fiestas and history. In my case, I spent many others in the kitchen with my Peruvian host mum and she revealed my secrets of Peruvian cuisine to me!

One of the things I loved from the first moment on, when my stomach was still adjusting to the altitude and others, was the Chicha Morada.

Chicha morada is a non-alcoholic drink. It is incredibly refreshing and REALLY easy to make. Don’t let the thought of drinking purple corn turn you off to trying this recipe. It’s actually delicious and you’re not going to eat the corn anyway!

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   Matthew Benwell (UK, 28 years):

"AMAUTA Spanish school in Buenos Aires offers a great environment to learn Spanish. The teachers were extremely friendly and approachable and balanced the classes with an adequate mix of conversation and Spanish grammar. Furthermore, the Spanish lessons were varied (including literature, drama, role-play and more) and pitched at the right level and included teachers from different countries in Latin America, enabling me to understand different accents and forms of Spanish. The additional activities (which included walking tours of the city, tango classes and visits to prominent museums in the city) encouraged me to learn much more about Argentina outside of the classroom and were a great way to get to know the other students. For an allround Spansih language- and cultural-learning experience, I would definitely recommend AMAUTA."

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Learning Spanish at AMAUTA in Cusco (Peru) is a great experience. You will be totally immersed in the Spanish language local cultural as FREE DAILY ACTIVIITES are freely offered for all Spanish students and volunteers.

Our Spanish Programs include a dynamic, interesting and fun leisure program that is complementary to the process of learning the Spanish language.
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Lindsay Hatzenbuehler
United States

Each morning, on my walks up the steep winding street to the Saqsaywaman ruins or through the quiet streets in and around the central plaza, I excitedly ventured thru and around a city that is slowly becoming more modern yet is still home to a population that is religiously strong and culturally rich (the elders continue to speak Chechua and wear traditional clothing and restaurants serve traditional Peruvian food).

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The pre-Hispanic American society was a conglomerate of different people and languages that politically turned to be part of the Spanish Empire under a common language. The American idiomatic diversity was so strong that some authors estimate that this continent is the most fragmented one in terms of linguistics, with about 123 language families, lots of those, in their turn, have tens or even hundreds of languages and dialects. Amongst these, it’s important to quote some of the main indigenous languages, in terms of speaking people and their contribution to Spanish language which are Náhuatl, Taíno, Maya, Quechua, Aymara, Guaraní and Mapuche.

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