Academia Surpacifico
Trip Start
Oct 25, 2007
1
8
36
Trip End
Apr 17, 2008
Manta,
Ecuador
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Every week I had a new teacher. This too has its advantages and disadvantages
Nadine with Manuel's daughter
. Each teacher has a slightly different style (although it seemed that they stuck to the same curriculum) so if you don't like one teacher you only have to bear with them for a week. On the other hand, each Monday a good portion of the morning would be spent trying to figure out what my apprehension level is - mostly through conversation. And Friday's homework was not checked by the next week's teacher. As I said, there seemed to be a set curriculum. We didn't use any specific textbook although the teachers had an array of exercise and grammar books from which they would photocopy exercises for my homework assignments. There are textbooks on offer at the school for $17 each and I bought one but eventually I realized that I was not using it at all so I resold it. I'm taking away with me my notebook, which includes a combination of vocabulary and grammar. I think that will be most useful.
Classes start at 8.30am (unless you make a different arrangement with Manuel) and there is a break between 10.30 and 10.50am. I realized that the break is part of what you pay for, which might be normal in Ecuador but is definitely not best practice around the world. If you do more than 5 hours then you also get a lunch break (which you don't pay for).
Manuel tries to organize different events but in the 5 weeks I was there, there was not much going on
at the dinner table
. The salsa teacher (who is supposed to come once a week) is a fluke and didn't show up a single time. Many of the trips that were offered were only possible if 4-5 or more people signed up. Considering the activities schedule was announced on Tuesday, Wednesday or even Thursday, and also given that the school only had about 10 pupils in total on an average week, there were never enough people to actually do a trip. So I ended up doing my own thing in the afternoons, such as kite surfing. One activity that Manuel organized and I very much enjoyed was a cooking class at his house. It was a cooking class only if you wanted to sit in the kitchen and watch him prepare the dishes - the guys ended up hanging out in the garden and drinking beer. We met Manuel's wife and daughter and had a big family style dinner which was lovely. This was on the Thursday before I finished classes so it felt like a goodbye dinner. And the food was delicious!All in all I am glad that I chose the Manta school. I am not sure I would have been able to concentrate on studying if I had opted for the Montaņita school, the town is buzzing with activity. As for Quito - BURRRR, so cold. Plus, while at the Secret Garden I managed to eavesdrop on a spanish class that is organized by the hostel and discovered that half the class was conducted in english, the class itself would often start 10-15 minutes late as a result of the teacher not being ready, and there was so much distraction for both the student and the teacher. In comparison, the Manta teachers are very professional and punctual, and the entire class is conducted in spanish with certainly forces you into speaking the language sooner. This is not to say that all Quito school are like this, as a disclaimer.
All that said, I am glad to be moving on. I have been in Ecuador for over a month now and am itching to go-a-exploring elsewhere. But as for the Manta school, I would certainly recommend it!
