Yanapuma Spanish School

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Several people have asked about how the Spanish is coming.  Here are a few thoughts:

  • Yanapuma is a very good school that we would recommend to others
  • Spanish is not English – it has its own set of rules and irregularities, usually very different than those in English
  • It seems far less important to learn grammar in one’s native language, but very important when learning another language
  • As we started our study, it seemed like long forgotten pathways were opening.  Unfortunately, they may have been created when studying other languages – French, German, and if we’re lucky Spanish.
  • The school teaches not only Spanish, but Ecuadorian culture.  We’ve had special sessions/demonstrations on Bocaditos (snacks) and Granos (grains).
  • Our teacher, Mercedes, is great.  She grew up in a family of 13 in Tena, a town in the Amazon.  She is a certified guide across Ecuador, and encourages discussion (in Spanish) of all things Ecuadorian, and then some.
  • Practice makes perfect – Ellen is a better understander than speaker, I am probably the opposite

Here are some pictures: