The Don Quijote school

It's time for me to introduce the school I attend in more detail. Considering the fact that I'm leaving at the end of the week, it's about time.

It's a small school located in the northern part of Quito. It's situated in the Batan Alto neighborhood, right on the edge of the Parque Metropolitano. It's housed in a converted residential building, so there are smaller and larger rooms spread across two floors. There's also a kitchen that is occasionally used for cooking events and preparations for farewells, among other things. The school is cozy and nicely decorated. You feel comfortable here and at this time, when there are very few students here, it feels very familiar. People chat, joke, and discuss in front of the school and during breaks. On Monday afternoons, there is always a tour for the newly arrived students, Tuesday to Thursday afternoons, you visit an interesting neighborhood, a museum or some other sightseeing spot with a professor. These are usually two- to three-hour trips. The larger excursions take place on weekends and are organized by an agency that covers several language schools. This means that you meet other students on such outings and can exchange ideas. I only participated in the Cotopaxi tour. It was perfectly organized and I've also heard only good things about the other tours (Quilotoa Lagoon and Otavalo Market). In addition, the professors here know best when it comes to planning a tour on your own. So the visit to Mitad del Mundo, the early morning trip to Otavalo Market, and the excursion with the Tren de los Volcanes could also be organized quite easily with the support and travel tips of the teachers.

And the classes?
This is now the big plus that I have to emphasize here. During my time here, there were only a few students, so I benefited from individual teaching. The school director Alvaro could actually just take a few students together and send a teacher to their homes. That would save him money. But he doesn't do that. He believes it's important for learners to be taught at their own level. If it were different, I would have reported it here.

Savings are made on teaching materials. They are there, the workbooks and template booklets. But: You can't write in them. You have to write on your own paper. This way, the book can be reused over and over again. Sometimes that's a bit annoying for me, since I'm used to being able to write in workbooks.

I can't judge all the teachers. The two I had had the appropriate background, they were professionals. They taught differently. That's why Alvaro also changes the teacher, or rather the student, at the latest after two weeks. He thinks it's important. Different teachers, different teaching concepts and styles, different and new inputs. My two professors clearly coordinated the handover.

So I'm very satisfied with this point and have to color in all 5 stars here.
What I would have wished for are a few more students, just so that there are more joint activities of different tastes possible.

Originally, I signed up for an offer from Don Quijote called 50+. School and adapted activities for the older folks. Well, honestly, something like that is not possible here in Quito at all. I'm the only old fogey here. Everyone else is mostly young whippersnappers with healthy self-confidence and goals in life. Maybe they have such 50+ offers for people who are looking forward to retirement somewhere in Madrid or something. But here?

I don't care about that now. The people who study here are really great guys. Maybe it's because they're all travel fanatics who are looking forward to new adventures and would love to travel to the farthest corners of the world. They must be open-minded people, right? And the teachers, I think they would also like to, but it's a matter of money. Americans and Europeans, yes yes. But South Americans, they only travel in South America. Most of them, anyway.

I posted two photos from today's class. (Shortly after these pictures, I had a total crisis. Endings and 'These are verbs of this kind' and 'This is a different one and no, here the ui becomes an i and ...' danced salsa in front of my eyes, and that says something for a non-dancer!)

There are also a few photos from a museum in Quito that focuses on the different cultures and ethnicities in Ecuador.