The wonderful city of Seville is the capital of Andalusia and the fourth largest city in Spain, with a population of just over 1 million people, 700,000 of whom live in the city itself. The city is one of the warmest in Europe with an average annual temperature of 18 degrees and a pleasant Mediterranean climate. The winters are mild with January the coolest month and the summers are very warm with temperatures often exceeding 40 degrees. Seville is a very old city, with its history dating back more than 2 thousand years. Having been under Roman rule for a considerable period, the city was taken by the Moors in 712 and it became an important Muslim centre of Andalusia. The city remained under Spanish rule under 1248 when it fell to Fernando III. During the Spanish Civil War, the city fell to General Franco’s troops in 1936 due to its proximity to Morocco and the invasion force that came from there, although today it is a hotbed of culture, elegance and tradition. Culturally speaking the region is an attractive one. The two most well-known are Holy Week and the Seville Fair. The processions during Semana Santa are internationally renowned. The women traditionally wear Flamenco dresses and the men wear their best attire. The city is also centre for Gastronomy, with the majority of the cuisine being based on the local produce, including seafood and olive oil and the popular local Sherry which is exported worldwide. Seafood tapas is incredibly popular and is served everywhere and the local oranges are quite sour but are commonly used to make Marmalade.
Learn Spanish in the capital city of Andalusia
The language institute Mester is situated in the centre of the city, close to the historic centre and within 10 minutes walking distance of the cathedral. The school is medium in size, with 14 classrooms with audio and visual equipment, an attractive library, a computer room with internet access and a study. The school has many years of teaching experience with an excellent academic programme. The staff encourage a friendly but professional atmosphere and the language course is very well organised making studying here enjoyable.
Social programme
The accommodation in is in the form of a host family, a shared apartment or in the student residence. All three are an excellent way of practising Spanish in the hours after the Spanish courses and for meeting new people. The host families are very friendly and have a lot of experience in looking after foreign students. All accommodation used by students has been selected by the school and has an excellent location with the appropriate facilities. The accomodation is inspected regularly to ensure standards are being maintained. In addition to the language courses students can also attend lectures, films, sports competitions, tapas trips and dance lessons. There is also a possibility to take part in intercambios. During an intercambio, each student has the opportunity to meet a Spanish student and also to speak Spanish and English (French or German) with the student, taking turns. In this way, both students get to improve their fluency / oral skills in a foreign language. And who knows, this could just be the first step in building up a circle of Spanish friends!
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Impression
After the flamenco test lesson at school I really got a taste of it all. After conferring with Pilar I enrolled at one of the renowned dance schools. It was quite terrific but also challenging because I had lessons with Spaniards who were raised with that music. This is how I came round to making many friends.
Vesselina Stoykov, Bulgaria.
