Ecuador's Coast

The coast of Ecuador is both beautiful and relaxing. In contrast to Quito, it is warm and humid, and the perfect place to go to rehydrate thirsty skin. Perhaps the best parts of the coast are the warm water and fresh seafood. Places like Canoa offer plenty of activities to enjoy the outdoors, like surfing and paragliding. While you won't find huge crowds here, you will find plenty of friendly people, beautiful jewelry, tasty drinks and cheap places to stay right on the beach. The beach stretches for miles, making it an ideal place to find seashells or get some exercise. There is virtually no undertow, but lots of waves to bodysurf and swim. In busier areas like Salinas, people watching and shopping is plentiful. Compared to the hustle and bustle of the city, the atmosphere is more relaxed and life seems to move a bit slower. Regardless of what type of area you are seeking, a visit to the beach is a must!

Laurel Hendersen

Jungle Jane

The jungle region of Ecuador is a truly unique, amazing travel experience. I have been to Tena twice. Tena is a small city on the threshold of the Amazon. While I was there I had the opportunity to hike through the jungle with an expert guide provided by the Hauskila lodge. The experience was not only incredible, but highly informative. I saw three different types of rainforest: pristine untouched, developed and re-grown, and developed and abandoned (in the process of rejuvenation). The guide that was with our group had ties to the local community and shared many stories with us from his indigenous culture. He pointed out ancient traces of his ancestors carved in tree trunks and explained many of the medicinal properties of the plants and insects. We hiked through dense foliage, crossed a river, and eventually made our way to a breathtaking waterfall. It is hard to describe the awesomeness of this experience in a short piece of writing. I will say that I was completely overwhelmed by the power and variety of Mother Nature and found myself choking back tears brought on by the aesthetic beauty of the natural world.

While I was in Tena I had the chance to white water raft down the Napo River, which is one of the tributaries of the Amazon River. In general, I do not like water, but this experience was an exception. I took a five hour tour down the river with world-traveled, expert white water rafting guides, whom were not only incredibly knowledgeable and professional but good natured and fun. The experience was marked by intense moments of team work as our little raft braved the raging rapids and serene stretches of time while we lazily floated down the river taking in the beautiful surroundings. Our boat was comprised of locals and travelers from various places all over the world, and despite our differences in language and culture we all formed a connection created by the camaraderie that comes with working and laughing together. At the end of the experience, I was exhausted, drained, and disappointed that our journey was over. As I said good-bye to my new friends, whom I knew I would never see again, I was satisfied knowing that we had all shared a memorable moment in time that would be looked back on with fondness.

HEther, October 2009

From Scot

Hello to all! My name is Scot Murray and I`ve been living in Ecuador for 14 months. Upon arriving to Quito with my three words of Spanish (hola, chao, y amigo), I figured pretty quickly that I better learn some Spanish to make my life a whole lot easier since I knew I wanted to be staying in South America for awhile (it had always been a dream anyways). After trying out a couple of Spanish schools, I had the great opportunity to hear about Dos Mundos Escuela through a friend.

I suppose that it is important to say why I`ve spent well over a year studying at Dos Mundos. The two adjectives that pop into my mind when I think about Dos Mundos are Knowledgeable and Professional. Susana and her colleague Lida, understand HOW to teach Spanish. It is not enough just to speak Spanish, you have to understand the theory behind learning a new language. Dos Mundos realizes the importance of understanding how to teach Spanish for foreigners, as the school has been in operation for over 13 years.

Both Susana and Lida are fully aware of the challenges of learning a new language, and come equipped each class with activities that slowly build up both confidence and proficiency in Spanish. The classes that they give are varied in their approach to building the fundamental skills in a structured and engaging environment.
Just as important as learning Spanish for me as been the opportunity to gain an important window into Ecuadorian life through my experience at Dos Mundos. Both ladies are extremely informed about history, people, culture, and events that are constantly going on in Ecuador. When I find myself with free time to enjoy the Ecuadorian holidays of weekends, there is no other place I would trust more with helping me to pick out places to visit in this beautiful country, as both ladies have seen much of what this country has to offer.

I say professional because Dos Mundos is reliable, trustworthy, and committed to see you learn Spanish. Otherwise put, Dos Mundos does not play games. The ladies are there day-in, day-out, working their best to ensure that you do what you came to do, learn Spanish! In well over a year, I have never had a class cancelled, and have seen their dedication to my learning process (they never rush you out the day, and worry more about your understanding then what time it is).

I suppose that when it comes down to it, my final words would simply be that I cannot imagine my experience in Ecuador being half of what it has been without Dos Mundos. Having come to Quito with three words, I´m still amazed at how much I´ve learned since I started with the school. While I´m far from fluent (poco a poco), I´m thrilled with having conversations with the Ecuadorians I encounter on a daily basis, and still get a big smile on my face when they say – hablas español muy bien! Aside from being Knowledgeable and Professional, Susana and Lida are just caring, open, honest, and down to earth people that I enjoy spending my time with as I learn Spanish.

If you have any questions, I would love to answer them. My email is scottiem85@hotmail.com
Scott Murray

Sun is shining

Here in Quito we have been having the most fantastic summer, hot sunny days and cool stary evenings providing a great backdrop for any holiday. In the spirit of the season we have even taken the Spanish classes outside, to parks and cafes to enjoy the vibrant summer mood enveloping Quito.

In the evenings we have danced the night away with salsa classes and then on to a salsatecha to practice the moods with the locals, and of course enjoy another opportunity to practice newly learnt Spanish!

See you soon

Susana

Flexible Spanish lessons in Quito Ecuador

EDM have spent the last year creating a new image to represent our forward thinking and cross cultural Spanish school, here in Quito Ecuador. We are just a small Spanish school which helps us maintain a very personal approach with all our students resulting with many lasting friendships.

We pride ourselves on dare we say, cheap or perhaps better said economic class prices, which are just $6 an hour, extremely competitive for the Mariscal area of Quito. In addition we can provide students with just 1 hour of classes per day, if this suits their agenda; this is a frequent option for those wanting Spanish lessons but have committed to volunteering in Quito, work placements or even newly residing foreigners that take a specific Spanish course; e.g business Spanish, Spanish for medicine, Spanish for lawyers.

For those with more time, we also offer the standard 4 hour Spanish course one on one tuition Monday to Friday for a fast track to learning this beautiful language.

Thanks for reading!

Susana

EDM's new blog

EDM are happy to announce their new blog as a way of keeping informed students past present and future.

Take care

Susana