Posted by panamajoules | January 7th, 2010
When choosing a Spanish School there are many things to consider and it’s only natural that students want to make sure that the Spanish they’ll learn will be useful to them in any Spanish speaking country. Sometimes potential students at Habla Ya ask us about what type of Spanish is taught at our school, if they will be able to understand Spanish speakers in other parts of the world and other similar questions.
First of all, we always like to clarify that Spanish speakers in Central America, South America and Spain, understand each other without any problem at all. If your goal is to speak and understand Spanish, it is not overly important where you learn it as much as it could be with French, German, or English. In these last three languages, people who speak it fluently but that are from different parts of the world sometimes (and the keyword here is sometimes) really struggle understanding each other: with Spanish that is never the case because Spanish speakers will always understand each other, apart from the slang relative to each place (but a short explanation will solve the slang barrier just as with other languages).
In that respect, it is said that that Spanish is a more homogenous language than other languages. Take English for example: it is a fact that even people from England can have trouble understanding an Irish person but it has to do more with the accent and way they speak, than with the slang and different words used. In Spanish you will always be able to make out what people are saying.
On the other hand, amongst Spanish speakers, the most popular slang from different countries is mostly known by speakers from eveywhere (and in many occasions, jokes are made about them). Slang from Argentina, Mexico, Honduras or Costa Rica such as “ché”, “pibe” “mala onda”, “parse”, “mae”, “pura vida” and others, will be understood by Spanish speakers from Panama (and we have our own equivalents).
At Habla Ya Panama Spanish School, you will learn proper Spanish that is grammatically correct (in Latin America; you address others with “tú” and “usted” and the “vosotros” and it’s verb conjugations are not used as they are in Spain). Of course, your Spanish will be influenced by the specific accent of a university educated Panamanian teacher. In regards to slang, we do expose our students to Panamanian slang and the most popular slang of other Spanish speaking countries: at the end of the day, the purpose of language is to communicate, so how will you be able to communicate if you don’t understand the slang used by many people?
Even if it doesn’t matter that much where you learn Spanish, us, Panamanians, are known to speak very, but very fast, so one of the advantages of studying Spanish in Panama is that you are exposed to possibly the fastest speakers of Spanish in the world. Some people even say that if you can understand a Panamanian speaking Spanish, then you can understand any Spanish speaker (but it doesn’t have to do with the accents or words, it’s just because of the speed).
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter that much what type of Spanish is taught: make sure to choose a Spanish School with quality instructors, an effective methodology, nice accommodation, great extra-curricular activities, and choose a country that offers you the type of Spanish language holiday that your are looking for.
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Posted by panamajoules | December 10th, 2009
What makes a great Christmas gift? The more happiness it brings the better the present it makes!
Give that special person of yours the JOY that comes from speaking and understanding Spanish!
You can purchase a gift certificate of $75 or more… and there is a bonus: if that special person decides to sign up for more Spanish lessons after using his or her gift certificate, they will receive a 15% bonus* of more Spanish lessons on their new course!
Gift certificates are available now at our offices in Bajo Boquete until Wednesday December 23rd (we will be closed on Saturday December 19th). We are open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday to Fridays, and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. So what are you waiting for: come and purchase a gift certificate and give someone the JOY of speaking and understanding Spanish!
CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR CHRISTMAS GIFT CERTIFICATES… »
* The 15% bonus is on the value of the gift certificate, as long as students spend more than $100 when purchasing more hours. For more information about our rates, visit our courses’ prices section.
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Tags: gift certificate spanish lessons, habla ya discount, habla ya gift certificate, habla ya offer, habla ya promotion Posted in Offers & Discounts
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Posted by panamajoules | October 6th, 2009
Once again as usual, we set off during the weekend to explore Panama with our fellow students. This time our destination is Santa Fé, in the province of Veraguas (east of Chiriqui). Having already been there a couple of times we got a really nice itinerary nailed down.
This activity will take place from Friday October 9th – Sunday October 11th. We will be staying at Hostal La Qhia. Eight of our Spanish students have already signed up so it promises to be lots of fun!
We will horseback, appreciate how “jugo de caña” is extracted from sugar cane (and we’ll also do it ourselves!), have a splash in a gorgeous waterfall, horseback a bit more, hike a little bit, practice our Spanish, drink some good wine, wander around town to checkout the church and get a feel of the local lifestyle, and visit an orchid expert (with nearly 300 orchids in her house!).
Price includes everything: roundtrip transportation from Boquete to Santa Fé (4 hours), two nights accommodation with three persons per room (upgrade for more privacy is available), all meals and snacks, a horseback riding tour through the mountains where we will stop on a farm to learn how sugar cane is extracted, followed by a guided hike to an amazing waterfall for a nice splash. Lastly but not least, we will hold a 2-hour Spanish Conversational Session where we will be able to share all of our exciting adventures.
The cost is $155 per person (for Habla Ya students) and $195 per person (for everyone else).
At Santa Fé, a beautiful Swiss chalet will be waiting for us. We will be surrounded by ever-blooming gardens of fruits and flowers. Shrouded from the simple village streets by its lush gardens, the site offers splendid vistas of the mountains, rainbows, dramatic cloud formations, and a stunning night sky.
The itinerary is as follows:
- Friday October 9th
- 1:30 p.m. depart from Boquete
- 5:30 p.m. arrive to Santa Fé
- 5:45 a.m. town briefing, snack, free time to wander around
- 7:00 p.m. dinner (grilled chicken breast, mashed potatoes, vegetable salad)
- Saturday October 10th
- 8:00 a.m. breakfast (fruit salad, yogurt, bread, coffee or tea)
- 9:15 a.m. We depart to horseback up and over the mountains
- 9:45 a.m. Sugar cane extraction tour
- 10:15 a.m. We continue horseback riding to the head of the hiking trail
- 10:45 a.m. Start hiking through the forest
- 11:15 a.m. Arrive to an amazing waterfall to freshen up with a nice swim
- 12:00 p.m. Lunch
- 1:00 p.m. Hike back to the horses
- 2:00 p.m. Horseback riding back to La Qhia
- 4:00 p.m. Spanish conversational session
- 5:30 p.m. Snack
- 7:00 p.m. Dinner (grilled fish filet mixed with vegetable salad and potatoes with onions, or steak with tartar sauce and yuca)
- 8:30 p.m. Wine under the stars
- Sunday October 11th
- 8:00 a.m. breakfast
- 9:00 a.m. Discover the town: visit Berta Castrellón’s House with more than 3,000 orchids, visit the Church of the town. Free time to wonder and get a fell of Panamanian rural life
- 12:00 p.m. Lunch
- 1:30 p.m. depart to Boquete
- 5:30 p.m. arrive to Boquete
SIGN UP & REGISTER TODAY TO STUDY SPANISH AT HABLA YA & EXPLORE PANAMA… »
From Moon Travel Guide for Panama by William Friar: Santa Fé (pop 2,800) is 54 kilometers north of Santiago. Founded around 1557, it and the surrounding hills were the scene of fierce battles between the Spanish and indigenous peoples under the command of Urracá, an especially skilled warrior who managed to beat back the conquistadores for a time and today is commemorated on Panama’s one centavo coin.
Santa Fé is 470 meters above sea level, which is high enough to get some cool breezes and fog.
Santa Fé itself scores low on the quaintness scale: it’s a sprawl of nonedescript houses and little else. The charm is to be found in the slower, simple pace of life of its inhabitants.
But the countryside is pretty, and the drive up is stunning. There are sweeping vistas of rolling hills and pasturelands, and in the distance the mountains of the Continental Divide, still green with dense forests (for now) as they spill down toward the Caribbean slope.
To reserve a spot simply Contact Us or just pay us a visit!
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Tags: hostal la qhia, panama places to visit, Panama Road Trips, qhia santa fe, Santa Fé, santa fe panama, santa fe veraguas panama Posted in Adventure Travel, Ecotourism, Habla Ya, Panama Destinations, Panama Road Trips, Panama Travel, Santa Fe, Vacations
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