Spanish Immersion offers a fast-track to Spanish through a variety of programs from week-long to programs equivalent to taking three semesters of Spanish at a traditional university. There are also stark differences in cost based on location and popularity. Programs in European countries are very expensive compared to affordable neighboring countries such as Mexico. As well as staying in a popular destination will be more costly than a lesser known city.
Before I decided where to study abroad, I started out by figuring out what my needs were and what I was looking to gain from my time abroad. I spent more than 2 months doing research, reading and comparing more than 50 schools in 20 different cities in 5 possible countries.
My first consideration was the cost. The exchange rate of the Euros vs. US Dollars is considerably high at the moment, so studying in Europe was out of the question. I also thought about where I would travel to and decided that Argentina and South America were too far from home. That narrowed down my search to Mexico.
The quality and cost of the program came next. I found more than a hundred schools in Cuernavaca and Oaxaca that claimed you could learn Spanish in a week. How can someone become fluent in a week if you begin classes every Monday? I would find myself having new classmates every week and going over and over the same material. Those cities and their schools were just too good to be true.
Security was another issue and big cities can sometimes be overwhelming and touristy.
I found that Merida, Mexico is considered the safest city in all Mexico. Merida is in the heart of the Yucatan Peninsula and has the lowest rate of violent crime of any large Mexican city. After all my research, I ended up going to the Spanish Institute of Merida in Yucatan Mexico. I stayed there for 4 weeks and I can proudly say that I made the right choice. It was a once in a lifetime experience.
Through
SiMeridas 4-week immersion program I stayed with a local host family and earned 6 credit hours. After immersing myself in Mexican culture and facing the challenges of learning in a different setting, I returned home with confidence in the Spanish skills I had learned. The program encompasses all the fundamentals of Spanish. The strength of the program is that its comprehensive and well rounded, with emphasis on language as well as culture.
