The most unique way to visit Ensenada, however, and to get a true feel for its people, culture and lifestyle, is to take a learning vacation. The Baja
California Language College (Colegio de Idiomas de Baja California) is located here, and a week of study can drastically improve your Spanish. It was
founded by Minnesotan Keith Rolle in 1997, a former manager for Toro, the lawn mower superpower in Minneapolis. In his travels for Toro, he discovered
that more and more people he did business with spoke Spanish. He was fluent in French, but that wasn?t doing him much good in Mexico or other parts of
Latin America. He heard about a school in Ensenada that offered weeklong Spanish immersion programs and signed up for two weeks? worth. He enjoyed it
so much that he went back for another three weeks. By then, he was hooked on Ensenada. He was also hooked on the idea of starting his own school.
He quit his high-paying job, started up a Mexican corporation and moved to San Diego, where he commutes back and forth to Ensenada. Keith has a team
of six instructors, and another eight on standby who come in when a huge group of students shows up. The school?s philosophy is geared to getting
students speaking Spanish?as soon as their first day in town. Combining small classes of no more than five students with a Mexican family home stay
program, instructors use a combination of conversation, games, music, contests and outings around town to help students learn the language and
culture.
Located in central Ensenada, within walking distance to everything, the Baja Language College attracts a variety of people with a need or passion to
communicate in Spanish. There are business executives from the US, Canada and Europe, attorneys, doctors and human resource professionals. Seniors
wanting to retire or travel in Mexico sign up. Teachers come with groups of students in the summer. Families come together during vacations. With
Keith?s program, not only do you learn Spanish, but through immersion, you?ll become familiar with the Mexican culture. Once you?re able to actually
talk to the Mexican people, you?ll find a whole new world opening up to you.
Keith has done an amazing job of integrating himself into the Ensenada community. I?m always impressed when I hang out with him. Everywhere we go,
people know him. The bartenders in Hussongs joke and jive with him. He bowls every month with a group of local businessmen. They call him El Vikingo
(the Viking?think football). Keith is difficult to pronounce in Spanish, so the locals just call him Kiki. He?s easy going, funny and smart as hell.
He fits in and he?s the best advertisement around for the success of his immersion program. The Mexicans not only respect him, but they have a good
time with him too. So do his students, many of whom have told me that their time at the school was as a blast?as much a vacation as a learning
experience.
Keith?s program works so well because you eat, drink, dream and live in Spanish. Host families are selected for their friendliness, willingness to
assist you with their studies, and for their superior accommodations. They?re all middle class families in comfortable homes with all the amenities
Americans are accustomed to. The home stay cost is reasonable too?$25 per night per person, which includes meals. If you share a room or stay longer
than five weeks, the cost is $20 per day. If you decide to bypass the home stay program, lodging is also offered at local condominiums RV parks and
hotels.
Tuition for 30 hours a week (five days at six hours per day) is $245. Extra days cost $60 and weekend workshops cost $180 for a total of 13 hours.
Private tutoring is available as well, for $90 per day for six hours or $445 per week. Executive immersion, requiring a two-week minimum, costs $690.
Seniors, families and large groups can apply for special discounts.
School days are from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Afternoons are free, so you can explore Ensenada and have some fun. Sign up. Show up, and you might just
stumble onto one of Ensenada?s famous fiestas!
http://justsaygo.com/JustSayGo_Site/destinations/ensenada.ht... |
I'd be forced to pay more
attention And....... I'd be in Baja for a couple months!! Glad your trip turned out so well in La Paz the city of peace !