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Mortley posted:Can anybody share EFL experiences in Central or South America? I'd be more specific about countries but I'm open to wherever. Though I would like to practice Spanish, so I'd be preferably somewhere with a international or at least comprehensible dialect. I lived in Honduras from 2005 to 2010. In Guatemala they speak Spanish very clearly. It seems there are more Spanish schools in Guatemala than anywhere else in Central America. In Belize they also speak Spanish very clearly, with a vaguely Mexican accent. In fact, when I went to Belize I understand their Spanish better than their English (and English is my first language). In Honduras and Nicaragua they speak a very heavily accented Spanish with a lot of local words. Northern Honduras gets more tourists, so the people speak a little more clearly when they're talking to foreigner. Still, I wouldn't recommend either country as a place to learn Spanish. I VERY highly recommend Nicaragua as a tourist destination. It's safer than Guatemala, Honduras, or El Salvador. It's a hell of a lot cheaper than Costa Rica. And its sights are absolutely beautiful. If you speak a little Spanish already, go to Nicaragua. Costa Rica? I can't say. English is drat common that I barely got a chance to speak Spanish. As soon as people saw a white guy, they started talking to me in English, usually, "You smoke weed, man? You want hash?"
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Aug 22, 2010 00:50
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a japanese pop icon posted:Basically South America is almost nothing like SEA, I don't know why people like to compare the two so much. They're both cheap and they both have jungles. Cheap + Jungle = Backpacker magnet. I'm not saying they have anything else in common. I'm just explaining why people (who aren't familiar with both) try to equate them.
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Aug 22, 2010 00:51
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TheLizard posted:What would you recommend for a week in Nicaragua? I've been to Costa Rica (meh) and Guatemala (yay!) and am planning on a another Central America country next year. I'm just not sure where to go; there seems to be so many choices. Spend your week in Granada. The town has stunning colonial architecture and fun nightlife. The social scene is a good mix of tourists and locals. If you don't speak any Spanish, you can find lots of other budget travellers to hang out with. If you know a little of the language, you can meet plenty of friendly locals all around town. Granada is as safe as any place in Central America. I (a white American male) have walked around downtown alone at night with no problems. Stay away from the waterfront at night and ignore anyone who offers you drugs, sex, or discount tours. There are tons of things to do around Granada. You can rent a boat and putter around Lake Nicaragua visiting Las Isletas (the little islands). A 4 or 5 hour boat ride with stops at the islands will cost you about US$10 per person (less with haggling). You can hike up Volcan Mombacho, the largest volcano in Nicaragua. Be aware that the hike is very strenuous. If you're not up for a rough hike, there are a plenty of easy trails, nature guides, and canopy tours on the mountain. Definitely go to Masaya Park. The town of Masaya is pretty "meh." The park is amazing. You can drive a car right up to the crater of an active volcano (rangers will order you to park facing away from the crater). You can see all the stages of forest growth: Some parts are still covered with lava rock, and the only life is a few lichens. Near the craters, only a few tough grasses survive. Further down you pass scrub and low bushes. And at the bottom you can walk through pristine dry tropical forest. There's also a great visitor's center with information on volcanos. Definitely take the night tour. It starts around 7pm and lasts until 10pm. The guide will take you around the active crater, up to a view of all of central Nicaragua, and finally into ancient lava tunnels underground. The tour costs about US$20 and is worth every penny. When you want to relax and escape Granada's heat, you can go to Lago Apoyo, a crater lake nearby. It's a circular volcano crater that's now a big lake. AFAIK, it's no longer connected to any river or other water source, so biologists have a field day there. The water is heated and sulfuric, good for swimming. At the lake's edge, there are several hostels and little beaches. Be sure to go to the top of the crater and El Mirador (the lookout). El Mirador is a fun area with hiking trails, restaurants, shops, and bands. That description sounds kind of touristy, but it's not. The places caters to locals. You'll find lots of friendly Nicaraguans and, for some reason, very few foreign tourists. Outside of Granada, you can go to Omotepe, a volcano island in the southern part of Lake Nicaragua. There's also San Juan del Sur, a beach town near the Costa Rican border. It's like Tamarindo but with half as many tourists. To the north, Leon is very impressive. The largest cathedral in Central America and lots of friendly university students. Nicaragua is what Costa Rica ought to be. Many say it's what Costa Rica used to be. It's cheap but not risky. It's authentic but you don't need to know the culture inside and out. Nicaraguans are the friendliest folks I've met in Central America. Even the most hardcore Sandanista (Orteguista, as we call them now) is happy to chat with a foreigner for a bit. The big thing that Nicaragua lacks is ruins. The Mayans never got this far south, and the indigenous groups didn't build huge complexes. Don't expect to find Tikal down here. But you will find amazing natural scenery, well-preserved colonial architecture and very outgoing people. Nicaragua is very hot this time of year. Granada in July or August is unbearable. The country is at its best in November or December. The rainy season has just ended, and everything is bright bright green. My photos of Nicaragua. I'll post more recent photos soon. http://gringracho.smugmug.com/Travel/Nicaragua-November-2006/
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Aug 22, 2010 02:18
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a japanese pop icon posted:This makes it sound like the different spanish accents are because people aren't speaking "properly", not because the language evolved differently! It's a matter of accent and local terms. I compare it to regional accents in the US. A foreigner who speaks English as a second language will understand people in Chicago better than people in Mississippi. I don't mean to imply that people in Mississippi speak English improperly; I just mean to say that they have thick accents. Ditto for Honduras and Nicaragua compared to Guatemala.
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Aug 25, 2010 13:04
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a japanese pop icon posted:Except if you imply southerners have their accent because they don't go to school they'll get pretty angry at you, and latinamericans are very proud of their local accents usually so don't say that around them When the hell did I imply that central americans speak the way they do because they don't go to school? I said that there are more Spanish schools for foreigners in Guatemala than in Honduras because the Guatemalan accent is clearer than the Honduran accent. I've lived in Central America since 2005. I'm posting this from a little town in northern Nicaragua. So don't tell me what I should and shouldn't say around central americans.
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Aug 27, 2010 03:46
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First off, Costa Rica is not in South America. Tourism in other parts of Central America isn't very well developed, and many people like that fact. Touring in Tikal or Granada feels like an adventure. Trekking outside of La Ceiba or Masaya will make you feel like Indiana Jones. Heh, walking through San Salvador or San Pedro Sula might get you killed  Costa Rica, on the other hand, has very well-developed tourism. It's a bit too well-developed in my opinion. Tamarindo looks just like a small costal city in Orange County, California. Jacó is only good for pot and surfing. San Jose is a sex tourism capital on par with Bangkok and Manila. People looking for high adventure just won't find it in Costa Rica, and that makes a lot of people think Costa Rica isn't the "real" Central America. That said, I think Costa Rica's a great place to visit and a lot of fun. It's less strenuous and more relaxing that a vacation in nearby countries. That can be a good or bad thing depending on your perspective.
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Sep 10, 2010 21:45
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GreenCard78 posted:Can anyone recommend me what to do in El Progreso, Honduras? I'm going with a student group and we're pretty confined in where we can and cannot go so this will be the only place I can go in Honduras. I'll be there for a week next month. There's not much to do in El Progreso. It's a commercial/industrial town: a great place to move to if you're a native, but not too interesting for a tourist. El Progreso has a new (since 2008) mall on the north side of town. It has an Applebee's, a cinema, and some neat shops. There aren't many historical sights or natural areas. Tela is about 2 hours north of there. It's a pretty and relaxed little beach town that's popular (but not inundated) with tourists.
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Jan 7, 2011 04:39
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GreenCard78 posted:Awesome stuff You've done a really great thing. I miss Honduras so much, and I'm happy to hear that someone is going down there to make lives better.
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Jan 20, 2011 02:35
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