I would like to study Spanish for a couple weeks in Granada ( or maybe Seville) and would love to hear about some schools. Has anyone been to Academia Castila? Is Granada already unbearably hot in the first half of July? I'm a bit concerned about this. I don't have a high tolerance for heat. I think it is supposed to be slightly cooler than Seville ???which is why I'm leaning towards Granada.
Thanks

Hi lisi,
Well, I went to study in Granada for the month of July a couple of years back and although the school I went to didn't impress me very much (it was called Granadi), the city is beautiful! There isn't much nightlife there in July, since everyone takes off to the beach towns, but there's still people around - the discos aren't always full, but some bars are. I had a great time. As for the weather, it was a CONSTANT 37 degrees celsius (don't quite know what that is in farenheit); hot , yes, but not unbearable - as long as you don't go walking around town in the early afternoon when the sun is the hottest. At night, the weather is very comfortable, it cools down significantly.
Granada is very nice - the only thing I regret is not doing more while I was there...

SusiLaGallega

Susi,

Wow! Thirty seven degrees Celsius. That's normal body temperature. A cool 98.6 degrees farehnheit.

Wolf

I lived in Granada last year and studied at the Centro De Lenguas Modernas of the University of Granada. If you go there directly and sign up for their intensive language classes, they are cheap compare to these groups that offer classes from the US, or outside of Spain. Also, many of the groups, like ISA or other study abroad programs, send their students to the centro at a ridiculuous mark up. The Centro De Lenguas Modernas has a web site you can check out. ( www.ugr.com , or www.ugr.es i think)

As far as the heat, it is pretty unbearably hot in July, and the city is pretty deserted compare to what it is like the rest of the year, but you will find it just as hot in Sevilla. But the coast is only an hour bus ride away!

Good Luck and have fun.

[This message has been edited by MadridMan (edited 03-30-2001).]

Yes Granada is very, very hot in July and Sevilla was oppresive. Now I am from Houston Texas so if I thought it was hot that is pretty dang hot! That is one of the reasons I am going back to Malaga this summer. Right on the mediterranean so the climate is much milder and yet a lot of great day trips in the region. Not to mention much less expensive.

[This message has been edited by jensdog (edited 03-30-2001).]

I studied in Granada for a month this past winter and had an absolutely amazing time. The school I was at was called Euroestudios, which was just about the cheapest one I could find on the net ( www.euroestudios.com ). It was quite small, I had only 3 people in my class, which was great for improving my spanish.

I fell in love with Granada, it is definitely a place not to be missed, but maybe summer is not the best time to visit. It gets unbearably hot, there is a distinct lack of pools anywhere to cool off in, and lots of the university students go home over summer so it isn't as lively as during semester. But really, you'll have a great time wherever in SPain that you go.

[ 04-15-2001: Message edited by: MadridMan ]

[originally posted by lisi on 05-30-2002 01:21 AM...]

I asked this question a year ago, but this time I'm really going! I'm looking for recommendations for schools in Granada and Santiago de Compostela. I'm also interested in knowing whether it is possible to sign up with a school on a walk in basis. This is what I've always done in Mexico/Central America, but I don't know if it is possible in Spain. I will be in Spain for 2 months and want to keep the dates flexible so I would rather not commit until I'm there. I'll be going in peak season - this summer- so maybe schools fill up? I'm really only looking at studying a week in each place and some charge hefty enrollment fees which makes that not worth it for a short period of time. Any and all advice appreciated.
Thanks