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El Patio Spanish

Spanish Language School

Every year thanks to la Fundación para la Difusión de la Lengua y Cultura Española (The Foundation for the Diffusion of Spanish Language and Culture), El Patio is able to provide our students with scholarships to study in Valladolid, Spain for either 1 or 2 weeks. The Foundation is an institution that aims to spread and promote Spanish language and culture – this is why and how they are able to grant scholarships!

The course features classes every day as well as excursions to supplement your learning. It’s a wonderful excuse to visit Spain, or a great addition to a trip already planned.

If you’re wondering what it would be like, our most recent student to return from Valladolid (Johanna Sengas-Jones) has written about her experience (See translation below):

Recuerdos del curso de español en Valladolid

El Patio me ofreció un curso intensivo en Valladolid, España, durante dos semanas en septiembre, y lo accepté con gusto.

Valladolid es una ciudad de 350.000 habitantes a unos 120 km de Madrid. Yo no sabía nada de esta ciudad, pero esperaba un sitio viejo, medieval con casas oscuras, pequeñas de madera y con calles estrechas y oscuras.

Qué sorpresa me dio Valladolid. Es una ciudad moderna con calles y avenidas muy anchas, verdes y abiertas, con un parque bonito y con muchas plazas con juegos de aguas. Los edificios tienen una arquitectura muy armónica que me gustó mucho. También tiene un río bastante grande, incluso una playa. Es artificial, pero muy popular. Me sorprendió mucho. Como vivía cerca del río, di unos paseos por sus orillas y me encantó mucho.

Valladolid también tiene una historia rica y muy interesante que también me sorprendió. Era la capital de los Reyes Católicos, Isabel y Fernando, antes de Madrid. Hombres famosos vivieron en esta ciudad como Cristobal Colón, Miguel de Cervantes, el escritor de Don Quijote, y José Zorrilla del Don Juan Tenorio, que nació en Valladolid. No me estraña que los habitantes estén bastante orgullosos de su historia.

La primera semana hizo un calor increíble, 40 grados cada día. Ahora entiendo la costumbre de la siesta. Con este calor lo adopté enseguida. Como dijo una de mis profesoras:  “ El tiempo en Valladolid son 9 meses de invierno y 3 meses del infierno.”

A las dos de la tarde todas las tiendas cierran y después de la comida la ciudad se echa una siesta. No es antes de las seis que empieza la vida otra vez. Me tomó un tiempo adaptarme a este ritmo, particularmente a comer muy tarde. Siempre tenía hambre.

El calor tenía una ventaja. Hubo la semana de la gran fiesta de Valladolid y las noches calientes eran perfectas para celebrar. Casetas con arte, con comida de toda España, tapas, vino, un programa cultural con baile, música de todos tipos, teatro y fuegos artificiales todas las noches – no había tiempo para dormir. Una noche salí y comí una paella con mariscos en una caseta. Esta noche me puse muy enferma con una intoxicación alimentaria.  En vez de ir a Toledo con unos estudiantes me quedé en cama todo el fin de semana. ¡Qué lástima!

Las clases en la Fundación de la Lengua fueron muy intensivas y las profesoras, Aranxa y Rosa, muy profesionales. Puedo recomendar la Fundación en cualquier caso. También me encantó encontrar estudiantes de todo el mundo, yo siendo la única australiana. Parte del curso fueron dos excursiones a Salamanca y Toledo con guías de la Fundación que estuvieron muy bien informadas. En estas dos semanas en Valladolid no solo aprendí más español, sino también mucha historia y costumbres de la vida cotidiana.

Había decidido antes del curso vivir con una familia para sumergirme en el español totalmente. Fue muy buena decisión. Viví con una anfitriona mayor y con otra chica de México. Mi anfitriona y yo nos entendimos muy bien y creo que seremos amigas para siempre. María Jesús tiene mucha experiencia en hablar con estudiantes de español y así habla muy claro. También es una mujer con mucho cariño. Para mí, los primeros días fueron algo como un choque. Me costó un poco entender y poco a poco fui cogiendo el ritmo. Sin embargo, todavía hay tanto que aprender ….. Me hubiera gustado quedarme mucho más tiempo. ¡Un día volveré!

Durante dos excursiones conocí el campo alrededor de Valladolid un poco. La meseta es muy plana, seca y con pocos árboles. Vi hectareas de viñas produciendo un vino tinto muy bueno. Aún más impresionantes para mi eran los campos de girasoles - miles y miles de girasoles florecientes.  Para mí son el símbolo de la mesa en los alrededores de Valladolid.  A los españoles les gusta comer las pepitas del girasol y se podía comprar flores completas en las verdulerías. Hay una manera especial de comerlas que todos las españoles saben pero para mí fue un secreto. Mis recuerdos de la meseta para siempre serán girasoles en flor. ¡Qué belleza!

En total, disfruté las dos semanas del curso inmensamente y quiero agradece a “El Patio”, particularmente a Ana,  por darme esta oportunidad.

- Johanna

Some of Johanna's photos from her time in Valladolid

Memories of Valladolid

The best way to get ahead in a foreign language is by immersion. So when I learned that El Patio offers scholarships for a two-week intensive course in Spain I successfully applied. I was planning to spend some time in Europe anyway and this course fitted in perfectly. The scholarship is given by La Fundación de la Lengua Española en Valladolid.

Valladolid is a town of about 350 000 inhabitants roughly 120 km North-West of Madrid on the central highland (la mesa). I knew nothing of this town but expected one of those typical medieval towns with dark, narrow and winding streets and old, small and dark houses made out of wood in Tudor style.

I was in for a surprise. Valladolid is a modern city with wide avenues, many of them tree lined, with a lovely big park in the centre and many squares inviting you to relax watching their water fountains. The whole city was architect designed after a horrendous fire burned it down.  Consequently, the buildings in the city display a very harmonious and beautiful style. A wide river flows through the city, which is used for recreation, even including a man-made sandy beach.  As I stayed close to this river I strolled along its banks a number of times and was enchanted by it.

Valladolid is proud of its rich history, which again came as a surprise to me. It used to be the capital of the so-called “Catholic Kings” Isabel and Fernando before they settled in Madrid. Thus it was a rich city and some of the exquisite buildings still show it. Famous people lived in this town, among them: Christopher Columbus, who spent his last years there, Miguel de Cervantes, the creator of Don Quichote, and José Zorrilla who gave us the literary figure of Don Juan Tenorio. No wonder the citizens are so proud of their city and have dedicated some interesting museums to them.

My first week of the course was incredibly hot. The temperature climbed to 40 degrees every day. I now understand the custom of the midday “siesta” which I adopted immediately. There is no better way to bear this heat than just rest and slumber.  One of my teachers remarked one day ironically: “Valladolid has nine months of winter and three months of hell”.  It perfectly sums up the continental climate of the place.

During the siesta, the city closes down. All shops, cafés and bars are closed; nobody walks in the streets, the place appears dead. Life does not resume before five or six o’clock in the evening. It took me a while to adapt to this rhythm of life, particularly with regards to meals. I am not used to eating lunch at 2 or 3 pm and dinner between 10 and 11 pm, and so I found myself permanently hungry.

The heat had an advantage, though. In my first week, Valladolid celebrated its annual festival and the warm nights were ideal for the revellers.  Stalls were set up everywhere in the city with typical food, drinks and art and craft from all parts of Spain. One night I decided to order a paella with seafood from one of the stalls instead of the same old tapas. I spent the next two days in bed with food poisoning and thus missed out on a planned excursion to Toledo. What a shame!

The cultural program catered to all kinds of tastes, and together with my landlady, I saw my first Zarzuella –  a kind of operetta. Music and dance ruled the city and 5 nights in a row we marvelled at magnificent fireworks.  There was no time to sleep. It showed in some of the students!

The classes at “La Fundactión de la Lengua Española” were quite intensive and my teachers Aranxa and Rosa proved very professional. I can recommend this language school wholeheartedly. I always like mixing with people from different countries and the school is a real melting pot of students from all parts of the world – and also of all ages. As far as I know, I was the only Australian during my time.  Despite many native English speakers we forced ourselves to speak Spanish, which was exhausting but great.  Parts of the course are two excursions to Salamanca and Toledo with guides from La Fundación who proved to be terrific. In those two weeks in Valladolid I not only learned a lot of Spanish but also a lot of local history, customs and rituals of daily life.  The people of Valladolid, living in a more remote place of Spain, seem to still live a more traditional lifestyle.  I saw many women cooling themselves with the famous fan (abaníco) in the heat, the aforementioned siesta was kept daily and nightly bullfights were an integral part of the fiesta. In the evening, the streets were full of people of all ages parading through the streets, sitting in outside cafés or standing around bars eating tapas with their wine or beer. I loved that communal feeling and nightlife.

I had decided before the course to live with a family to immerse myself totally in the language. It proved to be the best decision. I lived with a landlady with lots of experience with foreign students who also housed a university student from Mexico. She knew how to speak in a way that I could understand. She included me in her social life and we got on so well that I think we will be friends for life. I am very grateful to her, as my first days in Valladolid were a shock to the system. Something in me froze and I could hardly understand nor speak the language. With Maria Jesús’ help and the classes at la Fundación I slowly regained my wits,  improving my language skills every day.  Still, I know there is so much more to learn and I wish I could have stayed much longer. One day I will return!

During two excursions I had the opportunity of seeing part of the countryside around Valladolid. The central plateau is dry with sparse vegetation. I passed many hectares of vineyards producing an excellent wine. But most impressive for me were the never-ending fields of sunflowers in full bloom. For me, they have become the symbol of the “mesa”. I loved the look of them so much that I bought myself a fan with sunflowers as a pattern. One could buy full heads of sunflowers in seed at the grocery stores in the city. The Spaniards have a special way of eating sunflowers that to me remains a mystery.  So I am left with the beauty of their flower. And what a beauty it is!

In summary, I enjoyed my two weeks of the course immensely and I want to express my thanks to El Patio for offering me this opportunity. 

- Johanna 

Some of our students who have been to Valladolid

How can I study in Spain for free?

If you’d like to study in Valladolid for free, simply send us an email. The only *fine print* is that you must be a current El Patio student to apply.

Once we have accepted your request you will receive a code to use on the foundation’s website, where you can enrol yourself.

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