My name is Therese, and I am from Germany. I decided to travel the world for one and a half years and take a sabbatical from my consulting job back in Germany. I wanted to spend several months exploring Latin America and therefore I wanted to learn Spanish to make the most out of my trip. Based on experiences of other travelers and my own preferences I decided that Peru is the right place for me to learn Spanish. I found out about Maximo on a German government website as they are a certified provider in Latin America for ‘Bildungsurlaub’. ‘Bildungsurlaub‘ is a special educational leave that allows employees in Germany to take extra paid vacation for learning and self-improvement. Essentially, you can enroll in certified courses—anything from language classes to professional development—and the German government supports you by ensuring you don’t lose any income. Accessing the ‘Bildungsurlaub’ benefits through Maximo was very easy and straight forward and very soon I was ready to start my adventure.
After my first stop in Lima, I took a flight to Cusco. Immediately after landing you could feel the difference between Lima at sea level and Cusco at almost 3.500 m above sea level. At the airport Maximo Nivel staff were already waiting for me and brought me to my host family. After meeting them and my fellow students briefly in the house, we went directly to the orientation class, including placement test and walking tour through Cusco. To strengthen ourselves after all the walking we went to a fantastic restaurant, and I ate alpaca for the first time.
It was wintertime in Cusco, so even though in the daytime it was often sunny and pleasant, the temperature dropped at night. Wrapped in four blankets, I was spending my first night in Cusco. The next day after a delicious breakfast, me, and my housemates, went to our first class at Maximo. I was placed in a pre-intermediate class. I have never had a Spanish class before but shortly before going to Cusco, I spent two months in Colombia and Spain and picked up some Spanish from conversations.
Classes were held very conversational based, which was exactly what I was looking for. Teachers were all Spanish natives and would always correct mistakes when speaking. They also taught us a lot of grammar principles, that were mostly practiced by formulating sentences or conversations, written or oral. As well the teacher was talking a lot so that we can practice listening. At the beginning it was not always easy with my “street Spanish” but soon I was catching up with all the grammar basics thanks to the literature that Maximo Nivel provided.
I was enrolled for an intensive course, so I had four hours of group classes in the morning, two hours of private classes in the afternoon and after that I volunteered for a tandem class, to improve my Spanish even more and to help a Peruvian to improve their English. Latter was also interesting to see the cultural differences between Peru and Germany. Sometimes it was really challenging as for example the feeling for punctuality differs a lot in those two countries. In the evening Maximo was offering extracurricular activities like Salsa and Bachata classes. So, my days were really packed, as well the time difference (seven hours behind Germany) and the altitude of Cusco made me really tired in the first days.
Living with a host family was the best decision to learn about the language and culture. My host family was the best family you can imagine, they took such good care of all of us. They spoke with us during every meal and tried to improve our Spanish. Our host mother was a very good chef and cooked every day an amazing Peruvian dish. They always helped us when sick and were a very good support organizing whatever was necessary. Originally, I only wanted to stay two weeks, but I decided to stay one week more, but only if I could be with the same family. Thankfully, Maximo organized everything very quick, and I was able to stay one more week.
During my stay in Cusco, I was able to dive deep into the culture. Not only was I able to see special places, like Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley, or the Seven Lakes but I also learnt a lot about the food and about the cultural heritage. And there is so much culture and history in and around Cusco to explore. After the three weeks with Maximo, I stayed some more days to explore the richness of the culture.
After learning a good amount of Spanish in Cusco I continued my travel in Latin America to practice my newly gained knowledge. After six months of continued travel I had the feeling that I improved my conversational Spanish but still lack a little bit of higher grammar. That is why I decided to stop by at Maximo in Guatemala.
Following my placement test I was able to skip two levels. That was a great feeling, showing that I improved a lot during traveling. I enjoyed a one-week intensive course with Maximo with focus on the Grammar that still needed practice. Again, the quality of the courses was amazing, and I learned everything I wanted in just one week and I graduated from the Intermediate II class.
In Antigua I was staying again with a wonderful host family that provided me with everything I needed, prepared very good meals, and never got tired to chat with me about my day. Luckily, this time it was spring, so I was also able to enjoy the town of Antigua and the surroundings with beautiful and warm sunshine. A highlight apart from the school was the hike to the volcano Acatenango, a once in a lifetime experience.
Summing up I can say that the four-week experience with Maximo was amazing. My whole trip would not have been the same without learning Spanish. All the conversations that I had, in so many different countries with so many different people, changed me so much. I am so thankful that I was able to have that experience. Thanks to Maximo Nivel I did not only learn Spanish and learned about new cultures, but I also found new friends, that I was able to visit during my travel.
Whenever you are interested in broadening your horizon, learning a new language, getting to know a new culture, Maximo is the best choice to do that. They really help you organize your life abroad and set you up with a nice host family, so you don’t have to be scared that you will get lost in a new country. The quality of the courses is great, they have small groups, and you will progress fast. Try it and maybe you find yourself never wanting to leave your new home 😊.