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Learning Spanish in Santo Domingo- Study Spanish in Santo Domingo

About Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic occupies three quarters of the island of Hispaniola, leaving the remaining portion to the Republic of Haiti. The country's scenic natural beauty, which features exotic wildlife and breathtaking landscapes capable of impressing even the most discriminating of travelers, combined with the incredible friendliness and hospitality of the locals, make the Dominican Republic the perfect destination for an unforgettable travel-study experience.
The Dominican Republic is an incredibly beautiful Caribbean isle with white sand and turquoise sea beaches lined with coconut palms, but the island also abounds with verdant mountains (including Pico Duarte, the highest peak in the Caribbean), vast fertile valleys, deserts and giant sand dunes, a salt lake larger than the U.S.'s Great Salt Lake, rushing rivers, tranquil fresh water lakes, cascading waterfalls, mangrove jungles, rain forests, lots and lots of caves, picturesque towns and villages, and a modern, thriving capital founded more than 500 years ago.
It was on this beautiful tropical island that Indian, African and Europeans together, gave birth to a dynamic new American people and culture: the "criollo" people and culture. It has been an ongoing process and the island's geography, history, economy and culture are fascinating for their blend of old and new, developed and undeveloped.

Like a booklet of picture perfect post-cards, the Dominican Republic constantly serves up slices of colourful Caribbean life.
It is contagious, it is constantly surprising, exciting, colourful and always welcoming, but above all, it is unforgettable!

About Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo de Guzman is the Republic's capital, it is a city of two million people and lays claim to be the oldest city in the New World, founded in 1502 by Bartholomew Columbus, Christopher Columbus' brother. At the same time Santo Domingo is a modern and exciting metropolis with something to offer just about everyone. Mouments, museums, theatres, art galleries, bars and nightclubs for every taste, casinos, cinemas, health clubs, sport facilities, local and international shopping emporiums and more, combine to serve the country's rapidly expanding tourist industry. The centre of life in the city is hands down in the Colonial District of the city, full of 16th century Spanish architecture.
As already mentioned, there are many interesting things to do in Santo Domingo; whether you like to listen to music, dance, drink, or just people-watch, there is something for everyone and for every budget, above all. You will find many movie theatres (cinemas) there, all of them multi room.

In addition, Santo Domingo Colonial Area was desiged a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990. Like a catalogue of New World firsts, it contains many of the older buildings in the Americas.
Thanks to a well-paved system of roads, this is the perfect Caribbean island (the second largest after Cuba) for touring. Moreover, the island offer to its visitors magnificent beaches with golden sands and turquoise water; resort towns such as Puerto Plata and Samana dot the coast and provide a huge range of accomodation for all tastes.

Area: 22,654.6 sq mi
Country: Dominican Republic
Population: 2,084,852
Time Zone: UTC/GMT -4
Telephone Area Code: 809

Why study Spanish in Santo Domingo

Travelling to the Caribbean, studying in the Dominican Republic, living in Santo Domingo - all this will be an exciting experience for you. You will visit another part of the world, encounter a culture with many centuries of history and tradition; you will hear different points of view, observe that things are being done in a different way, smell different aromas, taste new flavors. These perceptions and the comprehension of them are likely to stimulate major changes in you. You may end up with a different view of the world and yourself.

You will notice that Dominicans have many different values and priorities than Americans. For example convenience and speed of transaction seem less important to people in the Dominican Republic than in the U.S. Spending time and hanging together with friends and family, on the other hand, is an essential element and takes up a large part of their life.
Most probably there will also be a difficult aspect during the first few weeks of this great learning experience: the so-called culture shock. It refers to a state of physical and emotional discomfort when living in a new environment. After an initial period of excitement about the exotic impressions, you may find yourself becoming insecure about how to handle this new environment, critical about how certain things are done in your host country, angry that things seem more difficult to achieve. Be patient, keep your sense of humour, be curious and make Domnican friends - these are just a few hints for overcoming this common phenomenon.

Most citizens of Santo Domingo are used to foreigners and are fairly tolerant about the cultural differences between themselves and Americans, provided they feel you are making the effort to "fit in". You, too, therefore should try to be understanding about their differences and attempt to understand rather than just tolerate them, or become frustrated.
Living in Santo Domingo is your chance to learn about the Dominican culture and different ways of doing things.
Your success will depend on how open your mind is.

Featured Spanish language school in Santo Domingo

Featured Spanish language courses in Santo Domingo