Amauta Spanish School

Placement organization

Name of organization: Amauta Spanish School
Town/city: Cusco
Country: Peru
Website: http://www.amautaspanish.com

Name of student: Dieneke Temmerman

Specialist area: MTT
Placement period: 2015-2016

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Spanish School
Organization’s activities: Spanish classes and volunteerwork, also after school activities for the students and volunteers
Target group of the organization: Everybody who is interested in learning the Spanish language and doing volunteerwork
Company culture: The company culture is very informal. All the employees are very friendly and welcoming! The boss of the company however lives in the Netherlands what makes communicating sometimes a little difficult, because all the communication goes through e-mail.
Number of employees: 3
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes, but communicating is sometimes a little bit difficult with the boss.

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? Volunteerwork, marketing and customer service. This placement is very diferce.
Brief description of your daily activities: – Helping the volunteer coordinator, volunteer visits
– Marketing related tasks: social media etc.
– Writing blogs
– Doing translations
– Help with the school activities, making foto’s and video’s
– Sometimes the Welcome chat and other presentations
– Assisting the students

Brief description of your company assignment: I am doing a customer satisfaction survey. To find out why the company gets bad reviews and come up with solutions.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: I have one main supervisor who is the boss, we communicate through e-mail and she gives me tasks to do. However because she lives in the Netherlands I also get supervision from other people in the office, who give me tasks to do. They are very friendly, but it is important in this placement that you can work on your own.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Independent, flexible, representable, sociable and friendly
Additional company requirements for this placement? MS office, writing skills, photo and video editing skills
English: Advanced
Spanish: Basic
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages: It is not really necesary to have a high level of Spanish, however it is more easier if you have a higher level of Spanish because most of the people in the office don’t speak English very well.

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? The company offers a stay in the studentresidence
How did you go to work every day? by foot

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? No
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents:
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents?
Did you need certain vaccinations? Yes
How long in advance?

Language course

Did you take a language course before you started your placement? Yes
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? 3/4 weeks in advance

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 600
Accommodation (monthly): € 300
Local transport (monthly): € 10
General costs of living (monthly): € It depends on what your activities are. Doing tours etc. Cusco is not an expensive city, but if you do a lot of activities in your free time it can get expensive.
Costs of visa: €
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? 4 weeks of Spanish classes and a discount on staying in the student residence, free breakfast and lunch.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I read information on internet and in books.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? No not really, peruvian people are very friendly and welcoming.

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: 142403@edu.nhtv.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: During the weekends when you are free, use your time to see Peru. Go on weekend trips to other cities in Peru or do tours to get to know the country and culture.

Cusco is situated in the Andes Mountains so at a very high altitude. It is important to let your body get used to the altitude and to bring clothes for all kinds of weather. When the sun is shining it can be very hot, but in the shade it can be very cold. Especially at night you should wear a jacket.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Cusco is a beautiful city with a lot of leisure possibilities. there are lots of bars, restaurants and clubs where you can go to. Nightlife is a big thing here and there are lots of party possibilities. The city also has several markets that you can visit and a big mall. The surroundings of Cusco are beautiful, green and perfect for hikings!

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link