Montañita Spanish School

Placement organization

Name of organization: Montañita Spanish School
Town/city: Montañita
Country: Ecuador
Website: http://www.montanitaspanishschool.com

Student

Name of student: Tanseli

Specialist area: ITTI
Placement period: 2017-2018

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Spanish School
Organization’s activities: Spanish classes, surf, yoga and salsa lessons. Extra curricular activities
Target group of the organization: young adults and adults
Company culture: The company culture is informal, respectful and quite family like. It is a very pleasant and enjoyable place to be in and work at.
Number of employees: 16
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes, the company is very agile and flexible and makes sure that everything works out well and that you are happy

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working?

I am responsible for the social media department and also the new website. I am also planning and organising the extra curricular activities for the students. I help to hire new interns. There are many possibilities and options here to find tasks that suit you personally.

Brief description of your daily activities: In the front office, the day starts with responding to emails. Then there are different administrational tasks just as payments or changes in bookings that have to be done. In the front office you are in close contact with the students and you can build rapport with them. You also reply to any inquiries through any of our channels.

In the back office you do other small company tasks that you are given by your supervisor and work on your Nhtv and company assignment. Most of the time there is more than enough to do and not too much time for your reports. In the back office you can also work on social media tasks.

In the evenings there are the extra curricular activities that you will organise and run.
Brief description of your company assignment: My company assignments are the social media and also the new website.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: The supervision by the company is extraordinary. I could not have wished for any better supervisor and colleagues. Everything is great. The communication and awareness is wonderful.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? sociable, team player, independent, stress-proof, flexible, communication and marketing skills, social media skills, people skills
Additional company requirements for this placement? Excel, writing skills, (HTML, Photoshop, MS Office)
English: Advanced
Spanish: Intermediate
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Plane and private transport organised by the company

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? The accommodation is arranged by the company itself
How did you go to work every day? I walked 5-10 minutes

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? yes but the visa can be arranged beforehand or in Manta (4h from Montañita) at the day of expiration (90days after arrival)
Do you need a work permit? no (not as a European citizen)
How did you arrange the necessary documents: I informed myself online and at the embassies what I needed
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? a few weeks, maybe 3, but just in case I would start as soon as possible
Did you need certain vaccinations? Yes
How long in advance? do it as soon as possible, I was too late for some

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? If you only have little Spanish skills then I would recommend to take a language course beforehand. I suggest to take this here in the school itself.

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 600-1300
Accommodation (monthly): € 0
Local transport (monthly): € 0
General costs of living (monthly): € 300-600
Costs of visa: € 130
Costs of work permit: € 0
What did the company pay for/to you? The company gives you free accommodation in a shared room with one other person and Spanish classes and 100$ a month

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
To do the placement plan properly was a good preparation for me
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? Not sure

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: 152394@edu.nhtv.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Be aware that you are not in the first world and take care of yourself and your items. Montañita is as safe as anywhere else if you use your brain.
Drugstore items such as mosquito spray, sunscreen, shampoo etc. are rather expensive here.

Use every opportunity to go surfing and travelling!

(If you do not like to always be surrounded by people and to go partying, then this placement might be a challenge for you. You will be living at the same (beautiful) place as most of the students.)
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: There is a lot to do in and around Montañita.
Bank holidays should be used for trips to the Jungle, Quito, Baños, Cuenca etc.
Here you can surf and do yoga. If you are into sports, relaxing, nature or partying you’ve enough of all of it here.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link