Montañita Spanish School

Placement organization

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

Student

Name of student: Anne Spee

Specialist area: Tourism Management (NL)
Placement period: 2018-2019

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Spanish Language School
Organization’s activities: The school organizes Spanish classes, surf lessons together with weekly fun activities for students around the world. As an intern, you will be responsible for helping these students with payments, questions and organize these weekly activities such as a BBQ, beach clean-up, cooking class, surftrip.
Target group of the organization: International students of all ages
Company culture: The company culture is very informal. The relationships between teachers and between the teachers are the management staff is very nice and relaxed. Also the director Gijs is very friendly and easy-going, which makes it fun to work together.
Number of employees: 15
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working?

I worked mainly at the front desk, I was responsible for bookings and for organizing activities.

Brief description of your daily activities: I was responsible for the whole process, which started at the booking (e-mail answering), registering the student information into the database and making the student feel at home when arriving at school.

Daily activities:
– payments
– e-mail and Facebook answering
– customer service towards students
– registration of yoga and salsa classes
– organizing weekly activities and promoting these
– doing research
– participating in the activities outside of work hours

Brief description of your company assignment: My company assignment consisted of adjusting the student database and analyzing all demographic factors of students for two years, discovering trends and analyzing the company process.

Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: My supervision was great. Gijs helped me a lot and gave great support. He was a great supervisor and the cooperation was very pleasant.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Social, flexible, team player, taking initiative
Additional company requirements for this placement? Excel skills would be helpful
English: Advanced
Spanish: Advanced

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane and bus

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Company
How did you go to work every day? By foot (10 minutes)

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? Yes, tourism visa
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents: At the embassy at the airport in Ecuador
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? No time, just a stamp
Did you need certain vaccinations? Yes
How long in advance? Some weeks 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? Yes, but it is not obligated. It would just make the internship easier

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 1000
Accommodation (monthly): € 0
Local transport (monthly): € 10
General costs of living (monthly): € 100
Costs of visa: € 130 (visa extension)
Costs of work permit: € 0
What did the company pay for/to you? The company paid accommodation (amazing hostel) and 15 hours of Spanish classes per month, which were great, a lot of fun and very helpful. You can also join all activities for free, such as the bbq’s, surf trips, yoga classes, etc.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I went to Ecuador with an open-mind, being prepared for everything. The culture is very relaxed which fits me so this was nice.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? No

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: spee.anne@gmail.com

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do:
– Try to learn as much Spanish as you can, since this will make the work and life easier.
– Do not worry about the culture, all people in Ecuador are very relaxed, friendly and helpful.
– Do not expect sun all year round.
– Enjoy and learn as much as possible
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place:
– Best surfing spot in Ecuador!
– Walking on the beach
– Beach volleyball
– Visiting small towns on the coast
– Whale watching (during whale season only)
– Diving
– Island visit

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