Reviews of Fundacion Amauta, Cuenca

I traveled with a group of 13 high school students in the traveling school program that Mayra Cardoso organized. Requests for program accommodations for my students were consistently met with an upbeat and quick resolution. While in Cuenca, I had the opportunity to chat with a chaperon from a university that had brought travel groups for more than ten years to Ecuador under Mayra's care. There are many reasons for return visits.
So in addition to the positive reviews based on individual experiences, I am writing to encourage group leaders to take advantage of the Amauta experience. Mayra / Amauta was extremely flexible and collaborative to assure that our program met all our necessary requirements to earn academic Spanish language credit as well as enjoy the many experiences and adventures Ecuador has to offer. Safety and security, a primary concern of the parents of my students, was also well addressed. Multiple travel itineraries were presented allowing our group to select sites that aligned with our program goals and budget. I have been traveling internationally with student groups for over 20 years. It is difficult to find an organization that provides such an all around positive, affordable, cultural, education opportunity --- Amauta is priceless! And call me if you need an extra chaperon, can't wait to go back. :-)

I strongly recommend Amauta in Cuenca. As an intermediate level student of Spanish, I spent 20-25 hours a week in one-on-one classes over five weeks in July/August 2011.

Here are the strengths of Amauta: the director knows what's going on in her school and cares; the teachers are all very professional, most drawing on years of language teaching experience; teachers draw individually on a range of exercises they feel comfortable teaching to, rather than a rigid program; the school features individual classrooms, rather than the noisy "open floor" placement of desks used (unfortunately) by some other schools (particularly in Guatemala); the school provides (at no charge) weekly city and museum tours and cooking classes in Spanish; and the school provides free coffee or chocolate which (with a 70 centavo pastry) can serve as a budget (but high calorie!) breakfast.

Since I attended Amauta during August, when most teachers rotated their vacations, I wound up studying with five teachers with very different personality, interests, and teaching styles, which was very good. The only downside was that one of these teachers was not good at turning off her cell phone or turning aside its calls. Though she made up the time lost to these interruptions, they were a bit disconcerting.

After an indifferent (!) experience living with a Guatemalan family, which featured few exchanges in Spanish (although I was then at a much more basic level of spoken Spanish), I decided to stay in a hostal in Cuenca. Other than attending Amauta (which I had found the year before during a trip through Ecuador and dreamed of coming back to), this was the best decision I made. I found the (new) Hostal Villa del Rosario on the web and corresponded with its owners before I arrived in Cuenca. I got a good rate at this lovely budget hostal based on a five week stay. Located only three blocks from Amauta (and convenient to both the touristy Calle Largo and the central historical district (both of which abound in cafes and restaurants), the hostal is on a quiet back street. I had perhaps the best room in the hostal (#3), a large room with a private bath, but there are other good rooms also with and without private baths. Cited in a 300 year-old hacienda, the hostal features a central garden and three areas for sittiing, reading, studying and talking with other visitors. The family owners live next door but visit several times a day to chat its guests, attend to their needs, and offer insights (all in Spanish), and are always available when needed by simply knocking or ringing their bell. They were certainly more family and friendly than the "family" I lived with in Guautemala. Other students, however, will choose to live with Cuenca families, and here I heard both very good and very bad stories. However, the Amauta management by all accounts acted swiftly to remedy bad family situations.

I lived on $15-20 a day, including lodging and food, but not including my tuition at Amauta. Cuenca abounds in luncheon specials for $1.50-2.50. My favorites were the veggie lunches at the nearby Govinda (a little overwhelming though for $2.50) or the somewhat lighter Taiwan veggie lunch at the Affinity, way down Gran Colombia. Dinner favorites were the Austria Cafe, the Kookabura Cafe (open 8-4 Thursday-Sunday), the California Cafe (for an expensive but really delicious dinner try their Thursday fish specials which for $13 will get you a great salad or soup, a large piece of fish and vegetables, and a very large old-fashioned American desert (I heard pinneapple upside down cake with ice crream). Also, for groups, try the Cignale (but avoid the vastly over-priced Cafecito nearby). I spent long hours studying at the Austrian Cafe and the Kookabura. You'll find other favorites. There are a number of cultural events in Cuenca, but you really have to keep your ears and eyes open, ask a lot, read the local paper, and watch for posters.

Color me very happy with my five week Amauta and Cuenca interlude.

George Mauer
Seattle, Washington

5-24-11

I attended the Amauta school in Cuenca, Ecuador for 6 weeks, April through May of 2011, inclusive of a homestay. I have been pursuing facility with spanish a month at a time at three different locations in Mexico in three different years. All included homestay. Instruction was group based for two schools and “one on one” instruction for the other. Amauta offered an intensive one on one course; 4 hours per day.

I am a senior citizen, with a background in organization psychology and I am retired.

None of my homestays in Mexico fully met my expectations. Amauta did. Although the first two families in Cuenca did not meet my reqirements, Mayra Cardoso, the director was tenacious in securing the right fit; and she did. The family I stayed with are my friends for life. Such a welcoming, all inclusive experience was simply the most rewarding experience I have had.

The instruction at Amauta was equally rewarding; intensive and effective. I arrived with a 3rd level beginning status and left with a 2nd level intermediate status. I was able to have two different instructors, splitting the duration of instruction in half, which further enriched my learning experience.

Highly recommend Amauta and the City of Cuenca.

Richard and I attended Amauta Fundacion this year, in February 2011. We are both retired and at different levels in our Spanish study and found this school to be perfect for our needs. Because of the one on one instruction we were both able to advance our Spanish with two great teachers, We chose to stay with two separate families so that I could rely on my speaking instead of always relying on Richard and that worked out so well. We were in the same neighborhood so could meet at the bridge over the river and walk to school each day together and then back for our almuerzos. We had fun with him "sleeping over" at my house on weekends. Amauta set up our homestays.

Everyone at the school is very friendly and always willing to help in any situation. We met folks of all ages in the school.

I would recommend this school to anyone looking for an intense (4 hrs a day or more) Spanish immersion program. Also, Cuenca is a beautiful city and easy to feel comfortable in.

When I turned 60 I decided to not only learn a new language but to travel to a foreign country on my own. Amauta was recommended to me by a local school teacher who had been there with his students for the last five years. I've spent a month at Amauta for the last two years. I arrived with no Spanish and now I can have a conversation, get where I want to go and order what I want to eat. The school is absolutely terrific in every way starting with their well educated and trained teachers. Most of the classes are one on one.The school is located a few blocks from the central square, in an old beautiful Spanish house. The teachers and staff made me feel like I am part of their big family by including all the students in outside activities and parties at the school. They helped set up all of my travel arrangements to and from Quito and even got me a great deal on an eight day cruise in the Galapagos. One of the owners specializes in tourism and is a professor at one of the local colleges. This year they arranged for me to study every afternoon with two of the most important ceramic artists in Ecuador where I learned age old indigenous techniques. I cannot recommend Amauta highly enough, weather you are a student taking a year off between college and high school, or want to brush up on your Spanish, or on a family vacation (this spring there was a family of four from New Zeland the youngest was 10) or like me, a senior citizen on a new adventure. I feel safe and happy in Cuenca and I love Amauta and I plan on making this yearly trip part of my life.