We were lucky to stumble upon our Spanish teacher Fernando and his wife Maria on our second day in Nicaragua. We visited a few different Spanish schools. Most of them only offered classes in 2 or 4-hour blocks, five days a week and their times were not flexible. That was too intense for us.
As we were walking around town we saw a sign for Spanish classes in front of a house. Maria was sitting on the front porch (she also runs a laundry business out of her home). We struck up a conversation with Fernando and Maria and we knew we found the right place.
They have been teaching Spanish for over 25 years. Their website is https://www.nicspanish.com/ (they offer lessons online). Fernando is an excellent teacher. He explains concepts clearly and he adds in information about culture and history. Michael usually ends up going over his hour lesson talking to Fernando about things other than Spanish.
Fernando told us about minor league baseball in Nicaragua and helped us look up the game schedule. We ended up going to a baseball game in Rivas.
Fernando and Maria took us to the local fish market one day. They go often and were able to get us a great deal on fish. We split a 13 lbs tuna for $15. We went back to their house and spent the afternoon cooking a traditional Nicaraguan meal and eating with them.
These are the types of experiences that we cherish. Fernando and Maria opened their home to us. They spent quality time talking with us and were genuinely interested and actively listening. Our interactions with them are different from most interactions back home in the United States. They never rushed us out the door. Nothing about the relationship felt transactional or superficial.
We had to move our Spanish lessons online due to coronavirus. The boys miss being able to go to Spanish lessons by themselves. They would often stop at the store on the way home and get a Gatorade or some cookies.
These Spanish lessons have been a great part of our stay here in San Juan Del Sur.
