Help! Looking for info on Esteli & Granada

[cortez]

¿Me pueden ayudar, por favor?

Hello. I'm interested in travelling to Nicaragua to study spanish. I'd like to stay for about 2 months in the summertime (june 2001). There are two schools and locations I'm considering:

CENAC in Esteli
NSS in Granada

I'd like to know what anyone has to say about these cities and/or the schools. My two main concerns are regarding safety and lack of tourism. I'd like to study somewhere where I'll feel safe to move about and explore. Also, I want to avoid encountering a lot of "gringos" and tourists. I want to experience as little "americanization" or commercialism as possible. If you have any comments regarding these locations/school, or if you can suggest other places in Nicaragua or South/Central America, please let me know.

Thanks in advance!

-yossarian

[diesel]

My name is Carlos and i was in Nicaragua recently. This January i visited Granada and let me tell you it is the nicest city in Central America. I have also been to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador and Granada beats them all. It has a classic spanish look to it, with Cathedrals and monuments all over. It is also on lake Nicaragua which is famous for it's 365 islands and fresh water sharks. The only drawback you may have is that there are many tourist in the area, but it is also a safe place to be in. I am not to familiar with Esteli so i couldn't help you there.

[austin]

I'm from Esteli and I can tell you that you wont regret it,
Granada is nice too, but I never been there. Esteli is a small city with mountans all around, temp. is about 75-80 all yr. round. If you're looking for something more jungle like go Norht to Quilali or further yet go to Wiwilly these are at the north central part of the country. Let me know if I can help you some more, I'll be happy to.

[delgado25]

que caballerosos los muchachitos

[cortez]

I hope my spanish is correct in the title, please tell me if it isn't. Bueno, vamos a ver:

Thanks guys for such quick responses! I'm happy to hear that Granada is such a nice place. One question though, are the "turistas" mostly americans, europeans, or latin americans? I'm just trying to avoid hearing any english while I'm there. Also, have any of you all heard of the NSS (Nicaragua Spanish School) in Granada? Anyone know of any stories good or bad about it? Also, any info on the quality and reputation of the CENAC school in Esteli would be helpful too. I'm leaning towards Granada, but budget wise Esteli sounds good too (the school is a lot cheaper). Also, I'm interested in learning more about the Sandinista movement, and I've heard that Esteli was an important location during the Sandinista/Contra conflict. Is that correct? I look forward to your responses.

Thank you!

-yossarian

[diesel]

Well i couldn't tell you much about the school you have mentioned, but i can tell you that if you want imformation on the Sandiniasta movement, you wont have to go very far, You see, the people of Nicaragua are very aware of their long and bloody battles between the sandinistas and the contras which as you now were Somaza's men. There are many sites in Nicaragua that enhance your understanding of past conflicts such as the city of Leon and the capital itself. What i suggest you do is, to travel to these places since transpotation is cheap. You can take a bus to most locations and they are relatively safe. The only place where you should be careful when taking a bus is in Managua. But you can take a taxi which as you will see is much safer and comfortable and doesn't cost much. Even Granada is very rich in history regarding the sandinistas. Now regarding the tourist, they are mostly european and some american. They are scattered though and i don't think you'll have problem.