Want to say more than just Hola! in Spanish? Well, Spaniard Valentin Giner Domene, takes Spanish classes in the city for a month. Valentin has been in Kerala for the past six months. A Spanish teacher at the Instituto Cervantes (akin to Alliance Francaise and Goethe Zentrum) in Spain, Valentin was invited to teach Spanish at Ma’din Spanish Academy, Malappuram.
“The Instituto Cervantes, which is under the government of Spain, has collaborated with Ma’din to promote Spanish language and culture,” says Valentin.
Valentin taught students of various ages at Ma’din. “I taught three batches comprising 10 students each. I follow a set syllabus set by Instituto Cervantes. Students are taught to converse and read Spanish. I screened a couple of Spanish movies for the students to watch. Some were by Oscar winning director Pedro Almodovar. The students of Kerala are interested and do know a bit about Spanish movies and literature. Many asked me about author Gabriel Garcia Marquez and his works. But most of my students were interested in learning the language for business purposes in South American countries.”
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Valentin is currently teaching the basics of Spanish to students of Kerala Institute of Travel and Tourism in the city from May.
The man who has travelled across Kerala finds the lush greenery charming. He also enjoys Indian cuisine although he does find certain dishes a bit too spicy for his taste buds. His favourite Indian dish so far, he says, is the biriyani.
Although he did try watching Malayalam movies, he gave up as they did not have subtitles. Valentin who spent most of his time in the State observing the people of Kerala and penning his thoughts down in his diary says he might turn his musings on his experience in the state into a book. He will be returning to Spain by the end of next month and hopes to return soon.
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The classes by Valentin will be at Sarwaa, Sasthamangalam. The classes begin on June 1 and conclude on June 30. There will be weekday classes (Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.) and weekend classes (Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 5.30 to 7.30 p.m.). Contact: 9562296229