Wanderlust - June 2011

This double-page spread in Wanderlust, the UK’s leading adventure travel magazine, takes a look at holidays where you can learn a skill.  Jessica Macias, one of Cactus’ recent Portuguese students, talks about her experiences of visiting Brazil and learning the language on location.  She gives an in-depth account of her experiences and her love of the country and culture: “I found Cactus Language online. I talked to them on the phone and tried out a weekend course. I was happy with the way it was organised so decided to go with them. In Rio I was welcomed by the family I would be staying with.  I expected the stereotype of ‘very warm Brazilians’ and I wasn’t let down!  the lady of the house was charming; she talked with me every morning and evening, and took me out at the weekends – to the local restaurant and to the beach on Sundays, which is what the whole of Rio seems to do.  I really felt part of the life there, it was wonderful.

“The classes started at 8.30am so I had to face rush-hour traffic, which felt very Brazilian. On the first day of school we took an exam, which placed us at the right level.  The next day, the lessons got serious!  At first, there were only two of us in our class so it was very intensive.  We’d be chatting in Portuguese the whole time – complete immersion.  We changed teachers every day to experience different accents and different methods, If you signed up for an extra lesson, you’d come back after lunch for two hours of teaching or and excursions – to the American football stadium, to museums, to the Corcovado.  Because the people in our group were quite good at the grammar, we were able to do more interesting stuff such as reading articles from magazines and talking about current events; in one lesson we talked about literature, music and film.  It was really good fun and tailored to your needs.  Everybody in that class really wanted to learn Portuguese, especially because people don’t speak English in Brazil so it’s really the only way to communicate with the locals…. The language is just so beautiful.  I feel richer culturally – it was such a wonderful experience.”