Top spots in Brooklyn: according to staff at the Brooklyn School of Languages

Cactus talks to staff at the new Brooklyn School of Languages to get the low down on the coolest places in town…

1. Dennis Chase – Director of Studies

Dennis is originally from Connecticut and moved to New York five years ago. He originally moved because of his wife’s job but he loves the restaurants, nightlife and jazz clubs of the city.

Dennis’ Top Tips for Jazz in New York:

Low end: Fat Cat in Greenwich Village

Great for: Live jazz, ping pong and foosball

Mid range: Smalls in Greenwich Village

Great for: Feeling like you’re back in the 1950s

High end: Smoke on the Upper West Side

Great for: Top level musicians and excellent food menu

Dennis’ Top Tip for your stay: Check out Barclay’s Center.

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2. Eva Kramer – Administrator

Eva is a born and bred Brooklynite, from the Fort Greene area. She loves Brooklyn because it is less touristy, quieter and calmer than Manhattan. Once you cross the bridge there is a change of pace and things are more residential.

Eva’s Top Tips for Eating Out in Brooklyn…

Brunch: Olea in Fort Greene

Great for: Mediterranean and Turkish style breakfasts

Lunch: Farmer in the Deli in Fort Greene

Great for: the biggest and cheapest hero (baguette style sandwich) in Brooklyn

Dinner: Fortune House in Brooklyn Heights

Great for: hot and sour soup

Dessert: Junior’s in Brooklyn Heights

Great for: the original New York cheesecake

Eva’s top tip for your stay: don’t go home without visiting Coney Island and the Transport Museum.

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3. Mathilde Brouillet – Head of Admissions

Mathilde has lived in NYC for three years but she is originally from Paris, France. She likes Brooklyn because although it’s very close to Manhattan, it’s quieter and has a real sense of community.

Mathilde’s Top Tips to avoid culture shock in New York…

Tipping: Everyone is expected to tip in New York – even if you think the service was bad. A good rule of thumb to follow is:

Happy – 20%

Ok – 15%

Not happy – 10%

Plan before you arrive: NYC can be overwhelming with so much to do and see. Mathilde recommends going online before you arrive to find out what’s happening during the time you are there and to plan what you want to see. Good places to start are Time Out and About.com.

Medication: Bring your own if you need it as medication is very expensive, especially compared to Europe.

Thank to Dennis, Eva and Mathilde for giving us their top tips for Brooklyn and New York. If you’re heading there, don’t forget to look these places up! And feel free of course to give us recommendations of your own…


The Brooklyn School of Languages offers year-round adult English courses, junior summer camps and daytime and evening foreign language courses.

Italian course in Rome: a first-hand account

Cactus Office Manager Claudia Ohde tells us why Italy’s historic capital was the perfect place for her Italian course…

I just came back from a one-week language holiday in Rome (from 31 degrees there to 13 degrees in Brighton!). Not only was the weather fantastic (it was hot but there was always a refreshing breeze – perfect summer weather in my eyes) but so was my language course! Each morning seemed to pass in no time which was mainly due to our fabulous teacher Marina who made learning fun and easy. She managed to keep the entire class in Italian at all times, including the breaks she spent with us on the terrace. Quite an achievement in a beginner level 2 class and despite the cheeky attempts of some students to sneak some English in.

The classroom activities included lots of group work with changing partners, playing memory to broaden our vocabulary, well planned role-play and even the creation of a short rap song! Would you have advertised the course like this to me beforehand I might have chickened out (I’m not the role play type!), but Marina managed to keep everyone engaged and motivated at all times and I really enjoyed myself.

The class was a great mixture of 12 people from 11 different countries – France, Sweden, Germany, Libya, USA, Venezuela, Japan, Korea, China, Netherlands and Russia. The school was in a very central location close to the main station and the building had everything a good school needs: good sized class rooms with interactive whiteboards, air conditioning, wifi for the students and a nice cafeteria with inexpensive food (home-made) and drinks. Staff were very welcoming and friendly and everything was very well organised. They also offer a very interesting programme of after-school activities. I particularly enjoyed a seminar about Italian wines which was held by one of the teachers and was very informative and easy to understand. It of course included a little wine testing and some nibbles (my favourite Taralli) too!

The rest of the time I enjoyed walking through Rome with its unique mixture of ancient historic sights that pop up between rather modern buildings just everywhere! I particularly enjoyed walking around in Trastevere, a quiet old town area shielded from noisy traffic and the 10,000 Harley Davidsons bikers that populated Rome that weekend to celebrate their 110th anniversary and to get their blessing from the Pope.

Cactus offers Italian courses in Rome and in many other locations across Italy. Italian evening and part time courses are also available in the UK and the US.

Cactus specialises in organising language courses for individuals and groups, having done so since 1999 for clients all over the globe and for diverse needs and budgets. With an extensive network of approved teachers and a strong in-house academic team, we are able to tailor a language course to suit your specific learning needs, anywhere in the world and whenever is convenient to you.