La Confluencia de Culturas

I've just come back from Malaga and I am once again struck by the strong Arab and Jewish influence that when I was younger I simply thought of as Spanish, maybe Andalucian Spanish. Andalucia is a fascinating region, of which Malaga is a lovely province. The capital of the province is of course Malaga City. The city is campaigning to be named European Cultural Capital of 2016, so it is doing some wonderful housecleaning, including creating more pedestrian zones, planting more flowers, etc. The fact that Malaga is on the coast is a big plus for the city - lots of restaurants line the beach - from informal chiringuitos in the sand to formal, pricey ones with lovely views.

I went to visit Spanish schools so I would have good places to send our students and so also visited schools in Marbella, Benalmadena and Ronda. Spectacular architecture and design. I learned that the Spanish word azulejo (painted tile) doesn't come from the word azul (many of the first ones were blue) but rather from the Arabic word for tile.

I visited the University of Malaga in Ronda - a beautiful city high atop a mountain, with sweeping vistas that leave one weak. ILI is teaming with the University to offer a course called España: La Confluencia de Culturas. Email me if you're interested this university course at alexis@languageschoolusa.org