I knew that I would not be able to get by as a solo traveler in Ecuador without some knowledge of Spanish. The little bit I had picked up when I was alone and confused in Costa Rica had already faded. A friend recommended an intensive program that she had tried in Quito called Academia Latinoamerica.

Ecuador is a popular country for taking Spanish classes. The Spanish spoken there is quite clear and supposedly most similar to Castillian Spanish without the lisping "c." There are many schools to choose from, but the prices are fairly standard, and I was quite happy with the Academia.

The cost is $265 per week for 4 hours of group classes per day, including homestay with a local family. There may be a discount if you are taking more weeks of classes, and I met a few students who were there for a whole semester.

Unfortunately, I thought that they were able to reevaluate students on a daily basis and move me if needed. By the second day, I already felt like I was being stifled by my classmates, one of whom had never taken a single foreign language class and one who had never even taken an ENGLISH grammar class, so she was confused by basic terms like "infinitive." But for a few more dollars, I was able to add 1 hour of private conversation with a teacher, which really boosted my confidence. If you stay on longer, you will probably get moved into a different class each week, and they tend to mix up the teachers so students get used to different voices.

But even with the slowness of the group classes, I learned a great deal and was able to get around the country with confidence.

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