Aprende Portuguese Language Immersion Program

As a Portuguese learner, I have always wanted to visit the countries in Africa that speak Portuguese. When I found Aprende Portuguese, I knew it was my chance. I was able to live the island life, and go on adventures while learning and practicing Portuguese.

I am interested in a career in international affairs, and Aprende Portuguese coordinated a meeting with the United States ambassador as well as with other important political figures in Cabo Verde. It was such an amazing experience to learn about the Cabo Verdean government and relations with other countries, as well as to make valuable connections for my future.

As a dancer, I love to learn the local dances of where I travel. While studying in Cabo Verde, I was able to enjoy the amazing nightlife and take classes to continue to further my Kizomba and Zouk dance skills. The African energy is as contagious as ever, and has left me with memories for a lifetime.

My favorite part of the Aprende Portuguese program was that we busted outside the classroom walls and learned with the locals. We were able to apply our Portuguese skills in real life while exploring the country. I had the time of my life, and highly recommend Aprende Portuguese to anyone who wants to learn Portuguese through immersion in paradise!

I first whet my travel appetite in 2014, when I spent nine months studying abroad in Northern Ireland. That experience cultivated my love of culture and connection, but there was no language barrier. In Cape Verde, I had the amazing and challenging opportunity to be immersed in a country very different from any place I had ever visited, where locals spoke a language I did not know. The Aprende Portuguese program did a great job easing me into the culture, while forcing me to pick up Portuguese in order to communicate.

Beyond the strides I made in language learning, the fellowship was a wonderful time to grow close to other participants, make local friends and experience the glorious natural beauty of the African islands.

Three wonderful memories remain in my mind. On one day of the program, we traversed the island of Santiago, seeing villages, rugged shoreline, and sunset over the mountains. Another day, we visited the U.S. ambassador in Praia, Cape Verde's capital. Finally, we crashed zumba classes with locals, to the beat of energetic island tunes. These three examples give just a taste of the multifarious experiences you'll have with Aprende Portuguese.

Aprende Portuguese was a terrific introduction not only to the Portuguese language but into island life here on the African continent. Praia, the capital, is a tight knit community that genuinely wants you to feel the "morabeza" of its country. There is no direct translation for this term, but it essentially means the welcoming, hospitable, safe and tranquil spirit of the island that islanders truly wish for their visitors to imbibe. Within such a short time, my experience and daily interactions with the locals truly embodied the essence of this word.

At the same time, I appreciated the immersive experience that the program provided. As a Spanish speaker, I was eager to learn Portuguese, but unsure how to bridge the language barrier. Here, in this friendly environment, I discovered that the two languages have more similarities than differences and that the bulk of the divide came down to accents and slight word variations. My teacher took learning outside of the classroom, and in doing so, plunged me into authentic experiences that accelerated my language skills and understanding of Cape Verde’s dynamic way of life. This meant intermingling with local islanders -- whether by asking for directions, bargaining prices in the marketplaces, negotiating fares with the taxi cab drivers, touring historic landmarks, or simply conversing with my teacher over a cup of espresso.

In summary, for anyone looking for a safe, economical, captivating experience, all the while learning Portuguese; I cannot recommend Aprende Portuguese enough! I invite you to embrace the morabeza spirit and be enchanted by what you find here in beautiful Cape Verde.

As a language learner and global citizen, I have found that learning Portuguese has been one of the best decisions of my life. It has opened up doors personally and professionally to me that I could have never accessed without the cultural knowledge and language skills that the Portuguese language provided me. As the sixth most spoken language in the world, and as a language that is spoken on four different continents, Portuguese will provide you with countless opportunities!

Aprende Portuguese provided me with the perfect environment to improve my Portuguese! It was a perfect balance for me between classes, practical application and fun. Our teacher often took us out of the classroom to put our language skills into practice and to see different areas of the island. This allowed for an immersive experience that I would not have had as a tourist!

Additionally, the islands themselves are stunning and geographically diverse. On days off from studying, you can spend one day on the beach, and the next you could spend hiking and trekking through the mountains! You can explore the capital city of Praia with its colonial architecture then, you can visit the museum of Amílcar Cabral, a hero of decolonization in Cape Verde. Overall, I loved the island’s fusion of European and African influence. I highly recommend this program to anyone interested in learning Portuguese in a fun, interactive and culturally immersive environment!