ericowensdc

Where would you spend two weeks in August in Spanish immersion classes? Suppose you are a teenager.

San Sebastian has Semana Grande in August. Salamanca is beautiful and reportedly has great student nightlife. Valencia is a real city. Which would you choose and why?

Revulgo

If you really wish an immersion to learn good Spanish (Castilian), head to Salamanca.

VANAARLE

Agree with the above. However Universities are closed in August so i do not know how much of the " great student nightlife" you write about you will get.
All 3 are real cities.

mikelg

The three are real cities, with a significant population (Donostia-San Sebastian has 185,000h, Salamanca 145,000h and Valencia is the biggest of the three, almost 800,000h). D-SS has mild summers and has three beaches (but beach weather in northern Spain is not always a possibility, as it´s a rainy area), Valencia is very close to the beach too (but August may be too hot and humid), and Salamanca is inland, with very warm August temperatures. There will be no student nightlife in any of them during August, as college does not start until mid September. D-SS is also a Basque speaking city, while Valencia is also a Valencian speaking city (Spain has 4 official languages). Spanish in the three cities is equally good, with some regional dialect differences. It may be a question of availabilty and price.

kleeblatt

I'd go to Bilbao before San Sebastian for Spanish immersion. It's an amazing city that is much more youthful than SS. However, my favourite city in Spain is Valencia simply because it ticks all the boxes.

kanadajin

I am certainly biased on this, but to me it would be Salamanca. I actually did this many years ago, was hesitant on the city, picked Salamanca based on recommendations on this forum and never regretted it. I keep extremely fond memories of my time in this city which is neither not too big nor not too small. Also I am certainly not an expert on accents, but it is said that the Castilian Spanish spoken in Salamanca is supposed to be the "purest" in the country ... I am not sure how to define that term. I am quite sure many hispanophones might contest this

annhig

I love Salamanca and would agree on it as a choice, but for the heat which in August could be brutal. The north or even Valencia would be better from that pov.

danon

Valencia…
big city…great beaches.

Revulgo

I would prefer the -not brutal- dry heat of Salamanca a thousand times over to the humid heat of Valencia.

danon

From what I. remember , hot weather was the last of my concerns when I was a teenager 😺

mikelg

Well, as a graduate philologist (Basque, English, French and Spanish) my opinion is that there is no "pure" Spanish, as there´s no "pure" English (or Queen´s English, as they like to say). Spain (as the original country for Spanish) has a wide variety of accents, and there´s no way to say which one is best. With 4 official languages (what we call Castilian Spanish, Catalan, Galician and Basque) and many dialects (Bable in Asturias, Valenciano -that is also considered by many Catalan and thus a language), Mallorquí (same as previous), Fabla in Aragón...and so on and so on, we speak Spanish in a very wide variety of accents, words, expressions...all of them valid. If compared to English, it would be something like Australian, British, Irish or US English, to name just a few varieties. So I think that "correct" Spanish (and if only refer to Spain, because we can´t forget that Spanish spoken in North, Central and South America is also very, very diverse in words, expressions, accents...) is not what one should be looking for when learning Spanish, as all forms are totally valid.

danon

Interesting point . My Spanish teachers have all been from Mexico or Central America. We were taught to use “ ustedes “ for
”you , plural..” .
.The first time I I said ustedes ( not vosotros ) speaking to a couple
from Madrid, they gave me a puzzled look. I learned since then !

mikelg

Hi Danon...well, in Spain we use the "usted" formal form of "tú" or "vosotros" with people we have not met before, and mainly if it´s someone with a position (doctor, for example) or with the elderly. And it´s also common in Andalucía instead of "vosotros", even the young ones use it, for everyone. Many people still use it when they talk to their parents...but not the young ones any more. In some countries of North, Central and South America the "usted" is the only use, ignoring the "tú", much less formal. The use of Spanish is quite complex depending on the country, we understand each other quite well, except for some words that may have the opposite meaning or are taboo in one country and of normal use in other countries (you cannot use "coger" for the bus in Argentina, as it´s customary use in Spain, for example. They say "tomar" instead of "beber" (to drink) in most of America. "Culo" (arse) is not acceptable in many American countries, and "concha" has a very different meaning in Spain than in Argentina. While a "carro" is a "car" in America but a "cart" in Spain, and not a "coche").

mikelg

Hi Danon...well, in Spain we use the "usted" formal form of "tú" or "vosotros" with people we have not met before, and mainly if it´s someone with a position (doctor, for example) or with the elderly. And it´s also common in Andalucía instead of "vosotros", even the young ones use it, for everyone. Many people still use it when they talk to their parents...but not the young ones any more. In some countries of North (Mexico is in fact North America), Central and South America the "usted" is the only use, ignoring the "tú", much less formal. The use of Spanish is quite complex depending on the country, we understand each other quite well, except for some words that may have the opposite meaning or are taboo in one country and of normal use in other countries (you cannot use "coger" for the bus in Argentina, as it´s customary use in Spain, for example. They say "tomar" instead of "beber" (to drink) in most of America. "Culo" (arse) is not acceptable in many American countries, and "concha" has a very different meaning in Spain than in Argentina. While a "carro" is a "car" in America but a "cart" in Spain, and not a "coche").

mikelg

Hi Danon...well, in Spain we use the "usted" formal form of "tú" or "vosotros" with people we have not met before, and mainly if it´s someone with a position (doctor, for example) or with the elderly. And it´s also common in Andalucía instead of "vosotros", even the young ones use it, for everyone. Many people still use it when they talk to their parents...but not the young ones any more. In some countries of North (Mexico is in fact part of North America together with the USA and Canada), Central and South America the "usted" is the only use, ignoring the "tú", much less formal. The use of Spanish is quite complex depending on the country, we understand each other quite well, except for some words that may have the opposite meaning or are taboo in one country and of normal use in other countries (you cannot use "coger" for the bus in Argentina, as it´s customary use in Spain, for example. They say "tomar" instead of "beber" (to drink) in most of America. "Culo" (arse) is not acceptable in many American countries, and "concha" has a very different meaning in Spain than in Argentina. While a "carro" is a "car" in America but a "cart" in Spain, and not a "coche").