Word: amundson
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...Margaret Amundson is no stranger to adventure, having raced dragon boats in China's Hunan province and explored the Tikal ruins of Guatemala. When she cast about in 1997 for a school to improve her Spanish, the Michigan nurse looked first to Ecuador, explaining, "I was fascinated by the indigenous cultures, and I wanted to see the Galapagos before they are destroyed." At the Academia Latinoamericana de Espanol in the capital city of Quito, she was not disappointed. After three intensive weeks of private classes and living with a family, she went off better prepared for her explorations. Says Amundson...
People like Amundson are responsible for a miniboom in language instruction in this small South American nation, where more than 60 schools, academies and tutoring firms have sprouted since 1995. With a total of 100 language schools, Ecuador rivals Costa Rica, Mexico and Guatemala as a Spanish-learning mecca, and government officials are hoping to turn language tourism into a significant generator of income. "It is exactly the kind of quality industry that our country so badly needs," explains Concepcion Barahona de Pozo, Ecuador's tourism undersecretary...
Such discomforts, though, are a small price to pay for the richness of the experience. Margaret Amundson's reward came on a subsequent trip to Costa Rica where she spent an entire day talking in Spanish with a tour guide. When she slipped at one point, he turned to her, surprised, and exclaimed, "I didn't know you spoke English." Recalls Amundson: "That really made my whole trip...
...even five of our computers have Wordperfect cleared, that's a pretty traumatic thing for students who have papers to write," Amundson said...
...Amundson said that the walk-in computer at the Office of Information Technology (OIT) had previously discovered the same virus...