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Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (April 16, 1921 - March 28, 2004)
We'd like to pay tribute to the man who brought us Hercule Poirot
and much more. Peter Ustinov was a man of many talents and languages:
not only was he was a writer, actor, dramatist, Oscar winner and
ambassador to UNICEF and UNESCO...he also spoke English, French,
German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and Modern Greek. |
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Paul Henderson: Havana Vedado, Feb 04
"Thank you for your email asking for feedback. Rarely do I
get a chance to give feedback that is 100% positive but in this
case there is nothing negative for me to say.
My trip was very successful, and very well organised. Before I
left I was happy with the service I received from Cactus Language
- Sarah answered all my questions quickly, succintly and accurately,
gave me a lot of good advice and dealt with my arrangements in a
professional and friendly manner. |
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The school was well organised and made good efforts to bring the
students together. As a result the group got on really well - I
am still in touch with several people I met and will be meeting
up with a few in Switzerland in May. I liked the classroom structure,
small and involved. My teacher was very professional and very friendly...I
learned a lot and was very happy with my Spanish by the end of the
trip.
My family was wonderful. They really looked after me, even when
things were not too good for them - a close relative of theirs was
very ill but still they made time to ensure I was being looked after.
They really were a lovely family. And of course Havana is a great
place to visit. I thouroughly enjoyed exploring the city, going
out to the beaches now and again and getting into the nightlife.
It is such an interesting and enjoyable place, on many levels. I
will definitely go back.
All in all I had a great time. I will no doubt do another language
course in the future and I will definitely look to see what you
can arrange for me - there's the whole of Latin America still to
be explored :)
So, I give a glowing report, and no doubt you are seeking some constructive
criticism - it seems strange, but I find myself apologising for
not having any. Many thanks, Paul"
To find out more about Paul's Spanish
Course in Havana >>
Val Howden - Siena &
Seville, Feb-March 04
Siena (February)
I had a wonderful time and am not sure where to start! My hotel
was very comfortable and the walk everyday to the school was
lovely, across Piazza del Campo, Siena's main square.
The school building itself was fantastic (they were busy renovating
it whilst I was there) and the views out across the valley were
amazing. The teaching staff were very friendly and informal.
I had 6 people in my class: a couple from South Korea, and students
from Japan, Mexico, Switzerland and Austria. As the school was
so small it was easy to get to know everyone quickly. As we
were all beginners and our only common language was Italian,
it was a real laugh in the lessons. There was also a real mixture
of ages. The teacher Enzo was excellent, and was very patient
with us all.
The trips organised by the school were excellent: we had 2 wine
tasting sessions and then visited a wine estate where we had
a talk from the estate manager, saw the wine cellars and even
got to try Binello wine!
In my cookery lessons there were 4 of us, and together we cooked
4-course traditional Tuscan meals and then all sat down to eat
the food and drink wine.
Siena itself was beautiful - everything is within walking distance,
and there is stunning architecture, museums and churches. It
was also a very safe city with great bars and discos. I would
thouroughly recommend it to anyone. |
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| Seville (March)
Seville was amazing! It's much bigger than Siena, and it
was great just getting lost in the maze of narrow streets.
My apartment was right in Santa Cruz, and the weather was
wonderful - 30 degrees in March! There was also a lovely orange
bossom scent around the city. You could walk everywhere and
I loved the fact that people would sit down at 10-11 o'clock
at night to eat dinner.
The school was much bigger than Siena but I remained in a
small class of 6, with students from Austria, Holland, Denmark
and Japan. The teaching was of a very high standard and the
free Internet access at the school was really useful. They
also had a great library with loads of resources. Nothing
at the school seemed too much trouble - they were very flexible.
There were trips organised everyday in the afternoons and
evenings. The Flamenco dancing was a brilliant night out.
Córdoba was a fantastic trip out and I also visited
various monuments in and around Seville. Again, I took cookery
lessons, and there were only 2 of us in the class and we made
really interesting Andalucian dishes. |
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I would say from a language point of view that I came away with a
basic grasp of both languages and am now confident about holding a
conversation. It was also a fantastic opportunity to meet new people,
some of whom I'm going to keep in touch with. It was a great experience
and one I would absolutely recommend. I will definitely go back at
some point - I've had a good kick start in both languages! I just
need to find some way to keep up the lessons locally...thanks again.
Val" To find out more about Val's Italian
& Cooking Course in Siena >> Spanish
Course in Seville >>
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Prices Reduced Even More!
A little while ago we were able to reduce our prices
for destinations such as the US & Latin America,
due to the decreasing value of the dollar...and we're
sure you'll be pleased to hear that we have also now
REDUCED PRICES FOR ALL EUROPEAN
DESTINATIONS. There has never been a better
time to book that language holiday you've been dreaming
of - and with the weather getting that little bit warmer,
what more incentive could you want...
Check out our website,
explore our new
interactive map, or call us for info on 0845 130
4775.
* Cactus Fact: 40%
of our clients are now
booking online because
it's so easy...plus it's cheaper! * |
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New Recruits - Cactus Language
Training & Marketing
We'd like to extend a warm welcome to Nick Marks who
will be joining our Cactus
Language Training department on 19th April...and
to Vicky Gabrielli from Sao Paulo who will be helping
out our creative team until the end of May.
If you are interested in jobs at Cactus please click
here >>
If you are interested in multi-lingual vacancies
in the Glasgow area click
here >>
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Summer Programmes in Europe
It's already April and those of you with families will
know how far ahead you need to plan holidays. Our Junior
Language Programmes could be exactly what you need
if you have children of 6-18 years looking for a few
fun-filled weeks in France, Spain, Germany, Italy or
the UK. Running throughout July and August, our junior
programmes are fully supervised and combine language
classes with a whole range of fun sporting, social and
cultural activities.
Could this fill the gap? Please email
Laura for a quote or if you'd simply like more details.
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TEFL Courses This Summer - Cambridge CELTA & Trinity
CertTESOL
Now is the time to apply for courses across the whole
of the summer - from Easter places start filling on
all courses. The first step is to download an application
form from www.cactusteachers.com.
Then you have an interview (face-to-face or over the
phone) and last of all, you choose your dates and book
your place. This all takes time, so this is why it's
good to apply early! Phone us on 0845 130 4775 if you'd
like to chat through your plans.
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| Want
a New Life Teaching English Abroad? Get a Life Coach!
It's a huge decision to quit your work and move to another
country to teach English - even if you only go for a
year! That's why we've enlisted the services of our
very own life coach to help you through the issues you're
likely to face! Find
out more >> |
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STOP PRESS…. STOP PRESS….
Our latest exciting destinations for the two leading
TEFL qualifications - CELTA and CertTESOL are GOLDERS
GREEN in LONDON and DUBAI in the United Arab Emirates!
Visit www.cactusteachers.com
to find out more!
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This newsletter is for you. If there is anything you would
like to see covered in this newsletter, please e-mail
us your ideas now.
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