Our Team

“Seeking happiness is a natural instinct, finding it is an education.” We are three friends, we have two careers, two countries, two cultures, two languages and we believe that all those things are fun, and that fun is the best educational method.

San José

Beautiful San José is the capital of Silicon Valley and the largest city (with 1,000,000) of the Bay Area. Nonetheless, it is a garden city due to its low density, good weather, and cared development.

Founded by the Spaniards in 1777, San José still keeps some of its original flavor. According to Visit San José, Spanish is spoken at 24% of homes (still far from the 95% of Laredo). English is spoken in 46% of homes and, “among the 100 largest metros, San José is identified as the most diverse, with 35% of its population White, 31% Asian, 28% Hispanic, 3% two or more races and 2% Black.”

Spanish for Engineers

You can practice your Spanish everywhere here, but if you want to visit places as well, don´t miss our recommendations: with Sun light, Rose Garden and the Japanese Garden; to hike on the hills, Alum Rock Park; to go with the little ones, Happy Hollow and the Children Discovery Museum; after siesta, History Park; at dusk, the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, Winchester House; and at night the, Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, and Santana Row and Willow Glenn districts, the tapas zones.

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Francisco Bruquetas is the founder of Bruquetas Publishing and author of the series of books Using English to Learn Spanish. He also teaches Spanish for Professionals and Technical Writing at San José State University (SJSU). Licensed electrical engineer in Spain, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, he also holds a M.A. in Spanish (SJSU). Last thing, don´t miss his last sci-fi novel El Espejo de Adán.

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San Francisco

The city of by the bay joined the Atlantic and the Pacific coast by railroad for the first time. It is where Phileas Fogg arrived just in time in his Around the World in Eighty Days.

The Mission District, also know as The Mission, or La Misión, has historically been home to mostly middle-class Latino families. The district is centered around Dolores Park. But, of course, you can use your Spanish everywhere.

Spanish for Engineers

To know San Francisco, pick a place among Kara´s suggestions at Wimsy Soul, who talented crammed a lot of activities in One day in San Francisco Itinerary : Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, Haight Street, Hayes Valley, Union Square, Chinatown, North Beach Lombard Street, Chinatown, Ghirardelli Square, Fisherman’s Wharf, and La Misión again.

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Javier Caelles is a tourist guide and a Spanish teacher. Born in Barcelona, he completed International Studies at Golden Gate University, San Francisco. He speaks English, Spanish, Catalan, and Italian. Initially as a retail specialist in San Francisco, he became an expert on all aspects of international life of the city. As an entrepreneur, Javier opened his first store Bossa in 2008 and has become a shareholder of different successful night clubs. Javier is our to-go instructor in the city.

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Madrid

The large Retiro district of Madrid was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO. “It illustrates the aspiration for a utopian society during the height of the Spanish Empire, linked to the enlightened idea of democratization of knowledge, and exercised major influence in Latin America.” Additionally, there are five other UNESCO sites around Madrid (Alcalá de Henares, Toledo, Ávila, El Escorial, and Segovia).

Madrileños make their life on the street. They walk a lot, stop in bars and cafés a lot, and talk a lot. This makes Madrid an ideal place to practice your Spanish.

Spanish for Engineers

Madrid is the home of the Real Academia Española and many prestigious universities. Ten things not to miss in Madrid are: to row a boat in El Retiro Park, meet a friend in Puerta del Sol, have a calamari sub in Plaza Mayor, a hot chocolate with churros in San Ginés café, and a caña of beer (8 oz) wherever you are thirsty, watch a soccer game of Real Madrid, visit the enormous Royal Palace, gaze a sunset in the Egyptian temple of Debod, go out for some tapas and drinks at night, and have a romantic walk back home. Conversely, these are the ten things to not do in Madrid: don’t carry any bottle of water (there´s a bar in each corner), don’t wear any cups (it’s never so sunny or cold to justify it), don’t eat while walking (that makes walking not fun), don’t rent a car (you may drive but you can´t park), don’t judge that people speak aloud, toss paper napkins on the floor, or eat pizza with utensils (try yourself), don’t support Barcelona soccer team (unless you are Oriol Bricks), don’t speak about politics with your new friends (unless they are totally on your side), don’t say “no” when they insist on paying for your drink (there’s no catch), don’t refuse getting directions (they love give them) and, finally, don´t try to understand what “lo que yo te digo” means.

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Jaime Camino was born in Madrid. He holds a B.S. in Social Work from Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Initially as export specialist, he changed jobs to one of his passions, computer science. Currently, he works as technology specialist for the multinational GSK. Jaime has travelled to UK and the US. He loves sports -all sports, web design, and the nightlife of Madrid.

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