Mr. Gerald Lucas is the owner of a real estate investment company, Performance Property, LLC, based in Jersey City, New Jersey and the author of a real estate short sale blog and, quite recently, his first book. He has attended ECELA’s Spanish Schools in Buenos Aires, Lima, and Santiago. He has even retuned to our schools multiple times! Mr. Lucas graciously set aside time so that I could interview him about his experience learning Spanish in our schools, his use of Spanish once he returned home, and his upcoming book, Short Sale Specifics.
VV: Of the ECELA schools that you have attended, which is your favorite school?
GL: It’s a tie between Santiago and Lima. I’ve been to Santiago more than anywhere else. The staff is outstanding there…the staff is outstanding everywhere. I liked that the [school] in Peru is a little more intimate, but the one in Santiago has more people, so group activities are more interesting. But it doesn’t have SO many people. I love the locations of both of the schools [Lima and Santiago]. They’re near restaurants, Lima is near the beach, and Santiago is right in Providencia, the best neighborhood in Santiago.
VV: Had you studied Spanish in the United States before or after attending our schools in South America?
GL: I studied a little bit, never in a school, but I took a short Berlitz language class in the US. They [ECELA and Berlitz] are not even comparable.
VV: That was going to be my next question! I was going to ask how those experiences compare.
GL: ECELA is far better. There’s no comparison at all, and Berlitz is world-renowned, but there is no comparison at all. The teachers at ECELA are trained in linguistics and how to teach language. I’m just blown away by how good all of the teachers are.
VV: I realize there are probably a lot, but in what aspects of your life have you used your Spanish knowledge and understanding?
GL: I use [Spanish] all the time! I live in an area with many Latinos. Jersey City is between 20 and 25 percent Latino, and it borders Union City to the north, where the population is 90 percent Latino. I also use it in my line of work.
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