Frequently Asked Questions

IV. Why choosing Fundación Brasilia?

A. Teaching
B. Excellence

I. Mendoza. Lodging. Transport.

A. How to get to Mendoza

You can get to Mendoza by:

Plane
- From Buenos Aires (Arg.) - Aeroparque Jorge Newbery - 1 hour 30 minutes
- From Santiago (Chile) - SCL Terminal Aéreo Santiago - 45 minutes
The local airlines are:
- Aerolíneas Argentinas
- Austral
- Lan Argentina
Bus

From everywhere in Argentina or from its bordering countries. The journey by bus from Buenos Aires to Mendoza takes about fifteen hours.The bus lines are also good and the bus tickets are much cheaper than the plane tickets. Unlike other countries, here you can make your trip all night long. This is an advantage that lets you save a lodging night so you don't have to waste a whole day traveling.

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B. Features of the city

What's the city like?

Mendoza, located at the foot of the Andes range at 750 meters above the sea level in the Argentine Mid-West, is a true oasis. Everything you see here was set up by the man's hand; from the aborigines' "acequias" (watering ditches), up to the most advanced and modern buildings, passing through the legacy of industries and cultivations of the 19th and 20th centuries the European immigrants left. All of them made our province a land worth to live in and enjoy.

The territory presents a varied topography with the Andes range and the highest peaks of the continent (Aconcagua 6,962 m.) in the West and the arid plains in the East.

The picturesque city of Mendoza contains colonial houses which contrast with its modern buildings. There are many green spaces -squares and parks- and a great amount of trees in all its streets provide the city's sidewalks with shadow and give the city a special microclimate.

There are regional museums, cinemas and shopping centers. The theatre rooms and street theatres offer a great variety of plays.

For those who have some spare time during the day -or at night- the cafés and restaurants distributed all over down town are the ideal place to go.

It's common to see the biggest diversity of tourists in Arístides Villanueva St. due to the great number of hostels and bars located here.

How many inhabitants does it have?

The province has 1,579,651 inhabitants distributed in a 148,827 km² surface.

We are friendly people, who still maintain the joyful culture of our Spanish and Italian grandparents, mixed with the melancholy of tango.

What's the weather like?

The weather is semi-dry continental, with a rain average of 220 mm per year, being summer the rainiest season.

The four seasons are quite different from one another.

Summer: December 21st to March 20th, the temperatures vary from 16ºC and 34ºC in average.

Fall: March 21st to June 20th, between 11ºC and 22ºC in average.

Winter: June 21st to September 20th, between 3ºC and 14ºC in average.

Spring: September 21st to December 20th, between 10ºC and 25ºC in average.

www.weather.com

What about crime?

Mendoza is reckoned as one of the most peaceful cities of Argentina, but it's important to be careful since by no means it's away from the usual problems every cosmopolitan and tourist city holds. To counter this, there is a huge amount of policemen set out 24 hours a day in the main streets and avenues such as Arístides Villanueva, where our Foundation is located.

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C. What kind of lodging can I get?

The lodging choice is varied.

Hotels

There are hotels from 1 to 5 stars, with plenty of prices and services.

Hostels

They are well equipped with TV set, DVD, music, hot water 24 hours a day, swimming pool, lockers, free internet. These services include bed linen (sheets and blankets). The rooms can be single or shared. The kitchen is communal as well as other spaces.
Many of these hostels are on Arístides Villanueva St. and its surroundings.

Temporary Apartments

Besides privacy, they include the same services that hostels offer plus a garage and, sometimes, domestic service and breakfast.

Family Homes

This is the ideal choice for those who want to live the local culture thoroughly through a homestay. In this way not only you have the chance to practice Spanish the whole day but you also interact with the day by day living of an Argentine family.

D. What means of transport does the city have?

It has the most usual ones. There are taxis, "remises", urban buses, trolleybuses and a picturesque tramcar.

Taxis and Remises

They are the safest and most convenient for their prices. Obviously, those prices depend on distance covered. A journey down town may be around $10.

Urban Buses

The ticket is $1,40 and the distance they cover is quite long. To travel on them you must buy a Redbus card. Its price is $5, and you load it with the amount of journeys you want to do and on the bus a scanner deducts the amount of the ticket from your previously loaded card.

Trolleybuses

Just like the urban buses, the price of the ticket is $ 1,40 and you can also use the Redbus card.

Tramcar

This is a likeable and nostalgic mean of transport adapted to the requirements of the modern city. It reminds the old tramcars that traveled across Mendoza's streets on railways. The units are 12 meters long and they have stops in each street.

Anyway, there's no need to worry since the people are very friendly and supportive, and if any doubt arises, any passer-by can help you solve it.

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II. Turism. Culture. Amusement

A. Tourist Activities

What Tourist Activities does the city offer?

There is a great variety of offers for tourists. There are a lot of firms dedicated to the organization of all kinds of tourist events and at Fundación Brasilia we get you in touch with all of them.

The Wine Roads

Traveling across "The Wine Roads" you can visit the best wineries of the province and taste the best Mendoza's wines. You can also enjoy the local cuisine, the history and current affaires of the wine industry.

Alternative Tourism & Adventure Sport

For the lovers of nature and adrenaline, Mendoza is the right place for alternative tourism. Among the activities you can do trekking, rock climbing, rafting, horse riding, abseiling, mountain-biking, kayaking, paragliding, diving, wine-bike-tour, off-roading, snowboarding & skiing, fly fishing stand out.

City tours & others

There are tours all over the city and its surroundings day and night, as well as visits to historic spots and wild places with unbelievable landscapes where you can admire nature in its most pure state.

Up on the mountains you can find Uspallata, Puente Del Inca and the ski resorts Los Penitentes, Valles del Plata and Las Leñas.

Uspallata

The Valley of Uspallata was the scenery of the Huarpe occupation in pre hispanic times. There are plenty of archaeologic remains that date 1,500 years back up to the Inca domination.

This is a city built in a valley of multicolored hills between 1,900 and 2,500 meters above the sea level, 105 kilometers to the West of Mendoza city.

Las Bóvedas (The Vaults) -two km from Uspallata village- were built by the Jesuits around 1600. In this place there used to be melted gold, silver and iron. They stopped working in the early 19th century. Today it's a museum which presents four rooms made of braided canes and mud. There's a hydraulic mill from the late 18th century of three meters deep.

This village, located in the heart of the Andes range is a tourist attraction spot for Las Bóvedas and Las Casuchas, declared National Monuments. Furthermore, it is and ideal place for nature exploration and the practice of high risk sports. In 2000 Brad Pitt filmed "Seven Years In Tibet" there.

Los Penitentes & Las Leñas

The ski resort Los Penitentes is located 65 km from Uspallata, and Las Leñas is in the South of the province in the department of Malargüe. Both hold modern facilities and the tourists can accommodate themselves in any of their comfortable hotels. The daily ticket is around U$S 23. The ski season starts in June and ends in September.

Puente del Inca

Puente del Inca (The Inca's Bridge) is 8 Km. far from Los Penitentes. This is a rocky formation that makes a natural bridge above the Rio de las Cuevas (a river). This place contains a sulphurous thermal spring and its waters own healing and anti stress properties due to its content of salts and sodium chloride. Such waters are alkaline, bicarbonated and calcic. Its curious formation and its past as a hot-bath hotel have made it an outstanding tourist spot, currently reckoned by the province government as a Natural Protected Area.

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B. Cultural Activities

Where are the museums? What kind of plays are exhibit at the theatres?

Most of museums, theatres and cinemas are located down town, close to our Foundation.

There's a big cultural offer in Mendoza. There's a variety of alternatives like important theaters (traditional and street kind), cinemas, museums (historic and scientific), galleries, wineries, pictorial, photographic and art exhibitions and music concerts. These activities take place from Monday to Sunday in different times. The themes and the sort of plays are also varied. They go from regional plays up to international topics.

Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia

Every March since 1936 we celebrate the Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia (National Harvest Festival), considered the world's biggest wine celebration which is quite a symbol for us, since Mendoza is the Latin American capital of wine.

C. Amusement

What's Mendoza's night like?

Mendoza's night is one of the funniest in Argentina and there are many choices. Here people go out dancing late at night (after 1 AM) so the party night ends at 7 AM. A usual practice before going dancing is to do what we call "la previa" that consists in going to a bar or pub at around 11 PM with friends or alone so that you meet people and socialize even more before entering the discotheque.

The bars and discotheques are most of them in Arístides Villanueva st and the flow of people of different ages and styles is a feature of this street.

There exist thematic discotheques with different dance floors for each kind of music (rock, pop, dance, reggae, Brazilian, etc.) and also the "milongas" where you can have a meal, see a spectacle and dance in a typical "tanguero" atmosphere.

Mendoza has two major casinos. One of them is the Regency Casino that belongs to the Park Hyatt Hotels & Resorts. The other one is Casino de Mendoza that belongs to the provincial government. Both of them have plenty of slots and gaming tables as well as live music concerts and restaurants.

III. Interaction & Language

A. Interaction with other students

Can I interact with students of other languages?

At our building we have common areas such as the Library, Video room and terrace where students of every language share day after day. Furthermore, at Fundación Brasilia we organize periodically thematic parties in which everyone gets in touch with each other and has the chance to socialize outside the academic field.

B. Language differences

Is the Spanish from Spain too different from the one in Latin American countries?

Yes. It's different. But just like in any language, every country has its own special features. Moreover, each region has a different timbre in its way of speaking. Of course, in both continents we speak the same language and we understand each other perfectly.

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IV. Why choosing Fundación Brasilia?

Because not only you learn languages.

Teaching

We are the headquarters of the Brazilian community in Mendoza so we can show you the South American culture with the utmost depth and amplitude you can find. So if you add general knowledge to language learning such as dances, history, cuisine and idiosyncrasy, you'll understand and enjoy thoroughly your stay in Mendoza and in any Latin American country.

Because we provide you with tourist information and advising and contact you with the consulates/embassies of Brazil, Portugal, Italy, United States of America, Germany, France, Denmark, Arab-Syrian Republic, Chile, Spain, Uruguay, etc. in Mendoza and Buenos Aires.

Because we have the most qualified and suitable teachers and staff. Altogether we create an excellent study environment where you'll feel comfortable at any time and not just while you take your Spanish lessons in Mendoza.

Excellence

Because we have a variety of courses for you to choose, and the flexibility of our system allows us design tailor made courses for each student any time of the year.

Because at Fundación Brasilia we have more than 12 non-interrupted years of solid experience in language teaching.

For all these reasons we would like you to put our excellence to the test. A whole experience at Fundación Brasilia is waiting for you.

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Credits

Ciudad de Mendoza: http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidw/2212984452/

Rosedal: http://www.flickr.com/photos/micahmacallen/95879438/

Tramcar: http://flickr.com/photos/slaff/2419849536/

Adventure sports: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hendry/273735019/

Plaza Pedro del Castillo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/manza/458611010/

Uspallata en otoño: http://www.flickr.com/photos/55898059@N00/2543332916/

Guanaco de San Carlos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/55898059@N00/2562741748/

Puente del Inca: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7972242@N08/479182914/

Fiesta de la Vendimia 2008: http://flickr.com/photos/tanenhaus/2351285294/

City's night view: http://flickr.com/photos/a6u571n/2604064955/

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