MALACA INSTITUTO. OUR STORY:
To think of Malaca Instituto is to think about the story of Ida Willadsen, a testimony that relates our past, our present and our future.
In every company there are important and decisive moments that shape what is to become and without a doubt, that first moment happened when an intrepid young Danish girl decided to come to Malaga to learn Spanish (you may be making this very same decision right now).
Ida’s arrival to Spain was triumphant, after an interminably long journey from Copenhagen to Malaga, (back then took more than 24 hours), Ida was exhausted and needed a good hefty breakfast. She had never been into a bar before and when she entered the first one she came across and wanted to order a coffee, answered the waiter’s question to:
“¿Qué le pongo, señorita?” - was: - “Pues, … un Gin Tonic”! Just imagine the looks on the waiter’s and other customer’s faces - it’s 7:00am in the morning and an impressive young, 1.85-meter-tall blond Danish girl wearing a miniskirt walks in and orders a Gin and Tonic, for breakfast!!
Ida obviously needed to learn much more than just ask for a coffee and that’s just exactly what she did! She learnt to fight against all odds in a then hostile Spain, where being young, a foreigner and above all a woman was not precisely an advantage. Despite all, she had a dream and in order to accomplish it broke all the barriers and started up her very own business.
The most valuable thing Ida discovered was, without a doubt, her love for our culture, our people, our climate and our way of life. She deeply fell in love with Spain with such intensity that she could just never imagine leaving. And here she still is living in Malaga; Danish by birth and Spanish at heart.
Spanish at heart but foreign in thought, Ida perfectly understands the concerns, worries and apprehensions you may have when you have deciding to learn a new language and immersing yourself securely into a way of life different from your own.
Ida’s knowledge along with her valuable sense for student needs is something that over the years she’s been transmitting to all Malaca Instituto staff.
Showing us the importance of putting ourselves into your shoes and in making your personal objectives our main goals. This and more than 50 years’ experience in teaching Spanish, is what has made us experts that can proudly guarantee not only your success in learning Spanish but also an unforgettable experience in Malaga which, as it did for Ida, will make you lose your heart to Spain forever.