<p>I am planning to study abroad a semester to learn Spanish and have narrowed it down to 3 countries:</p>
<p>PR or DR
PROS:
1. the majority of the spanish-speakers in my state (NYC) come from these two countries
2. the spanish spoken here is very different from standard spanish, so i will become more accustomed to it.
3. closer to home, so wont feel so alone
4. its cheaper to fly there
5. interested in culture
CONS:
1. not really a study abroad experience since has the same laws as the US (PR)</p>
<p>Peru
PROS:
1. Im interested in indigenious cultures, which Peru offers (Cusco)
2. Spanish is very similar to standard, so will be easy to understand
3. more of a study abroad experience
CONS:
1. not the spanish spoken in the state i plan to work
2. more expensive to fly to
3. farther from home, so I will get more homesick</p>
<p>So which country should I choose?
If between PR and Dom Rep, which would be better?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance</p>
<p>Honestly I think which ever country you decide to go, you’ll have the “study abroad experience”. It really depends what you want to get out of your experience there. And you’ll be far from NYC regardless of where you decide to go.
Are you going to learn about culture? Learn Spanish? Or just to get out of where you are right now? </p>
<p>If you’re concerned about money, then in my opinion, DR is best, then you can weigh out the differences between PR and Peru.
- Dominican Republic would be your best choice. (Cheaper to fly to, and cheaper living expenses, plus you’d get the most out of your dollar there.)
- Puerto Rico (Cheaper to fly to, but your currency would still be the same since PR uses the US Dollar.)
- Peru (A little more expensive to fly to, but living expenses would be reduced and you’d get a little more out of your dollar there.)</p>
<p>As far as Spanish goes, it’s different everywhere. Even the Spanish in NYC differs from the Spanish spoken in DR and PR. It all depends on whom you want to talk to when you speak. Do you want to only communicate with people in NYC, or do you want to travel to other Spanish speaking countries in the future? Either way if you learn Spanish fluently, you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>And as far as culture goes, each country has their own, unique culture with a lot of history behind it. Research a little to find out which culture you want to learn more about, and which attracts you more.</p>
<p>Hope this makes your decision a little easier :)</p>
<p>I’m just going to evaluate on what you wrote.</p>
<p>PR or DR
PROS:
- the majority of the spanish-speakers in my state (NYC) come from these two countries [Big plus, since you are learning Spanish after all, learn one that’s usable!]
- the spanish spoken here is very different from standard spanish, so i will become more accustomed to it. [Ok. Same as above]
- closer to home, so wont feel so alone [This doesn’t matter AT ALL to learning.]
- its cheaper to fly there [Not by much, and would you pass up going to another part of the world for $200 more?]
- interested in culture [If PR and DR culture suits you… then go!]
CONS:
- not really a study abroad experience since has the same laws as the US (PR) [You’re learning SPANISH, not law!]</p>
<p>Peru
PROS:
- Im interested in indigenious cultures, which Peru offers (Cusco) [But you just said you liked DR&PR’s culture… do you like Peru’s more?]
- Spanish is very similar to standard, so will be easy to understand [Good, it’ll help you advance yours]
- more of a study abroad experience [Exactly what you paid for…?]
CONS:
- not the spanish spoken in the state i plan to work [Hm… that can be a problem.]
- more expensive to fly to [Also a problem if its a lot for you.]
- farther from home, so I will get more homesick [DOES NOT MATTER. If I fly to Kyrgyzstan or Kiribati, Ghana or Grenada, its for cultural immersion, not to see how close the country is in comparison to the US.]</p>
<p>Here are my Updated views.</p>
<p>PR & DR (are these combined? The two are not close in culture or lifestyles)
Pro:
- Spanish spoken by your state’s residents
- Cheaper</p>
<p>Peru:
Pro:
- True study ‘ABROAD’ experience
- More exciting culture</p>
<p>Looking at JUST those four points, which sounds more appealing? </p>
<p>From my opinion, I would strongly go for Peru. Its further away from the US, so you’d get that worldly experience. If homesickness is a problem, how will you manage going to college? Also, Spanish, unless you’re going to Spain itself, is more uniform in Latin America, and most will understand no matter where you’re from.</p>
<p>Life in PR is somewhat like a hybrid of Hawaii and Florida. Life in Peru and Dr is much much different that PR, and much more than the US.</p>
<p>I would honestly recommend for you to go to Peru because the Spanish spoken in Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and other Caribbean countries have a very distinct accent. Within Spanish speaking spheres in important multinational corporations, it is better to have the most neutral accent possible. Hiring managers in Latin America are very keen in finding this. Even here in the US when I was applying for a company that had connections with Latin America, it had a Spanish proficiency requirement and it addition, it said from which countries they would prefer the Spanish to be most similar to. Caribbean accents are the least neutral. A study actually found that the most neutral Spanish speaking countries are #1 Peru and #2 Colombia. If you want to learn the mother of all Spanish, then go to Spain. But the thing that matters is if its relevant to you because not even Spain has a neutral Spanish… I know the irony!</p>
<p>My favorite Spanish accents are from Spain and Argentina. So there, make an informed decision :)</p>
<hr>
<p>If it’s definitively between PR and DR, by all means go to PR. It will still be an abroad experience because it is nothing like the US!! PR has an easier accent to understand, in my opinion at least.</p>
<p>Believe me, sometimes you don’t know what a person from a different Spanish speaking country is saying, even if its the same language. For the life of me, I could not understand the very fast paced DR Spanish, and I’m a Spanish native speaking person. To be fair though, some Dominicans would make fun of how slow I spoke. Again, you are accustomed to what you know. I just needed some time spent with DR Spanish speaking people, and now I understand every little thing they say - When they are not using their own colloquial terms, that is.</p>