Always professional and always smiling
Discover a little more about our La Janda family as they share their favourite tapas and Spanish expressions.
Eli Galindo
the most important aspect of teaching for me is that the students can communicate. For this reason, my classes are always a mix of grammar for real life situations to use during conversation.
Eli Galindo
Profesora de Español
Eli is the youngest of the six children of the Galindo family. She has always had a passion for teaching and studied “Pedagogy” for 5 years at the University of Seville.
A true Española she loves to talk and show people around her village, Vejer de la Frontera. Eli is extremely knowledgeable about local traditions and Spanish culture and especially enjoys spending time with the students of La Janda in real life situations such as her favorite activity ‘Ruta de Tapas’.
Classes with Eli are interactive, progressive and extremely fun. She has a special gift for making complex grammar subjects easy to grasp and instantly used within conversation.
For Eli, teaching Spanish is not a job, it is a pleasure.
Favourite Spanish Expression: “Más vale tarde que nunca”
Favourite Tapas from the Cádiz region: Boquerones en vinagre
“This has always been my favorite tapas, since I was a little girl. They remind me of my parents when I was younger, the beach, holidays, weekends and my village Vejer. They are really easy to make and you can eat as many as you like!”
Favorite film: El Cartero de Pablo Neruda. A film set in Italy in the 50’s, Eli loves this film because it was the first time she discovered her passion for Spanish history and a desire to know more.
María José Gómez Vidal
I love watching the evolution of every student during their time in class, from a simple Hola to a complete sentence in only a few days is so rewarding and makes me love teaching Spanish more and more every day
María José Gómez Vidal
Profesora de Español
Maria-Jose is the oldest of two and like her La Janda colleagues, she loves to welcome people from all over the world to her beautiful village of Vejer.
Over the past 20 years she has had the pleasure of teaching hundreds of international students at La Janda and especially loves welcoming her students back to La Janda.
Maria-Jose studied at the University of Cadiz, studied Humanities. She has a brilliant sense of humor, a true Andalucian Maria-Jose loves to bring the humor out of her students by creating a balance of Spanish grammar with real life conversations and an endless supply of Spanish jokes.
The most important aspect to teaching for Mari-Jose is that her students feel relaxed and evolve every day.
Favourite Spanish expression: “Eramos pocos y pario la abuela”
Favourite Tapas from the Cádiz regions: Tortillita de Camarones – “this is one of the most typical tapas of Cadiz and I love them. I always feel like I’m close to the beach when I eat them.”
Favoruite Album: “Ismael Serrano” – singer songwriter from Spain, his lyrics tell stories of the moment that I can relate to and his voice is divine.
Mari Galindo
Every student that walks through the door is greeted with a big warm smile from Mari and made to feel instantly part of the family.
Mari Galindo
Directora de Administración
Mari is the oldest of the 6 children from the Galindo family and with 3 children of her own she is a natural when it comes to looking after others. Born in Cadiz Mari moved to Valencia at the age of 1 with her parents. Growing up she visited Vejer during the holidays and it was Mari’s dream to dance Sevillana and return to her beloved birth place. At 14 years of age this dream came true as her family now including 5 other siblings returned to Vejer de la Frontera.
Mari and her children Vanessa, Emilio and Nicolás have been part of the school for more than 10 years.
It’s because of Mari that you will be guaranteed an absolutely stress free experience at La Janda. She also loves to share her family traditions with the students in the school kitchen with regular cooking sessions.
Favourite Spanish Expression: “llevarse el gato al agua”
Favourite Tapas from the Cádiz region: Ensaladilla rusa – “I love this salad in summer with a small beer it’s a perfect tapa and extremely refreshing. I’ve never met anyone that doesn’t love this salad, especially my children!”
Favourite book of all time: “I love to read so this is a difficult question! But if I have to choose my favorite book is by Spanish author Antonio Gala, titled “El Manuscrito Carmesí”. This book taught me so much about the Arabic culture and tradititions. I loved learning about the history of The Alhambra and the last Moro King, every aspect of the story is fascinating and I highly reccomend this book to everyone”
Jane Alicia Cooney
Jane Alicia Cooney
English Teacher
Jane is an English graduate who holds qualifications in English teaching from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. She has taught English language and literature in schools and colleges since 1988, and has lived in Spain since 1992 and been involved in designing and running professional courses as well as teacher-training sessions. She specialises in post -16 education, and is an experienced oral examiner.
She has collaborated with La Janda since 2020, as an educational advisor as well as teacher. She co-ordiantes with IBWise as far as running CAS programmes loves to take students on historical walks through the town.
Laura Fiorella
Laura Fiorella
Italian Teacher
Laura is Italian who has lived in Vejer for four years.
Laura studied Language and Modern Culture in the University of Rome, La Sapienza followed by a Masters in Translation.
Laura combines her work as an Italian teacher in La Janda with her work as a chef in the Italian restaurant Il Macinino; ¿Who can cook pasta better than an Italian?.
Her experience in the world of teaching started late but she is an optimist: “I continue to be a student and I am always looking for fun and efficient ways to learn, for this reason I understand the needs of students learning another language”.
Petra Scheiwe
Petra Scheiwe
German Teacher
I was born and grew up in the beautiful medieval city of Landshut in Bavaria, in the South East of Germany. The beauty of my surroundings of where I live is very important to me which is probably why I chose Vejer, where I have lived for more than 20 years.
I am a translator and interpreter by profession, for Spanish, English and German. I studied in Munich in the old “Institute of Foreign Languages” I say “old” because this institute now forms part of the University of Munich.
I work as a translator in courts and for notaries and I also give language classes. I have been teaching German for about 5 years with La Janda.
Irina Fauth von Kreitmayr
Irina Fauth von Kreitmayr
Irina grew up trilingual in Argentina and has always had a deep appreciation for languages and communication. This led her to studying International Communication and Translation in Germany, specialising in Spanish, German, and English. Her time living and studying abroad has given her a strong intercultural perspective, which she brings into the classroom to create an engaging and inclusive learning environment. Irina has taught Spanish to adult learners for many years and also has a wealth of experience working with young children with special needs—a sector she especially enjoys teaching. This has given her a personal insight into teaching under a variety of circumstances and being able to empathize with different learning styles.
Juan Manuel Esquival
Juan Manuel Esquivel
Science Teacher
Juanma studied in the Secondary School in Vejer where he cultivated an interest in science and then went to study in the University of Cadiz where he gained a degree in Chemistry. He returned to Vejer and dedicated his time to chemistry and various jobs.
A few years ago a friend asked for help studying chemistry and physics and since then Juanma has dedicated part of his time giving classes of chemistry, physics, maths and biology to young people in Vejer.
He joined La Janda as a science teacher after learning that apart from their usual language classes there was interest in other subjects.
