In 1979, as soon as I came to live permanently in Sotogrande, I decided that it was necessary to learn Spanish, so as to have a better understanding of the people and the country. To achieve this, the only place I knew was the Sotogrande School. I went there and asked if I could have a teacher on a private basis. The school was still small and only a handful of children of the winter residents were attending. Of the famous parents, one couple were George and Charon Moore, who had two girls and one boy.
The school introduced me to a lady teacher called Mrs. Gomez. After my first Spanish lesson, I realized, Mrs Gomez was an English lady, married to an Argentinian. Both of them were teaching a range of subjects at the Sotogrande School. A few sessions went by, with Mrs. Gomez teaching me Spanish with an English accent.
One day, I tried my Spanish on some of my friends whom I had met in Algeciras. Spanish people are very patient and tolerant with foreigners who are trying to learn their language. My friends gently told me that the expressions I was using were not used in Spain, and mostly came from Latin America.
I thought to myself that this is no good and that I need to learn the Spanish idiomatic of the country. I went to a small local school outside of Sotogrande and there I was introduced to a very nice lady by the name of Kini. For the next few years, Kini and sometimes Diego (her husband) came to my house to teach me Spanish.
One day Kini said she would like to have a fixed job. So, the next time that I was with George Moore, I mentioned to him that the Sotogrande school needs a local Spanish teacher. George Moore talked to Financiera Sotogrande, whose members were the family running the affairs of Sotogrande. The School immediately hired Kini to teach Spanish. Kini stayed on until she retired, only few years ago, and she became the famous Miss Kini, one of directors in Spanish section of school.
Today this same school is called the Sotogrande International School (SIS), and it has over one hundred and twenty teachers and more than one thousand students from all over the world, from most of Europe. the USA and Russia. It has now established its reputation as one of the best schools in Spain.