Dear Sir,
I enjoyed your 60th-anniversary story (GR, December 16-22) very much. I do have one correction, having been at the UAG medical school from 1974 to 78. You are wrong about classes being taught in English!
We were required either to pass a Spanish-speaking test or take a three-month crash course in Spanish before starting medical school. Those who couldn’t pass the final test couldn’t enter.
All classes and tests were in Spanish. At that time there were up to 500 foreign students, including Nicaraguans, Puerto Ricans and Canadians, as well as Americans, in the classes. To my knowledge, there was no CIA or any other U.S. involvement, but the school was very conservative and the owners were strong National Action Party (PAN) supporters.
Because of some changes in how you could return to the United States, the school for foreigners became much smaller, and was in English. It also became very expensive with loans available through a branch of the U.S. government.
Tim Whiting, MD