30 years IIC/Casa Goethe – Thomas “Thomy” Fritsch is a man with a dream. Born and raised in Germany, he always had a passion for languages and foreign cultures.
No wonder that he left Germany immediately after completing his teaching studies. His first stop: Peru, where he worked as a German teacher for the German language and culture institute, the “Goethe Institute”. Here, in the middle of the jungle of Iquitos, he lived out his enthusiasm for languages and the joy he got from teaching others. And he did so for 10 years.
Until his path led him to the Dominican Republic during a vacation. He was immediately captivated: by the people’s zest for life, the relaxed atmosphere in the Caribbean country, and the music that seemed to sound from every corner of the island.
Why not open his own language school? There was no Goethe Institute in the Dominican Republic. But the Goethe Institute’s mission of spreading German culture and promoting the German language abroad – he wanted to make that a reality in the Dominican Republic, too. With great energy, a huge portion of his unshakable optimism and his German organizational talent, Thomas set to work.
And so in 1994 Thomy finally founded his language and culture institute “Casa Goethe” based on his great role model. It was to be a meeting place for German and Dominican culture. From German courses for locals to film evenings, readings and intercultural workshops – the Casa Goethe brought people together and promoted mutual understanding. The school soon made a name for itself in the country.
Not long after, German-speaking tourists and local Germans and Swiss also knocked on his door: whether he also offered courses for Spanish as a foreign language. “Claro que si” – he said and without further ado, he opened a Spanish language school under the roof of the Casa Goethe: the “Instituto Intercultural del Caribe” – short: IIC.
The school mainly hired local teachers who enriched the learning process with their authenticity.
It soon became a meeting place for people from all over the world. And it remains so to this day:
Tourists who want to learn Spanish on the island come to IIC to learn Spanish, as do emigrants who want to communicate better in their new home country. The school is not only a place of learning, but also a center for exchange and friendship. IIC regularly organizes activities at the school like Dominican cooking or dance classes as well as excursions like snorkeling tours, visits to natural parks and trips to historical sites. That way, language course participants not only learn Spanish, but also immerse themselves in the culture of the Dominican Republic, getting to know the country and its people better.
Thomy, his teachers, his staff and all of his school directors who followed him at the institutes in Santo Domingo and Sosua over the past 30 years have become bridge builders between cultures. He has created a place where people can experience the beauty of a language and the warmth of a culture. He has not only changed his own life, but also that of many others.
A comment by Tanja Hölzer
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