Founded in 2000, MADRIDBABEL® (http://www.madridbabel.es) is an international cultural exchange group that organizes a lot of activities in Madrid. Its main mission is to encourage and provide the opportunity to practice a wide range of languages amongst people from all over the world as well as create a comfortable venue to make new acquaintances in Madrid. Currently it has more than 16,000 members belonging to its different forums, the most important ones being at Yahoo (http://es.groups.yahoo.com/group/madridbabel) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=4699553259). A detailed program of activities is published on these pages on a weekly basis.

MadridBabel organizes two weekly international encounters at The Quiet Man (Valverde, 44 - metro Tribunal or Gran Vía):

* Wednesdays starting at 21:00
* Sundays starting at 19:00

The environment is friendly and welcoming and there is no entrance fee. Fran Rodríguez Veiga – creator and leader of the group from Madrid – and his collaborators are there to introduce people who share common interests and/or languages and help create a comfortable welcome for newcomers. These events usually attract about 200 participants - students to professionals, 20 to 50 years old, from about 30 different nations-. Recently, they have been awarded with the prize 'Best Intercambio of the Year' by the European Vibe Magazine and, in association with the Office of Tourism for Madrid City Council, they are coordinating a monthly language exchange called 'Aprende Español en Madrid' since the beginning of 2010.

In addition to the two weekly encounters, MadridBabel organizes many other events in Madrid and surroundings areas. These include going to original version films (with subtitles in Spanish) every other Friday, international dinners and tapas at a variety restaurants and bars, excursions, sports, cultural visits, wine tastings, etc. There are also parties with an international flare which usually attract over 600 people.

MadridBabel also works with a quality room finding and estate agency in Madrid with special prices for carefully selected furnished flats and rooms in well connected areas of the city. An excellent relocation service is also available. Furthermore, it organizes superintensive English language week-ends in Gredos and it also offers a large selection of language courses all around the world.

MadridBabel collaborates with a variety of entities (some of them being part of MadridBabel Club, where they offer discounts, promotions and special events to all its members) as well as creates links to other similar international groups including the first partner groups known as MontpellierBabel, TorontoBabel, CádizBabel and LimaBabel. It also represents Spain in the Language Exchange International Federation.

Finally, as an international and healthy group, MadridBabel has adopted the slogan: 'Somos internacionales, please don’t smoke ;-)'.

For further information please contact madridbabel@yahoo.es

Hola! I'm a student in the United States and I'm looking for a Spanish pen pal to exchange e-mails with and hopefully learn the Spanish language. My Spanish isn't great so I need someone patient! I'm a 22 year old male and I'm looking for someone that's close to my age so we can relate! Male or female is fine!

Hopefully I can help you with your English and you can help me with my Spanish!

ENCUENTRA NUEVOS AMIGOS Y MEJORA TU INGLES, UNETE AL CLUB EN http://edujax.webs.com/