Translation of tertulia

Some of the disadvantages are the coldness, darkness and the fact that the days are a lot shorter then as in the summer. First let me tell you what I do not like about the winter. It is the following.
The place I have been to is famous for its many language schools. People come from all over the world to learn Spanish and practise their language skills. I guess there are more than two hundred schools there.
To be honest, we did not understand one word of what he was saying, because his English was so terrible. Or maybe it wasn't and it was only his accent which we could not grasp. To us it was Chinese.