Choosing a Spanish School in Guatemala: An Independent Survey of Spanish Language Schools in Antigua, Quetzaltenango, and San Pedro La Laguna
by Ken McCormick, ksmccormick@hotmail.com
I have studied Spanish in Spain, the United States
(Berlitz), Mexico, Guatemala, and Costa Rica.
Based on my own experience and everything I have been able to learn
about Spanish study abroad, I have concluded that Guatemala is the best place
in the world to study the Spanish language.
The foremost reason for this is the affordability of study in
Guatemala. I have learned of no other
place that offers one-teacher-per-student Spanish study at such a low price E
two and a half to four dollars per hour Eas the language schools of
Guatemala. The cost of living is also
quite low, so that if you choose to live very frugally, you can get by on a
little over a hundred dollars per week in a place such as San Pedro La Laguna,
which will cover twenty hours per week of one-on-one instruction and all living
expenses, not including transportation.
The purpose of this survey is to provide an
informal, independent look at what its like to live and study in Guatemala by
someone whos spent quite a lot of time there doing just that. It is not intended to take the place of a
guidebook, about which Ill say more later, but rather to fill in the gaps left
by the guidebooks in the information about life as a language student, and especially
about the language schools. It is also
not intended to provide complete information about the schools, but again to
fill in the gaps left by the schoolsEweb sites, and to provide a little
comparative evaluation.
This survey covers three contrasting popular
locations for Spanish study in Guatemala.
There are Spanish schools in other locations such as Panajachel and
Coban that are not covered here. There
are also other schools in each of the three locations covered that are not
included in the survey. It is simply
not practical to try to cover everything in the country, or even in one city,
so a serendipitous sampling is offered.
La Antigua Guatemala, Old Guatemala City, capital of
the country from 1543 until 1775, is today the capital of Spanish language
instruction, and is in fact an important world center of Spanish language
schools. Antigua is full of beautiful
colonial architecture, and is for this reason a major tourist destination. At the bottom of this page is a link to a
page on the schools of Antigua, but the reader is advised to also read all of
the general information on study in Guatemala offered here before making a
decision.
Quetzaltenango is Guatemalas second-largest
city. It has a cooler, wetter climate
than Antigua, and almost no colonial architecture. Since Quetzaltenango is not a major tourist destination, its
ambience is more typically Guatemalan.
San Pedro La Laguna is a town on Lago Atitlan that
has become a popular haunt of impecunious young Europeans and North Americans. The shores of the lake have been largely
devoted to the tourists and expatriates, but a short climb up the hill from the
lake will take the visitor to the center of San Pedro - a typical but unusually
delightful Guatemalan town in which very few Gringo visitors will be
encountered. Links to pages on
Quetzaltenango and San Pedro La Laguna are found at the bottom of the page.
The Land of Eternal Spring
If you want to
live on a beach while you study Spanish, accept the idea that youre going to
live in sweltering tropical heat and humidity and be exposed to a multitude of
tropical diseases. And dont forget
your malaria prophylaxis.
The rainy
season is May through October, with the heaviest rains in July and August. Usually it rains in the afternoons, but the
mornings are clear. Temperatures are
moderate during the rainy season.
November and December and much of January are the cooler season. In Antigua and San Pedro, the night-time
temperature will often get down near 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Quetzaltenango, being at about 8,000 feet,
is normally cooler, and night-time temperatures will frequently be in the
freezing range there. November is the
windiest month. The hottest, driest
months are March and April, but the nights in Antigua and San Pedro are still
relatively cool at that time, and Quetzaltenango is usually nine or ten degrees
cooler than most of the rest of the highlands.
Maybe in
Quetzaltenango there are some buildings with heaters, but in most of Guatemala,
there is no heat in houses or apartments, so the student should bring
appropriate clothing. A
frequently-heard complaint from November through January is that the student
was cold at night.
Costa Rica has been a very
popular destination for language study because it is relatively peaceful and is
more economically developed than its neighbors. If these factors make it worthwhile to you to spend more to study
in Costa Rica, thats your business. My
own reaction, and the reaction of many Ive spoken with whove studied in Costa
Rica, though, is disappointment. Living
in Costa Rica is too much like being in the United States. The signs are in Spanish, and everyone
speaks Spanish, which is the reason youre there, but after experiencing the
strong cultural differences in places like Mexico and Guatemala, the culture
seems pale in comparison. So much of
the modern world seems to have adopted the same homogenized culture that one
longs to step into some place entirely different.
The pre-Columbian
civilization of the highland Maya is not dead.
It continues to influence the culture of Guatemala and southern Mexico
today. When you climb aboard a brightly
painted chicken bus full of people in colorful hand-woven clothing, the women
carrying heavy baskets on their heads, so many in sandals or barefoot, youll
know youre not in Kansas any more.
Actually, in my own case,
the attraction of an alien culture has proved to be a distraction from the goal
of improving my Spanish. Studying the
culture has taken time from studying the language. For the great majority of people who study in Guatemala, this
seems to not be an issue, but be forewarned.
Decide what you want to do.
Scorpions, tarantulas, poisonous snakes, malarial mosquitoes, and gigantic, venomous centipedes
None of the
above are problems in the Guatemalan highlands.
I used to live
outside Tucson, Arizona, and my little house trailer was infested with
tarantulas. It gives one quite a start
to discover that a tarantula has taken up residence underneath a throw pillow
on ones sofa. When I came further
south, I was not happy with the prospect of having to deal with such noxious
beasties again, for I knew that such pests are fairly common in the
thatched-roof houses of the lowlands of Mexico and Guatemala. Great was my relief to discover that these
ugly, venomous little pests dont like living in the highlands. There are a few scorpions in rural areas,
but these are rarely encountered. There
are also a few poisonous snakes for which youll want to keep an eye out when
walking in more jungly locations such as the Biotopo del Quetzal, but you
certainly wont find any in urban areas such as Antigua or Quetzaltenango. There is no danger of malaria in the
highlands areas covered by this survey, but this is not true of all of
Guatemala.
As for bugs in
general, there are far fewer bugs in the Guatemalan highlands than in my native
Pennsylvania. There seem to be more
mosquitoes in the Antigua area than in San Pedro or Quetzaltenango, where I
have never been bothered by mosquitoes.
There are spiders you might expect to encounter maybe once or twice per
year that grow as large as the palm of ones hand, which is as big as spiders
get in rural Pennsylvania, but theyre sort of awkward creatures, and whether
they may be venomous or not, they are at least not as ugly as tarantulas and
their smaller wolf spider cousins of Pennsylvania.
The Guatemalan highlands are nice, but they are not a complete paradise. Fleas are a menace. There is a species of flea that is too small to be noticeable, but which still can inflict bothersome bites. Fleas are more a problem in places with wood roofs. Listen carefully to instructions from landlords, cleaning ladies, and Spanish teachers about fleas, and use insecticide when necessary. Lice are common in such rural villages as may be inhabited by students in volunteer programs or study programs such as that of Proyecto LingEstico near Quetzaltenango.
After
spending six months or so in Central America, you can pretty much take it for
granted that youve got some sort of intestinal parasite, but this is not to
say that you wont get them after only a week or so. They may cause bloating, upset stomach, and be visible in feces,
but they can also be more insidious.
They can drain your energy without your ever being aware that theyre
there. Parasites are a lot cheaper and
easier to get rid of in Central America than in North America. In Central America, you just go into a
decent pharmacy and ask the pharmacist for something for your E#060;i>lombricesE
(tapeworms) or E#060;i>gusanosE(worms), and he or she will give you a drug
from a North American or European company that will cost about a dollar and a
half, and will rid you of most parasites in one day, and all, including
giardia, in three days of use, and which for most people has no noticeable side
effects. In the U.S., you will need a
doctors appointment, the doctor will want lab work, will finally give you the
very same drug you can buy for less in Central America, and will end up handing
you a bill for two hundred dollars.
Using the word gusanosEto describe intestinal parasites is considered
by many to be overly graphic and impolite.
The preferred term to be polite is lombrices,Ebut use gusanosEto the
pharmacist, anyway, to ensure getting something in a sufficient dose that will
get rid of everything, and not just tapeworms.
My personal recommendation is Zentel from SmithKline Beecham
Mexico. It may take a day or two for
symptoms such as upset stomach to abate after the parasites are gone.
Dengue
fever is supposed to be rare in Antigua, but Ive had it there. It is transmitted by mosquito bites. The most common form of Dengue fever is like
flu without the sinus problems. It
often produces a pink rash on the face a little like sunburn. Never take aspirin with Dengue fever. There are two forms of the disease which are
more serious, and may even be fatal.
You should therefore seek medical advice immediately upon coming down
with Dengue. Needless to say, you
should seek a licensed physician, and not a curandero (see The Evil Eye
and Other Common Childhood Illnesses of GuatemalaEat http://oocities.com/chicken_bus
). A relapse after about a week should
send you straight to a doctor, as this is dangerous.
Ive
had one bad case of Montezumas revenge in Mexico, but never in Central
America. To lessen your chances of such
problems, eat only cooked food, and not cooked food such as pizza slices or
lasagna that is cooked and then kept by a restaurant in a hot tray or under a
heat lamp for hours; do not buy food from street vendors; peel all fruit
yourself; and even though the locals do it, never drink the tap water. I recommend carrying a small supply of
Imodium and Cipro 500 mg. to treat yourself until you can reach a pharmacy.
There
are other diseases such as Hepatitis that youll want to guard against, and you
should consult a physician before traveling to Mexico and Central America.
Robbers
Guatemala has a bad
reputation for crime due in part to the memory of the human rights violations
and death squads of the civil war which ended only in 1996. Crime, especially in Guatemala City and on
rural highways, is still a real possibility.
Robbers may lay in wait along tourist trails for lone tourists, or may
take advantage of a situation in which a lone tourist is spotted in a secluded
area. Normally, robberies do not
involve more than the threat of violence, and the occasional more thoughtful
robber will return a few quetzales to his victim so that they wont be stuck
without carfare. Poverty and hungry
children sometimes have something to do with the motive for robbery. Most robberies of tourists in rural settings
seem to involve robbers armed with machetes, which is not surprising inasmuch
as most men in rural areas carry machetes as a matter of habit. If any robber demands your money, hand it
over without argument. The money will
not pay for serious wounds inflicted by knives or machetes.
Armed gangs have carried
out high-profile robberies by setting up roadblocks on back roads in remote
areas or by hijacking buses. These
crimes are usually aimed at the local population, and not at tourists, but
women are at special risk in these situations, as these gangs often include
rape in their repertoire. This should
not be a factor for tourists outside of Guatemala City who stick to main
highways.
The three areas covered in
this survey, Antigua, San Pedro, and Quetzaltenango, are relatively safe. Antigua is a popular tourist destination,
and this fact has brought police attention that has helped to make the city
safer. The city is not large enough to
have youth gangs. It is safe to walk
about the city at night, but after midnight it becomes less so. The closer to the center of the city, the
safer the night-time street. Most
robberies have occurred on the outskirts, especially on the side of town
nearest San Felipe and Jocotenango. If
youll go walk about (during daylight hours, please!) the poorer neighborhoods
of San Felipe Ethe back of the Cerro de la Cruz, for example Eyoull see how
the relatively big money carried about by tourists could be an overwhelming
attraction.
San Pedro is a quiet little
town. You are safe in San Pedro. The farther out of town you go on lonely
roads, though, the less safe you will be.
Robberies have occurred on the road between San Juan and San Pablo, and
the road that goes around the back of the volcano to Santiago should be avoided
altogether, as it is a notorious haunt of robbers. It is recommended that women, especially, who wish to climb the
volcano should do so with a guide or in a group (see Volcan San PedroEat http://oocities.com/chicken_bus ).
Quetzaltenango is less safe
than either Antigua or San Pedro, but is still no more unsafe than most cities
of 125,000 in most parts of the
world. The daytime streets of the areas
covered by the survey are safe, but they may become less so late at night.
Guatemala
City has a big city crime problem. Gang
violence is especially prevalent, and there are neighborhoods that mail
carriers and pizza delivery guys refuse to even enter. Wandering around the city as a foreigner
with limited Spanish speaking ability is dangerous. The museums and the botanical garden near the airport in Zones 10
and 13 are worth a visit. The Plaza
Mayor with the Palacio Nacional, the cathedral, and the national library may
also be worth a visit at some point.
The ruins of Kaminal Juyu are nearby, also, and may be visited by taxi,
but they consist of non-restored mounds and a couple of excavated areas Edont
expect anything impressive like at Tikal.
If you want to see any of these things upon arrival, do so by taxi. Otherwise, move on to some safer location as
soon as possible.
The
airport has bathroom facilities, two good currency exchange counters, an INGUAT
tourist information counter, car rental and other tourist services just beyond
customs and before exiting the building.
To go to Antigua, you can arrange at one of the tourist counters to
spend ten dollars on a tourist minivan from the airport to any address you care
to name in Antigua. Antigua is about an
hours drive away. If youre cheap, you
can take a taxi to the Zone 1 terminal for chicken bus service to Antigua. For Panajachel and connection to San Pedro,
take a taxi to Rebulli bus service at 21 Calle 1-54, Zone 1. For Quetzaltenango, take a taxi to
Marquensita bus service at 1 Avenida 21-31, Zone 1, or to Leas Americas at 2
Avenida, 18-74, Zone 1. Consult
appropriate guidebooks for more information.
You can get right on the chicken bus for Antigua. Waiting around bus stations for departures
to other locations, keep a close eye on your luggage, and be aware that these neighborhoods
are not the safest places to wander around while waiting. Confidence men with special stories for
tourists may also loiter in the vicinity of these bus stations. Use caution.
If
the foregoing catalog of dangers has not altogether put you off the idea of
Spanish study in Guatemala, please go on to read the descriptions of the areas
surveyed below that may be of interest to you.
Before
departing for Guatemala, you should obtain a guidebook. If youre only going to be away from home
for a few weeks, you can save twenty bucks by borrowing one from your local
library. If they dont have the one you
need, you can ask them to obtain it for you via interlibrary loan. If youre going to buy a guidebook, you may
have to special order the one you want, especially if you dont have a large
bookstore nearby, so dont wait until the last minute. Guidebooks such as Fodors seem to be aimed
at people with lots of money who rent cars to tour around and stay at expensive
hotels. For the Guatemala language
student, I think the kind of guide that will be most useful will be one like
one of the Lets GoEor Lonely PlanetEguides that describe bus service and
bus schedules and low-priced hotels.
For more general information on life in Guatemala and some description
of the culture of Guatemala, see Riding the Chicken Bus at http://www.oocities.org/chicken_bus
.
Click on a category below for information
on:
CHOOSING A SPANISH SCHOOL IN SAN PEDRO LA LAGUNA