Recommendation Spanish School: Centro Maya Xela in Quetzaltenango

Several friends asked me recently for a recommendation on Spanish schools in Guatemala.

I spent a month in Quetzaltenango studying at Centro Maya Xela. Earlier, I studied for one week in Antigua but there were too many tourist there and it was difficult to concentrate on speaking Spanish once outside the school. My next trip to Guatemala, I picked this school in Xela because it's off the "gringo trail" and if you want to talk with people, you must speak Spanish.

I had five hours of one-to-one instruction every day while living with a family. When my head got too full from all the study, I went to Almolonga for the hot baths or to Fuentes Georginas Hot Springs to relax and soothe my overworked mind.

There were few tourist in the Zone where I lived. It seemed that everyone knew I was there to Study Spanish and wanted to help. One night, I stopped in a restaurant and asked if I could sit and study and have a beer. The father delivered my beer and then sat down. He said to me, "quieres hablar español, es necesario hablar español. no es necesario estudiar espanol". Essentially, if you want to speak Spanish, it is necessary to Speak Spanish. It's not necessary to study Spanish." Soon, his family joined him and they started asking me questions about home, family, travel, backpack, football and so forth. That sort of thing happened often for me.

After my month of study, I traveled up to Chiapas where I met people who studied for a month in Oaxaca but had been in group lessons. They could not speak well and I became their translator which let me know how much I had really learned in my month.

If you want an immersion experience where you will speak Spanish, and be surrounded by the local culture, consider going here. Their teaching method really worked for me.

It was easy to get away on weekends. I traveled back to Panajachel twice and went to watch the weekend market set up in Chichicastanengo. Both were lovely trips!

Buen Viaje!