Taking Spanish Classes in Antigua Guatemala
My experience taking Spanish classes in Central America
Spanish, Spanish, Spanish
SPANISH
I have been traveling for weeks now and my only knowledge of Spanish is basically..
"Hola, me llamo Colleen" & "Donde esta el helado?"
Hello, my name is Colleen. Where is the ice cream?
OK, it is time to learn some Spanish
Before setting off for this trip I had a couple major goals.
One of those major goals (and bucketlist item) : Take classes to learn Spanish.
I did not know exactly what city, or what school, or for how long. But I knew I wanted to make the effort to learn. I did not want to travel in Spanish-speaking countries for 12 months relying solely on my English and '¿Cómo estás?'
Antigua, Guatemala After expressing my desire to take Spanish classes, numerous travelers I had met along the way urged me to go to Antigua, Guatemala. So Antigua I went! Once upon a time Antigua was the colonial Spanish capital of Central America before a devastating earthquake left the city in ruins. Many of those ruins stand tall today, along with the cobblestone streets, preserved colonial architecture and beautiful volcanos that surrounded the city. What a perfect setting to learn, I'm in.
I took one-on-one Spanish lessons five days a week, four hours a day, just my teacher and I! In an effort to really submerge myself into the language, I opted to live in a homestay. For the full five weeks I lived with a Guatemalan family. They cooked all of my meals for me - Guatemalan style! You can read more about my homestay and how I ended up singing Taylor Swift at their dinner table HERE.
Colleen's Guatemalan Life I came to love my little routine in Antigua. I would get up, eat breakfast with my family and head to school. Everyday I passed the same people, dogs, shops, buses and volcano views. Each day on my walk I popped in my headphones and listened to 'Oceans Away' by Arizona, a song my friend Nicole sent to me months ago that I cannot seem to get out of my head!
My classes went from 8am-12pm and took place in a large garden. Each day we had a break at 10am to grab some of the delicious snacks and chat with the other students, many of whom became quick amigos!
The lessons were one-on-one, which was so helpful. I had one teacher for the first three weeks and another for the second two weeks. Both were lovely, but spoke very little English. The lessons were completely in Spanish.
I love school Going to school again was fun! I met a lot of new friends and I had myself a little routine. Breakfast, school, lunch, head to the cafe to study and finish my homework for a few hours, gym time, dinner, and free time. Antigua is full of cute cafes. Some days I studied by myself, other days with friends. I joined a gym here and LOVED it. I would take a couple of classes a week there, all taught in Spanish, which proved challenging and frightening at first, but I learned to love it! The days consisted of learning exercises paired with a lot of conversation. By the end of the five weeks I was having full-blown Spanish conversations with my teacher and I was blown away. We talked about EVERYTHING. My family, friends, relationships, travels, hopes, dreams, favorite foods, you name it. I learned so much about the history of Guatemala from both of my teachers. The culture, current events, issues and problems the country faces, and where to eat!
I love school .. wait, but do I love school? Wow did I underestimate what it was like to be back in school. Learning everyday is exhausting! Being taught solely in a foreign language is just...wow. Then having to study again and do homework.. what?? My teachers were saints. I could not believe their level of patience with me. I had mostly great days, but man did I have my bad days. Days where nothing registered, where I was frustrated, tired, and felt like I was never going to get it. Days where I just stared blankly at them and said 'no.' Oh gosh my poor teacher. I had this one day where I was just so done and she asks me 'Posiblemente estas en tu periodo?' (possibly you are on your period?).. I wasn't.
Now I am fluent!
Okay, that is a complete lie. I am so very far from fluent but man have I improved a lot from the start of school. The amount of Spanish I can understand and read is far superior to 5 weeks ago. I still struggle with speaking. To be honest I still get a bit intimidated and nervous at times, BUT I am going to make an effort to take my own advice and keep practicing. Chat with the local people, watch movies in Spanish, practice my online materials. No one can learn Spanish in 5 weeks, it will take a continued effort and I hope to only improve from here as I make my way South!
If you ever have the opportunity to go take language classes in a foreign country I would urge you to do so. It was a wonderful and challenging experience. I have very much enjoyed my time here in Antigua and I am sad to leave! It was my home away from home. I have made so many friends here both travelers and locals, and fallen in love with the town.
Adios Antigua, Hasta Luego! Make sure to sign up for my email list below or on the homepage to receive future posts right to your email! My Spanish School http://www.spanishacademyantiguena.com
Feel free to send me a message in the below contact box! What was your favorite part of this post? I would love to hear from you!
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