Learning Spanish in Xela, Guatemala

A large chunk of Guatemala’s tourism revenue comes from teaching Spanish to travellers. It’s not like it’s the only Spanish-speaking country on the continent, but a number of factors make it a number one choice.

To start with, the Gutemaltekas speak slowly and clearly. Secondly, Guatemala is on the way: for anyone (and especially North Americans) going down the continent this is a good time to learn a few phrases – at the beginning of the trip. Third, the Guatemalan culture is heavily indigenous, so it makes it an interesting place to stop for a week and get to know it. And last, but not least, Guatemala is much cheaper than most of Latin America, making it a competitive proposition.

Once in Guatemala, you will usually be directed to one of the two places.

Lake Atitlan is a very scenic mountanous landscape with volcanoes and postcard indigigenous people. A string of villages along the bank of the lake lets you adjust the level of spirituality according to your habitual marijuana dosage. This place is the Guatemalan equivalent of a stereotypical backpacker beach village. Antigua, on the other hand, is somewhat of Guatemalan Cuzco, an area with Irish bars and cosmopolitan restaurants cordoned off from the rest of Guatemala for the safety of the tourists and sporting all possible amenities.

Most people are happy with those two in terms of Spanish classes. Some, however, would prefer a deeper cultural immersion, a bit more off the trail.

Quetzaltenango, aka Xela, is the second largest city of Guatemala. It’s a big city but it has this warm sunny vibe on the streets by day, mellow and totally authentic. Xela is the underdog for Spanish classes in Guatemala. Staying here is being deep inside the Guatemalan culture, yet within the comfort of a city. Schools are numerous and the number of foreigners is just about perfect – not too many to invade and enough to have a drink with if you fancy. The prices are lower than in Antigua – 100 bucks for a week (6-7 hours a day, one-to-one) with a very good school and about half of that with private teachers or less established schools.

The beauty of having such a private on-to-one is that you can call the shots if you know what your language needs. If you are more willing to let the teacher lead you, all teachers tend to have a very planned out program of how to give you the basics within a week. Judging your own level, this program is very easily adjusted. You can make it more grammatical or more conversational.

There is a number of established hotels and hostels which are aware of Xela’s popularity as a Spanish learning destination, so finding accommodation won’t be hard. Those places are also where a private teacher would post his ad, so you can find a much better deal from someone not officially registered or simply not as busy as the established school.

Xela tends to be more popular with backpackers and North American high school students. There are a few nice mellow bars to go to for a drink at night, and salsa nights for foreigners. While you are learning to speak you may as well learn to walk, again not very expensive and salsa teachers are abundant. You can’t take your guns to the bars though, unfortunately, as the signs in the venues tell you.

One specific recommendation I could make is this. Walking around the centre of Xela one afternoon I met Sary on the central Plaza. She is a sweetest little thing and I wish I had met her before signing-up. She has her own school, at lower price, complete with accommodation, breakfast and an art gallery. Us and her friend went for some salsa and had a fantastic night. Her site appears to be down right now, but if you do go to Xela to learn Spanish do try to sign up with her, she’s such a sweetie. I hope the webmaster won’t mind: www.learn2speakspanish.com

All in all I was happy with this turn of events. Go to Atitlan if you want peace of mind, “peace” in the pipe, tranquility, lake, mountains and an international village. Go to Antigua if you want an international hangout with all amenities. But if you’d rather not stop cultural immersion and / or don’t want to get sucked into an over-developed location just because you can’t say “Cuanto cuesta…?”, Xela is the answer.

About the Author

Alex is the webmaster of Valencia Travel Online - an independent resource on travelling in Valencia, Spain