Postscript- Comparison of Spanish Schools
I realize that one of the more useful things for many of you would be a brief comparison of the three Spanish schools I attended. I did the homestay option at each and I can recommend all of them. The specific family and the specific tutor are probably more important than the school. I talked to one or two at each school that didn’t work out with their family or instructor. That is one benefit of a larger program, you can ask to swap.
I also chose cities to not be overbearingly hot. I do not like the heat so I tried to pick places that were high up or far from the equator. All of the cities I stayed in have their charm, and good food can be had in all of them. I went for three stints of one month in latin America and didn’t get sick once. Of course they didn’t have American style desserts in Latin America. So, when I got home, I ate too much dessert and got sick my first week back. A very 3rd grade thing to do- but what can I say? I do like dessert.
Angies School Bogota
http://constructeca.com/angieschool.com/
Pros
Bogota is big. There is a ton going on. The couchsurfing.com meetings were a great place to meet people and practice the language. I met lots of people that were really concerned about how foreigners experienced their city and they were very helpful. I was able to find yoga classes and other activities.
Cons
All the big city issues apply. At first the cops with rifles on every corner are a bit un-nerving, but you get used to them and are glad they are there. Angie is a great tutor, she tailors things to your needs in real time, but that can slow lessons sometimes. I also tend to respond a bit better to lessons that are more formatted.
http://constructeca.com/angieschool.com/
Pros
Bogota is big. There is a ton going on. The couchsurfing.com meetings were a great place to meet people and practice the language. I met lots of people that were really concerned about how foreigners experienced their city and they were very helpful. I was able to find yoga classes and other activities.
Cons
All the big city issues apply. At first the cops with rifles on every corner are a bit un-nerving, but you get used to them and are glad they are there. Angie is a great tutor, she tailors things to your needs in real time, but that can slow lessons sometimes. I also tend to respond a bit better to lessons that are more formatted.
Terracentro Quito Ecuador
http://www.terracentrospanishschool.com/
Pros
Quito is an excellent city, coming in just below Buenos Aires. Quito has lots of outdoor stuff nearby as well as the big city amenities. I hiked and biked the volcanos, visited the equator, did the museum circuit. I didn’t get to the jungle or the beach but they aren’t far away. Terracentro was another small school with a bit more going on than Mundo Antiguo. The cost was in between Guatemala and Argentina. Sofia, who runs Terracentro, is great and seems to get excellent tutors. I did my home stay option at Sofia’s family. They had a separate garage apartment which was relatively quiet and private and was my best experience with facilities. Overall Ecuador and Terracentro weren’t first on the list in any category but was second in most things making it an excellent value option.
Cons
I was only there for a week so I didn’t really address this. It was easier for my tutor and I to spend time chatting than to drill on verbs, which is really what I needed. I didn’t feel unsafe, but people I talked to in the city suggested I stay away from some places after 10 PM, places that were between the house and the city center. I never felt unsafe, but that is probably a shortage of healthy fear on my part.
http://www.terracentrospanishschool.com/
Pros
Quito is an excellent city, coming in just below Buenos Aires. Quito has lots of outdoor stuff nearby as well as the big city amenities. I hiked and biked the volcanos, visited the equator, did the museum circuit. I didn’t get to the jungle or the beach but they aren’t far away. Terracentro was another small school with a bit more going on than Mundo Antiguo. The cost was in between Guatemala and Argentina. Sofia, who runs Terracentro, is great and seems to get excellent tutors. I did my home stay option at Sofia’s family. They had a separate garage apartment which was relatively quiet and private and was my best experience with facilities. Overall Ecuador and Terracentro weren’t first on the list in any category but was second in most things making it an excellent value option.
Cons
I was only there for a week so I didn’t really address this. It was easier for my tutor and I to spend time chatting than to drill on verbs, which is really what I needed. I didn’t feel unsafe, but people I talked to in the city suggested I stay away from some places after 10 PM, places that were between the house and the city center. I never felt unsafe, but that is probably a shortage of healthy fear on my part.
Coined Buenos Aires Argentina
Pros
Buenos Aires is an awesome city that you can spend a good while exploring. From just a city standpoint, this was the best city to visit. Coined did the best with organized events for students. I spent more time with the woman who organized events than with any one tutor or teacher. For many the group of 4-8 class may provide a nice social aspect to learning. The group classes are less expensive. I worked with around 5 instructors in my 3 weeks. Several awesome and a couple that weren’t for me.
Cons
My class was mixed Brazilian, Swedish, and Japanese. While the diversity was cool, the Brazilians were at my level on day 1, but after 2 weeks they were light years ahead due to the greater similarity with Portuguese. Our instructor was more comfortable teaching more advanced stuff so she tended to cater to the Portuguese and the rest of us struggled. Argentina is an expensive city compared to Cuzco or Antigua. This school seems to be even more college kid oriented than the other two. Which is probably a plus if you are college kid as opposed to a burgeoning old far like myself.
The Spanish Academy Antigua Guatemala
Pros
This little city is built around Spanish instruction. They do an excellent job. The city, food, and the school are amazingly inexpensive. This was my most effective learning experience. They also have outings and social activities to bring the students together outside class. This is especially important if you are the only student with your family as the instruction is all 1 on 1. The school does have a little break each day for group Spanish games. That is important to break up the day, and the group activity is more fun than the intense 1 on 1 learning. But the breaks for group Spanish games are not as effective learning time. Antigua is the safest place in Guatemala. The tourist police do a great job. There isn’t the cultural variety of Buenos Aires, but the trek’s into the local Maya enclaves are interesting. I stayed with 1-3 other students in a large house with a large family. The house was more of a small apartment complex. So the social aspect of the 1 on 1 instruction experience was still pretty good. Those that lived solo with a family seemed a bit lonely, but people got together for the bar scene every night. If you just want the most effective learning Spanish experience, come here and sign up for an extra hour a day and Saturday class like I did. Although the immersion into the family wasn’t as deep as the other places, I did get to know them, and they structured their interaction around us to be more helpful with the Spanish. Usually we got 30-90 minutes of labored chat after each meal. And they did have to labor to speak with the gringos.
Cons
Antigua is a very small city. You couldn’t expect this city of 50,000 people (and 80 spanish schools) to keep you engaged on its own for more than a day or two if you aren’t in class. The city is an 8 block by 8 block grid. You don’t have the museum scene of the other cities but the architecture is cool. The night life is filled with English speaking Europeans. Outside Antigua, especially going into Guatemala city it can be unsafe. For being small, Antigua has a touristy feel, but you wouldn’t want to stay for long in a small Guatemala city without touristy amenities. There are some similarly named schools in the town, so be sure you are getting the one you have read about.
Mundo Antiguo Cuzco Peru
Pros
You get the small shop feel and attention. The family I stayed with was the most upper class of the 3 locations. The travel agency attached to the school is pretty handy for city tour and other things you may decide to do. The Inca trail is awesome! Machu Pichu is pretty cool too. Cuzco is a fairly large city so there is much to see. Since there was less social interaction with students, I interacted a lot with my family. They were great. I went to their office Christmas party, cooked a Turkey for Christmas and took it a few blocks over to Grandma’s house, babysat and had the kids try to talk with me, went shopping with them, visited their fathers house in the valley. I was really a part of the family on this trip. All the families were great, but these folks were really embracing. The Incan history has more to look at here than the Maya history around Antigua.
Cons
If your instructor isn’t as good for you, it is more difficult to get someone else. Not that they wouldn’t try to swap you, but they have less roster, and it feels a bit more personal to say someone doesn’t work well for you. You have to sort of seek out events, there isn’t a standing activities list for the week as at the other larger schools. My family was farther from the city center so my experience was more suburban, granted suburban Peru was unique in and of itself. There was less social outlet at this school than the others. Some people had trouble with the altitude. The family I stayed with was the most upper class of the 3 locations.
