Last week I polled Travelojos readers on which country they thought I should visit in 2010. Medellin, Colombia edged out Xela (Quetzaltenango), Guatemala by three votes. 
But I’ve decided I’m going to Xela anyway.
The main thing I’d like to accomplish on this trip is to take Spanish classes and live in a homestay arrangement.
It occurred to me that Xela would be an ideal place to do this after I read a post last month on the New York Times Frugal Traveler blog. The Frugal blogger, Matt Gross, included improving his Spanish among his New Year’s resolutions. Audrey from the Uncornered Market blog left this comment on the Frugal Traveler post:
To learn Spanish, my recommendation would be to sign up for a course in Xela (Quetzaltenango), Guatemala. A week of lessons (4-5 hours/day) plus full room and board at a host family is less than $200/week. The Spanish there is slow and enunciated, making it easier to learn and practice.
In an interview on Travelojos a couple of weeks ago, I asked Audrey why she recommended Learning Spanish in Xela over Antigua—a more popular destination in Guatemala. She said:
While we really enjoyed the time we spent in Antigua, we’d recommend Xela for language school. Although Xela is full of foreigners learning Spanish, you have more opportunities to speak Spanish than in Antigua. It’s a more indigenously diverse city, which makes it really interesting visually and culturally. Most of the schools are set up with home stays which will force you to speak with your family. Additionally, the Spanish courses in Xela are usually cheaper than the ones in Antigua.
Last week, I still wasn’t entirely sure if I should rule out going to Colombia—especially because it won the most votes in the poll. So I asked Chris Hardyment, the creator of the South American Travel Tips blog. Chris is originally from London, but is now living on an island in Colombia called Providencia.
He said Guatemala sounds more suitable for my purposes because there are lots of language schools to choose from and plenty of homestays. He said he took language classes in Colombia and enjoyed it. But he added that compared with Guatemala, Colombia probably has less language schools and fewer homestays.
Photo by Kevin Dooley (Via Creative Commons)
on Feb 23rd, 2010 at 8:41 pm
I voted for Mexico City? But for a purpose of learning spanish with family, I might recommend a small town or smaller city – definitely cheaper. But DF is a magical place, I lived there for close to a year and a half.
Have fun in Guatemala – never been so I look forward to reading about it on your blog.
Stay adventurous,
Craig
on Jul 9th, 2010 at 8:21 pm
Score! It seems you have answered my question for me (seeing as you had the same objectives as me). Gracias!
One thing that totally creeps me out about Guatemala though is the giant sinkholes that appear from nowhere (and look like portals into hell). I hear it’s because much of the urban landscape is built on volcanic ash.
I worry about the people there (where are they going to go?), and would worry about my own safety as well.