I want to go to school in Guatemala but cant decide Antigua
or Xela.
Please give me your comments.
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Since I am involved with most of the Spanish Schools in Xela
my opinion is bias, but I think Xela offers a more realistic
picture of what Guatemala is all about.
Antigua is a wonderful place with lots to see and I always
recommend a visit. However, it is not in my opinion a great
place to study Spanish, due in part to the amount of gringos
that are living there and the fact that the indigenous
population has been pushed out of town by sky high
cost of living.
It is very easy to find people to speak anything but
Spanish. I have heard this for scores of students who pass
thru my office in Xela.
Most tell me they find Xela a peaceful, friendly place where
they can really see the lifestyle of traditional
Guatemalans. There are not alot of gringos here and you are
forced to speak Spanish, that is if you want to eat.
And lets be honest you are here to learn Spanish, right?
So as bias as I may be my vote goes for Xela.
Take Care,
Tom
Quetzaltenango, Guatemala Travel Guide
http://www.xelapages.com
If you have time, I'd suggest spending some time in both,
but have to agree with Tom that you might be better off
going to Xela where you'll be forced to speak more Spanish.
Antigua is beautiful, though (definitely visit it at any
rate), wasn't as full of Gringos as I thought it might be,
and many locals don't speak any English.
there's a little village in the northern highlands called todos santos with an excellent bunch of teachers. you get the chance to live with a mayan family and learn a bit of their traditions and history.it's a few hours out of huehuetenango. ask to ride on top of the bus!! i loved it there, away from hourdes of tourists.
(costs 100$us for room,board and aweek of classes )
check it out you won't be sorry!!!!
cheers,happy travels.
Definitly study in Xela. It's a town with wonderful people
so you'll get the chance to practise a lot of Spanish if
you want. A good school is Utatlan located close to el
parque central. $100 for classes, room, board.
Have fun!
Yeah that's right Xela is a much better place than Antigua.
In Antigua, the school are generally much more expensive
and the teacher not as good as in Xela because there are
far more school and the choice of teacher is smaller. went
to the school UTATLAN in Xela and was well satisfied with
teir teacher.
Good luck
Xela wins for me after 5 months there and now returning for
another year. A true reflection of Guatemala. Antigua wins
out in the departments of cleanliness, weather, and
preservation of the city. For the real experience go to
Xela but be prepared for sleeping to the sound of 24 hour
roosters.I've heard Utatlan is a great school as well as La
Paz.