Learning Spanish Immersion at Casa Mexicana in Guanajuato, Mexico
(June 17 to July 6,  2002)

Learning Spanish is very important to us.  We plan on cycling two or more years in Spanish speaking countries.  From the bike it is easy to observe Latin Americans in their daily lives.  Traveling by bicycle also provides countless opportunities to sit down and talk to the locals.  We quickly learned some of the regular questions and how to answer them. Where are you from?  Where are you going? How many kilometers do you ride each day? This is fine for small talk but when I asked about NAFTA or president Vicente Fox we could not keep up with their responses.  They also had many deeper questions for us that they tried to ask but the language barrier just made things frustrating for both parties.  If you just want to lay on the beach in one of Mexico's famous beach resorts, you do not need to learn to speak Spanish.  Most Mexicans, that tourists encounter, in those resorts speak a fair amount of English and the conversations you may have are often geared to finding ways of selling you something or your leaving a bigger tip.  If you plan on traveling into the interior, away from the pool side bar, and get to know the people and their ideas then you will want to learn to speak Spanish. 

I believe that it is a common misconception that just being in Mexico or otherwise immersed in Spanish is all that you need to learn the language.   This theory appears to be true for children who are developmentally learning language but once you get to adulthood you have to work at it.  Weeks before we attended Spanish school we were using the dictionary and other learning devises to learn as much as we could.  Before you travel I highly recommend some of the fantastic software titles that are currently available. We spent some quality time with Learn Spanish Now! 9.0 and Instant Immersion Spanish before we crossed the border.  These software titles are well worth the money and gave us a big head start on learning Spanish even before we left the United States border.  In both titles there is a very useful tool where your computer says a word and you repeat it into a microphone.  The software then tells you how well you pronounced the word with a scale and graphs.  No software or book can match an immersion school for teaching you to communicate with the locals. 

After spending hours on the internet researching the different cities that offer Spanish schools we picked Guanajuato.  It had several things going for it.   First, according to our Lonely Planet Mexico and Footprint Central America and Mexico 2003 guide books Guanajuato is the least expensive city in Mexico that offers Spanish Immersion classes.  Guanajuato is also high in the mountains and therefore has comfortable summer temperatures.  If you go do not forget a jacket because at this altitude it gets pleasantly chilly during summer nights.  Guanajuato is also the most northern colonial city that offers Spanish classes.  This is important for two reasons.  First this colonial city was built by the Spanish and it is very old, historic, and uniquely beautiful.  I can only imagine that such cities are common in Europe but nothing like it exists in North America.  Second, Guanajuato being the most northern city with Spanish Immersion makes it the closest to the USA.  This is an important fact if you are driving or taking the bus from the USA.  Since we were traveling by bicycle Guanajuato's northern location was important because we wanted to learn our Spanish as soon as possible.  

After choosing Guanajuato I wrote a form letter of sorts and sent it to all of the schools in town.  Several wrote back and we proceeded with a volley of correspondence until we narrowed it down to just a few.  Escuela Mexicana had several things going for it.

- Escuela Mexicana had the lowest prices.  This was a big factor to us given our tight budget.  A lot of schools charge the same for classes but the registration fee is much higher.  Escuela Mexicana also has no hidden cost.  The prices, that you will find on the internet, are the prices that you will be charged.  They keep their web site very current.

- Escuela Mexicana had the best location compared to the other schools.  Escuela Mexican in located near Guanajuato's lively and historic downtown area.  The Union Jardin, museums, and other important cultural attractions are just a short walk from the school and hotel/hostel.   We had spoke to several Spanish immersion school students who had been attending various other schools and they were upset with the locations of their schools.  They complained that they missed many of the fun and educational events in the downtown area because it was to far to walk.  If you have a car with you do not even think that you will find parking in the center of town. 

- After asking other Spanish students on the street who had been in town several weeks we learned about various other schools.  They had some complaints such as cost and location.

Escuela Mexicana was very flexible in meeting our needs.  You can just show up and start on any day of the week but they prefer Monday.  If you prefer to arrange things ahead of time they have a very convenient web site with all the forms online.  They will give you a short placement test in order to determine your individual level.   Next they place you in the appropriate small (five or less) class.  You can rearrange your schedule every week if you like.  The courses were fun and individually paced to meet our needs.  The teachers were mostly graduate students at the University of Guanajuato.

LODGING

Our budget was $30 (not each but total) a day for all of Mexico.  We were usually camping for free some nights and traveling through cheaper parts of this country.  We could live like kings on this budget.  Although Guanajuato is less expensive than any other city that offers Spanish school, it is not as cheap as the rural parts.  There has to be an abundance of foreigners to have Spanish schools.  So, our budget was very tight in Guanajuato and we had to find cheap lodging or we would not be able to stay longer than a week.  We first found a very run down hotel that we nicknamed  "the Dungeon" because it was so dark inside.  It had no outside windows or ventilation.  You have to remember that most buildings in this colonial city are between 500 and 600 years old.  It had lots of bugs and the light switch would shock you if you touched it wrong.  I got shocked several times and Cindie just does not like bugs.  We wanted something different but within our budget.

Casa Mexicana (in the same building as the school) also has lodging that they refer to as a dorm.  I do not think of Casa Mexicana as a  dorm. It is much nicer than the dorm room that many North Americans experience in college.   It is more of a combination hotel and hostel. (travelers hotel)  The rooms are clean and have windows and doors that open to a pleasant outdoor courtyard.   Although it is not particularly hot in Guanajuato, even in the summer, adequate ventilation is always important for sleeping.  The rooms vary in size from apartments with kitchens, private bathrooms, and satellite television to more basic rooms that all have desks and closets with clean shared bathrooms and a fully functional shared kitchen.  

 The school will happily arrange lodging with Mexican families called Home stays.  We did not do this but the people that we talked to were very happy with the arrangements.   After hearing people describe their Home stays. it seemed to be very pleasant and an especially good deal if you are traveling with small children.  We heard that the Mexican families will watch your children while you have time alone to explore the city or just relax.  Another bonus to a home stay is that you can request to be placed with a Mexican families who has children the same age as yours.  The children can play together and learn language and culture together.   

You can check out Escuela Mexicana's great language school at Escuela Mexicana

(See Also Online Spanish Flash Cards)

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