spanish emersion in Guatamala

If this subject line means anything to you, then I am humbly seeking
your help and guidance. BTW, this is my very first usenet post!

I am a 39 year-old caucasion male living in San Diego. I have no
experience in any language study. I am currently unemployed and in
the midst of a major personal and professional transition. Somehow I
have become inspired to pusue Spanish language study via "emersion,"
even though I don't know any one who has done this. In fact, I don't
know anyone who knows anyone who has done this! Guatamala seems to be
an exciting and relatively inexpensive option. I plan on going there
for 4-5 weeks in November-dDecember, but otherwise i really don't
have much of a clue, let alone a plan.

Please share your experience, wisdom, advise, suggestions, etc.
For example, should I purchase any books or tools? What do need to
know and do in order to maximize my experience? How might I prepare
my self? Is this a even a good idea?

GRACIAS (sp?) in advance,

kevin

By far the best place in Guatemala is Antigua, a nice 45
minute drive from Guatemala City, it has nice
restaurantes, internet cafés, and many spanish schools,
most of which offer immersion/one on one classes.
I was there in July/August of 1988 and was in an
immersion class for 1 month, it's like anything else, if
you really want to get alot out of it, you surely can.



mkevinm wrote:

If this subject line means anything to you, then I am humbly seeking
your help and guidance. BTW, this is my very first usenet post!

I am a 39 year-old caucasion male living in San Diego. I have no
experience in any language study. I am currently unemployed and in
the midst of a major personal and professional transition. Somehow I
have become inspired to pusue Spanish language study via "emersion,"
even though I don't know any one who has done this. In fact, I don't
know anyone who knows anyone who has done this! Guatamala seems to be
an exciting and relatively inexpensive option. I plan on going there
for 4-5 weeks in November-dDecember, but otherwise i really don't
have much of a clue, let alone a plan.

Please share your experience, wisdom, advise, suggestions, etc.
For example, should I purchase any books or tools? What do need to
know and do in order to maximize my experience? How might I prepare
my self? Is this a even a good idea?

GRACIAS (sp?) in advance,

kevin

RK Evans wrote in message ...
By far the best place in Guatemala is Antigua, a nice 45
minute drive from Guatemala City, it has nice
restaurantes, internet cafés, and many spanish schools,
most of which offer immersion/one on one classes.
I was there in July/August of 1988 and was in an
immersion class for 1 month, it's like anything else, if
you really want to get alot out of it, you surely can.


Please share your experience, wisdom, advise, suggestions, etc.
For example, should I purchase any books or tools? What do need to
know and do in order to maximize my experience? How might I prepare
my self? Is this a even a good idea?



I was in your same position a few years ago (but I was a little
younger). I was out of a job, had time and money on my hands, and
decided to learn Spanish. I went to Venezuela for an immersion
program- I was there for 2 months. I did not even know how to say the
alphabet in Spanish (I studied French in school). I highly recommend
that you learn the alphabet, and some of the very basics of Spanish
before you go. However, do not be daunted if you don't, as I managed
fairly well, and now speak Spanish decently.

The biggest difficulty will be when you begin your stay with your host
family (assuming that is the option you will choose)- they will want
to ask you about yourself (personal questions to know you, and also to
know what you eat, etc.), and give you instructions (i.e. how to turn
on the hot water, get into the building, etc.).

I have always gone through Amerispan- they are very professional and
have a big presence in Guatemala. Of course, you can simply show up in
Guatemala, walk into a language school, and you might find a less
expensive program... but I know people who have had bad luck with this
method, while others have had success. Guatemala is so inexpensive,
that for me... going with a quality program will be worth the extra
$50 or so a week.

You will need a good dictionary (I like Larousse), and I also
recommend 501 Spanish Verbs (very helpful). Of course, the larger the
dictionary, the heavier it will be... but a really small dictionary
will not be as helpful when you are in class.

Buena Suerte,

Simone

PS. the above email address is not currently maintained

Have a look at the "schools" section of this website. A great
comparison of language schools throughout Guatemala. It should answer
many of your questions: http://www.guatemala365.com/

Bill

On Sun, 12 Oct 2003 09:58:02 -0700, mkevinm wrote:

If this subject line means anything to you, then I am humbly seeking
your help and guidance. BTW, this is my very first usenet post!

I am a 39 year-old caucasion male living in San Diego. I have no
experience in any language study. I am currently unemployed and in
the midst of a major personal and professional transition. Somehow I
have become inspired to pusue Spanish language study via "emersion,"
even though I don't know any one who has done this. In fact, I don't
know anyone who knows anyone who has done this! Guatamala seems to be
an exciting and relatively inexpensive option. I plan on going there
for 4-5 weeks in November-dDecember, but otherwise i really don't
have much of a clue, let alone a plan.

Please share your experience, wisdom, advise, suggestions, etc.
For example, should I purchase any books or tools? What do need to
know and do in order to maximize my experience? How might I prepare
my self? Is this a even a good idea?

GRACIAS (sp?) in advance,

kevin

mkevinm wrote:

Please share your experience, wisdom, advise, suggestions, etc.
For example, should I purchase any books or tools? What do need to
know and do in order to maximize my experience? How might I prepare
my self? Is this a even a good idea?

I just returned from 3 weeks Guatemala (just travelling, I can get around in
Spanish). It's a great country, lots of things to see & do, nice people,
cheap. There are a lot of people taking language classes in Antigua and
Xela (=Quetzaltenango), it's mostly 5 days/week 3-5 hours a day for 2-4
weeks. (I heard people saying that 5 hours/day is too hard though).

There is something you should consider: at the moment the country is stable
and quiet, however there are presidential elections coming up Nov.9. One of
the candidates is the former dictator Rios Montt (blood on his hands has
not dried yet) from the FRG. He is not going to win these elections
(current polls: Berger 35%, Colom 15%, Rios Montt 10%), but mr. Montt ("el
general") does have quite some military support. It might be that after the
election (probably won by Berger) the FRG will not like the result and
Montt will try to take some actions.

I'm not saying that it will become civil war after nov.9, but predictations
on what will happen vary from minor unrest to major trouble. Just something
to think about when planning to go to Guatemala in Nov-Dec.

Best,


--
Bas vd Meer


Once the toothpaste is out of the tube, it's hard to get it back in.
-- H.R. Haldeman

Great helpful responses--thanks to all.

Any other tips? For example, how should I get the basics, now? Should I be
listening to the Living Laguage program that I happen to have? Or what else
would be the best use of my time before I actually go down there? What if
anything should I pack--is there anything that I will wish I had brought
with me?

(BTW, I'm on a friend's box so please ignore the headers)



"mkevinm" wrote in message
...
If this subject line means anything to you, then I am humbly seeking
your help and guidance. BTW, this is my very first usenet post!

I am a 39 year-old caucasion male living in San Diego. I have no
experience in any language study. I am currently unemployed and in
the midst of a major personal and professional transition. Somehow I
have become inspired to pusue Spanish language study via "emersion,"
even though I don't know any one who has done this. In fact, I don't
know anyone who knows anyone who has done this! Guatamala seems to be
an exciting and relatively inexpensive option. I plan on going there
for 4-5 weeks in November-dDecember, but otherwise i really don't
have much of a clue, let alone a plan.

Please share your experience, wisdom, advise, suggestions, etc.
For example, should I purchase any books or tools? What do need to
know and do in order to maximize my experience? How might I prepare
my self? Is this a even a good idea?

GRACIAS (sp?) in advance,

kevin