Argentina or Guatemala? Where should I learn Spanish?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Okay, here’s the situation. Sometime very soon, say, February or March, I am going to be heading somewhere south to go to a Spanish immersion school. I haven’t picked my school, nor have even settled on a region yet, so I’m trying to figure out what place would work best for me. And I figured what better audience to ask than the erudite, cosmopolitan SDMB community?

Here are my particulars:

I speak a good deal of Spanish, I actually majored in it at university. I can have pretty significant conversations, write coherent, if simple, essays, and understand, with a bit of help on the speakers part, almost any idea that is being conveyed to me. What I can’t do is: understand rapid-fire dialogue in TV, movies, or between two native-speakers, read at more than an elementary level without consulting a dictionary every 30 seconds, or successfully use the more advanced aspects of the grammar.

My goal is to become advanced enough to be a Spanish teacher at the high school level (which requires passing a variety of standardized tests), and to become comfortable in every day conversation, without constantly retreating to ‘safe’ conversation topics like the weather, or family, etc.

My budget is about $3000, and my time commitment is up to 3 months. But where to go? The only place I’ve ruled out is Spain, because it’s expensive, and I’ve already been there twice.

Now, I’ve looked around, and it seems to me that Guatemala is the cheapest place in the world to study Spanish. Rates for room, board and tuition for as low as $90, with $120 a week common even in semi-major cities.

However, Guatemala doesn’t really appeal to me as much as South American countries, like Argentina, or Peru, or Chile, or Columbia most of all. But everything I’ve found on the internet is much more expensive in S. America. I would have thought the recent financial crisis in Argentina might have forced down prices, but it seems about $1000 a month is as low as I can find. This would leave very little money for me to do anything but study.

So, anyone have any experiences doing these types of things? Are there hidden opportunities down south that aren’t as expensive as the ones I’m finding?

2

I would suggest Montevideo, Uruguay. I believe it is cheaper than Argentina, and only about an hour away from Buenos Aires by ferry.

3

One of the reasons Guatemala seems so cheap is that it has had a rather bad reputation in the human-rights and crime statistics evaluations. I would heartily recommend Colombia. There are several dialects of Spanish there, and if you can communicate in that machine-gun Spanish in Colombia, you will be able to converse with a Spanish-speaker anywhere in the world. The country is beautiful and hasn’t become too “touristy” or commercialized yet. Although the rest of the world tends to equate Colombia with “drug problems,” an expat is generally safe - as long as you use common sense and follow regulatory restrictions and warnings. My experience is that Colombia is rather inexpensive to visit and is rich in culture.

Here’s the absolute best advice I can give: Find someone who can introduce you to an embassy or consulate in Bogota, then begin negotiations to offer your services as a translator / interpreter. Make sure you mention that you are interested in continuing your studies as you work. Why not get paid for the skills you have?

A quick search on the internet (using Google) turned up lots and lots of opportunities in Latin America for a person in your position.

4

As you haven’t elaborated as to why you’re not interested in Guatemala or what appeals to you about the other South American countries that you’ve listed, it’s difficult to advise you.
Guatemala’s human rights record has improved drastically and Columbia hardly has a sterling reputation either.

If you haven’t investigated the language schools in Antigua de Guatemala, may I strongly suggest you do so?
The entire population appears vested in ensuring that you learn Spanish while you are there.
The town itself is beautiful, there are tons of young nubile European students of both sexes, and you can take trips to Lake Atitlan and Chichicastenango.
Tikal is always worth a weekend excursion as well.

5

Because there’s no crime in Colombia.

6

Chiapas, in Mexico, is gorgeous, with a wide range of experiences available for the language student, from the priced by average daily wage in your home country–politically slanted–rudimentary dormitories www.escuelasparachiapas.org to the more traditional seeming Instituto de Lenguas Jovel in San Cristóbal de las Casas.
Cuernavaca (“City of Eternal Spring”)is known for its language instruction schools. It is in the state of Morelos and roughly 90 minutes from Mexico City.
You may find this website useful:
http://www.123teachme.com/
Mexico has a mode of learning to suite anyone…you could even just travel by bus through the state seeing the sights and as long as you engage the people around you in friendly conversation and avoid the “tourist traps” you would find your learning increasing exponentially. But it is a good idea to enroll in a school because most Spanish-speakers are too polite to correct you when you make mistakes. In general, a more patient and friendly people you will not find (as model minority-reverse racist-whatever the new buzzword is as that sounds) to help you learn, and enjoy becoming fluent in, Spanish. And just remember, when in doubt, use the subjunctive. :wink:

7

I’ve never been to Argentina but I’ve lived in Guatemala for 3 years.

There is a sort of a tourist town called Antigua that has several spanish academies and Americans that want to learn spanish. Usually they learn by taking the things they’ve learned in the classroom and talking to the street venders, who are used to it and enjoy the company (i think). Also Guatemalan spanish is relatively slow and “standard” so it’s easier to start with but once you go to another spanish speaking country (say Panama) it might be difficult to adjust.

But Guatemala is a dangerous country. The afore mentioned town is probably the safest part of the country though. But in certain parts of the capital, you’re definitely going to get mugged (especially if you don’t look guatemalan). Security guards carry shotguns and the police are notoriously corrupt. You hear gunshots at night even in the safest part of town (usually shots of celebrations though).

I would also like to mention that Argentinians speak a heavily accented spanish and their way of speaking is the butt of the joke in the rest of latin america.

8

I’ve been told about Antigua before… it sounds great, but I’m wary. Lots of Americans, Europeans, etc. means lots of English beign spoken, makes it a lot harder to really make progress. I first ‘learned’ Spanish on a trip to Spain. I made tons of progress in just 3 months, but was really held back by all the opportunities to socialize with other non-Spanish speakers. I’m not sure I have the willpower to avoid that.

Also, I’d like to go to a non-tourist area. Sure, it may be more boring, cause people are just going about their daily lives instead of all the daily distractions of a tourist mecca like Antigua or Costa Rica, but I’ve been to lots and lots of places, and the main point of this is study, not sight seeing. And to do so on a budget.

9

Or Guatemala. Or Mexico. Or Argentina. Or Uruguay. Or Miami. Or San Diego. Or… FFS

10

This $3000 budget does not include airfare right? Since airfare from Hong Kong to points in Central and South America will run you at least $2500 according to estimates currently available…and what season are you planning to go? When you say you have a time frame of three months, does that mean you plan to go in the summer break for school? This makes a difference.

The 123teachme site has all the listings for language schools and their websites. You will be able to really live it up in Oaxaca on $3000 split between three months, or live moderately and bring home some incredible textiles. The site lists whether homestay is available (for immersion) and many schools also have optional intercambios–where you will exchange Spanish language lessons for teaching someone English. There will also be excursions and cultural workshops…This school presents itself particularly well in the appearance of immersion and cultural education.
Cualquiera escogerá, ¡Buen viaje!

11

Oh, I forgot, I’m not in the HK area anymore, I’ll be flying from San Francisco. The three months would start sometime in February, which I am told is a down season, except for Semana Santa in Antigua.

Anyway, since I can’t find too many other cheap alternatives, I think I’ll be going to Antigua first, then after 2-3 weeks check out a few other towns, maybe split the three months among 4-5 towns.

Are there any good beach towns in Guatemala or nearby? I’ve seen a couple ‘Learn Spanish on the Beach’ schools advertised in Costa Rica, but they’re generally about $1000-1500 a month, a bit out of my price range.

12

Just a little joke at the cognitive disconnect of following a comment about high crime and civil rights abuse with a suggestion to go to Colombia…

13

Among many linguists, it is believed that Central American Spanish is the purest of the Latin Spanish dialects. Mexico City is an excellent place to learn Spanish also, if you hang out within the university crowd and uptown folk. Otherwise, you’ll pick up many indigenous phrases that work well in Mexico and mean something totally different (and interesting) in Columbia.

Try Ecuador, too.

14

Okay, so delete Bogota in the above suggestion and insert Guatemala City / Antigua / Whatever. There may well be other organizations and corporations who would gladly pay for your multilingual skills and perhaps subsidize your continuing studies.

15

If you plan to go during the months that comprise winter in the Northern Hemisphere, you might want to consider Santiago, Chile. It’s summer in Santiago when it’s winter up here (Like you, I’m in the US.) I haven’t been there myself, but a friend of mine took a Spanish immersion course there several years ago. He says that Santiago is a great place to be in its summer months–lots of flowers, gorgeous weather, lots of students out and about–but cold, drizzly, and generally bleh in the other 3 seasons.

16

I studied at a Spanish language school in Cuernavaca, Mexico for two months in 1997. All told, the cost was right around your budget. Here is their website: http://www.cetlalic.org

I went from basic Spanish (ie - not really remembering if “agua” is el or la… ) to being asked to translate Spanish guest lectures from Spanish to English for the other students by the end of my two months. When I got back to the US, I was offered a job as a legal assistant working primarily in Spanish. One of the reasons why the school is so good is that they really actually focus on educating you. Beware schools that will take your money, let you lounge by the pool, and not really teach you anything.

Cetlalic also has a great attitude and an organization, progressive and open (ie - they were open to the gay community, not exactly pervasive in Mexico).

Cuernavaca is 70 mi from Mexico City, “The City of the Eternal Spring”, and a piece of cake to get to from the airport.

I had a fantastic experience, and would recommend Cetlalic to anyone who wanted the immersion experience.

17

I loved Guatemala, but that was back in 1976. They speak slowly enough that even my lame-assed Spanish was adequate. The climate is great (at least in Guatemala City), although the coastal areas can be uncomfortably hot. The food was cheap, the women beautiful and the people friendly. But crime and corruption was a problem then, as well.

18

Try: CETLALIC.

19

Oh, thank you, ShibbOleth! Add vB URL coding to my New Years resolutions…

20

Spent 10 days in Guatemala in '98, and your '76 assessment fits. What a beautiful country. Lake Atitlan and Tikal were astounding.