Anna Hill
Email: annagab_69@hotmail.com
Australia
"I have just finished six weeks of study at San Pedro Spanish School, and I can heartily recommend it. The staff are most welcoming, friendly, and helpful.
The evening programs are interesting and fun. They show films about the civil war, bring in speakers to talk about different aspects of Mayan culture, and even have salsa lessons and dancing one night a week. These programs are all free (included in the price of school).
Another optional free activity are the conversation clubs. These are divided into experience levels, and are a chance to practice your Spanish with a small group of other students while the conversation is facilitated by one of the teachers. It´s a fun way to practice, and I made a lot of friends this way.
On the weekends, the school organizes different adventure outings: climbing the volcano, kayaking across the lake, tours around town, etc. These activities cost extra, but are cheaper than if you book them yourself. I participated in most of these activities, and they were all great. It´s a good way to make friends while having a fun day.
In my six weeks at the school, I tried three different teachers, and all three had different styles:
Lorenzo is very intelligent, dedicated, and has an excellent grasp of English, which is necessary when explaining different concepts. I think he would be an excellent teacher for an intermediate or advanced student. As I was a total beginner, after one week with him we both felt frustrated since I was not up to the level he is used to teaching at.
So for my second week, I changed to Estela. In many ways, she is the opposite of Lorenzo. Instead of drilling the grammar, rules, and conjugations, we simply talked. This is exactly what I needed at the time, since I simply wanted to learn how to communicate. We also took walks as we talked, which was a nice change from sitting in front of the whiteboard for hours. The downside to her relaxed style is that she let me get away with a lot of mistakes that I wish she hadn´t. Estela also does not have the advanced level of English that Lorenzo does.
Thus in my third week, I changed teachers again, to Manuela. I stuck with Manuela for my remaining three weeks because she strikes a good balance between being strict (teaching the necessary rules) while also encouraging relaxed conversation. Learning with her is actually fun. She has a good grasp of English and grammatical rules; more than Estela, but less than Lorenzo. I heard good things from fellow students about other teachers, but can only personally report on what I experienced.
The family I stayed with was excellent: Cecilia and Antonio. They are better off than most of the families in San Pedro, which means you reap the benefits (modern electrical appliances, for example). I had a private room with a bathroom right outside the door. This bathroom was shared with only one other person (another student) – the family used another bathroom.
Cecilia is a good cook, very friendly, and welcoming. Antonio drives a tourist van so he wasn´t around that often, but when he was it was fun. They have three daughters – ages 1, 11, and 13. The baby is really cute, and the older ones were friendly and very patient with my lack of ability to communicate.
You get three meals per day. Lunch is the biggest meal. The dinners get a bit boring, so I would go out to eat occassionally for variety. The family doesn´t eat all together (which surprised me), but you always have at least one of them sitting with you during your meal if you want to chat. That was fine with me – I could hang out with them in the living room if I wanted to chat, or I could squirrel away in my room if I wanted to be alone - they were fine either way.
San Pedro is a nice town, and there are a variety of things to do and see. There are a number of gringo bars and restaurants showing English-language films if you get homesick or want to hang out with other gringos. It´s a safe town as well - I never felt in danger, and many of my women friends would walk home at night alone.
Feel free to write me with any questions you might have. I´m traveling for the next year so it might take me a bit of time to respond, but rest assured I will.
Safe travels!"
Josh Johnson
USA (D.C., Seattle, New York)
Email: sp@thetechtable.net
"Puvodne jsem v San Pedru chtela zustat pouze tyden. Nakonec jsem zustala tri tydny a jsem si jista, ze kdybych mela vice casu, zustala bych dele. San Pedro school byla rozhodne tim nejlepsim rozhodnutim. Za tri tydny jsem se diky profesionalnimu pristupu naucila velice dobre spanelsky. Skola nabizi ruzne doprovodne aktivity a s pomoci studentu vypomaha se vzdelanim mistnich deti. Za tri tydny jsem poznala spoustu pratel, a proto dnes, v muj posledni den, se mi odjizdi velice tezko. Ve zkratce: vyborna zkusenost, prohloubeni znalosti, skvela atmosfera, uzasna energie, profesionalita sama."
V pripade otazek me kdykoli kontaktujte.
Hodne stesti,
Marie Pospisilova
Email: maruska.21@hotmail.com
"San Pedro Spanish School has created a fantastic environment to immerse yourself in the spanish language. The school is set right on the lake and your classroom is the beautiful garden. From the moment we walked through the door, we felt at ease and new that we had made the right choice. My teacher was fantastic and in the week I was there he taught me so much. I highly recommend San Pedro Spanish School to anyone interested in visiting San Pedro."
Niños Del Lago
"The program Niños Del Lago is a vital asset to the community of San Pedro. We were happy to know that a portion of our tuition fees went directly to the Niños Del Lago project to help out where it was really needed. We volunteered with the children for three afternoons after our Spanish classes and the experience is definitely one of the highlights of our trip. The children themselves are amazing individuals and are so full of energy and spirit. Apart from teaching them some English, we also gave them a crash course in using my SLR digital camera. They were very excited about it, and ended up taking over 200 photos! On our last afternoon we all got together and watched the photos on a projector screen, while sipping hot chocolate and eating waffles with fruit salad. It was a very rewarding experience and one I will never forget!"
Monique Kowalski
Email: monkowalski@hotmail.com
"I chose to sponsor Niños del Lago because, as a volunteer, I have witnessed the important work it is doing. I have visited the homes of some of the children and seen the deprivation that surrounds them. This project offers its students the opportunity to rise above their difficult circumstances. Not only does the school offer academics, it delivers food to the students' families and helps secure health services where these are priorities. When I was visiting, the school arranged for all the children to be driven many hours away to have their eyes tested. Those who needed glasses were helped by the school to obtain them.
This project distinguishes itself from so many others by its commitment to support the children on many levels over a long period of time. It seems to me that this kind of dedication and focus can only increase the likelihood of success for these deserving children.
If you have further questions please feel free to ask."
Judy Orloff
Email: judyorloff@yahoo.com
San Francisco, CA. USA
"San Pedro School is a great place to learn Spanish. I had friendly, patient teachers who gave me a really good grasp on Spanish, in a fun and interesting way. With the beautiful atmosphere - learning in a garden next to the lake - I don't think I could have asked for more."
Kirsten Daub
Email: daubsters@hotmail.com
Canada
"San Pedro Spanish School has a unique learnig atmosphere that takes advantage of the natural local beauty of Lago Atitlan. By far, it has the best views and grounds of any spanish school in San Pedro, and a fun group of teachers who are patient and flexible to a traveller's schedule. I have lived with a local family who have welcomed me as one of their own, and provide a healthy balance of privacy and close-knit family living. The school provides enough interesting activities outside of class to practice comprehension and learn about Guatemala's background and culture. I'm usually hard to satisfy, but my experience was complete, and I feel like I learned a lot."
Tim
Email: timmanzo@hotmail.com
USA
"San Pedro Spanish School is a fantastic place to learn Spanish and immerse yourself in Guatemalan culture. The teachers and families affiliated with the school are not only professional - they are warm-hearted and generous. San Pedro la Laguna is a difficult place to leave."
Jill Zmud
Email: j_zmud@hotmail.com
Canada
"Finding San Pedro Spanish School was a highpoint of my travels. I went for a week and stayed for nearly two months, and after expert individual tuition I was able to use my Spanish to travel all over Guatemala and beyond."
Jon Miller
Email: jlm@slowglass.com
Scotland
"This was my second time in San Padro Spanish School. One year and a half after my first visit to Guatemala I returned to learn more Spanish in the best school I have ever been to. And still the teachers were experienced and patient, my host family still was absolutely friendly and helpful, the pueblo still was not flooded with gringos and Lake Atitlan was still the most beautiful spot in all Guatemala. I´m really looking forward to my next visit to San Pedro Spanish School."
Harald
Email: wumbawumba@web.de
Germany