My Experience With Sol Latino Spanish School

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In April 2018, I spent 4 weeks in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala at Sol Latino Spanish School. I was planning to travel in Latin America for a few months so I researched the best place to study Spanish (in terms of quality, price, and environment). I found out that Guatemala was a great place to study Spanish because, for one, their style of speaking is a bit slower and clearer than other regions in Latin America.

There were so many rave reviews about Sol Latino on TripAdvisor and other websites that I decided to check them out. Their website was basic and a bit outdated (they list an activities calendar that clearly hasn’t been updated), but in my opinion, this was a selling point.

You can either stay in a homestay, in their accommodations (Casa Latina) if it is available, or book your own accommodation. I chose the homestay option. The homestay price in the low season is $165 a week for one person, which includes 20 hours of private Spanish lessons a week, a private room in a homestay, AND 3 meals a day. It’s really an amazing deal. They also have deals for couples or friends that want to take classes together to save money.

Registering with Sol Latino

The whole process of registering with Sol Latino was easy. I had originally tried filling out the Google Form on their website but had never heard back. A week or so later, I e-mailed them and asked them about it. They said they were having a problem with the form, but asked me to fill out a Word document with my info, which I did. They e-mailed me back and said I was registered and that a week before I arrived I would receive my homestay information. As promised, I received my homestay information a week prior. Other than the Word document, I was never asked for any other information or a deposit. I paid in cash during my first week.

Getting to Quetzaltenango

A few exchanged e-mails and several weeks later, I was on a plane headed to Guatemala City, with my homestay information in hand. Quetzaltenango (Xela) is about 4 hours from the capital, and I decided that instead of trying to rush to Xela immediately, I would first spend the night in Antigua Guatemala, and then book transportation for the following day.

 

Getting to Antigua from Guatemala City is straightforward, you can hop on a shuttle at La Aurora International Airport for $10 USD. Once in Antigua, I looked for the Adrenalina Tours office to book a shuttle for the following day. Unfortunately, Google Maps didn’t have the exact street number listed, so I actually ended up at a different travel agency (Club de los Viajeros) and booked through them. I ended up paying 250Q ($35 USD). In hindsight, Adrenalina would have been cheaper. Regardless, it was a direct, comfortable and convenient option, they showed up on time, and everything was fine. There are also other much cheaper options (i.e. chicken buses) that are less direct and less comfortable if you are feeling adventurous.

Arriving at the Homestay

I showed up at Rosa’s house at 7 pm on a Sunday after the 4-hour shuttle ride from Antigua.  I hadn’t confirmed anything since the week prior so I was a bit nervous to get lost or have the wrong address. Neither of us knew what the other looked like and I had never talked to her before. Luckily, the address was correct and they were home to greet me.

She showed me my room and how the shower worked. At 7:30 we had dinner with her son and daughter-in-law, who live next door. Dinner was fried egg sandwiches. Everyone got one, but for some reason, I was given two. Maybe she thought I needed a big American portion. Luckily, the rest of the meals were divided equally.

Most showers in Guatemala operate with the water heater attached to the shower head, with wires hanging out and everything. Some people call these suicide showers. As long as you don’t touch anything you should be fine. The lower the water pressure the warmer the shower. You basically have the choice between a cold shower or a warm sprinkle, just enough to wash the shampoo out of your hair.

 

In the homestay, I was provided 3 home-cooked meals a day. Breakfast at 7:30 (8 on weekends), lunch between 1-1:30 and dinner at 7:30. If I needed to eat lunch earlier or wanted to skip a meal to go out to eat instead, I could always do so. I got to try amazing homemade food such as pepián de pollo (chicken stew, which is considered the national dish of Guatemala), caldo de tlalpeño (a delicious chicken soup originating from Mexico), and quichon (another chicken dish local to Xela). And of course tortillas, lots and lots of tortillas.

 

The homestay was super comfortable. My room was simple and had a desk, two beds (in case I was traveling with someone), and a dresser. There was wifi and hot showers. I was the only student in this homestay, but some homestays can accommodate multiple students (in private rooms). Most homestays have wifi, but I heard of a few that didn’t. If you need it to do your work, I would recommend asking about it when reserving.

My First Couple of Days at Sol Latino

I found Sol Latino the first morning at 8:00 am using Google Maps (one of my favorite travel apps). Rosa had asked me if I needed her to walk me to school, but I told her gracias, pero no hace falta (thank you, but there is no need). When I arrived at the school I was greeted by Orlando and was given my choice of notebook. Princess, police cars or giraffes. I figured I most resembled a giraffe, especially in Guatemala, so I chose that one.

We all stood around in the courtyard and were instructed to introduce ourselves and mention something we like (in español of course). This is a tradition on Mondays, apparently. Then I was introduced to my teacher, Mario, and was given a 7-page test to assess my level of Spanish. It took over an hour. I immediately forgot everything I had learned about the subjunctive.

 

He put me in Principiante III, but then the following week said he meant to put me in Intermedio I (the levels are listed here). We talked about some common verbs and grammar and also just had some conversation in Spanish. By the time class was over I was ready for bed, uncertain I could survive 4 weeks of this. I went home and took a nap.

The next day was better. My energy was back and I felt inspired and motivated. After class, I joined the activity, which was a tour of the city. Mario also had a background in tourism so he was the school’s resident tour guide. We visited the cemetery, the theater, and other sights. It was a nice introduction to Xela.

 

After that, the next 3 and a half weeks flew by, between Spanish classes and countless activities. The activities were awesome. They allowed you to hang out with the other students, visit different towns around the area, and take different modes of transportation (chicken bus, colectivos, pick up trucks), at no extra cost (aside from entrance fees and transportation costs). The activities included hiking, salsa lessons, watching movies in Spanish, helping out with local NGOs, and much more. Activities are offered 5 days a week, are entirely in Spanish, and are a great supplement to the classes.

 

Most students in Xela were there to really learn the language and absorb the culture. This wasn’t Barcelona, where half the school consisted of Scandinavian kids on a scholarship that were mainly just there to party and go to the beach (obviously a generalization). Sol Latino was a tight-knit group because the school was small. It also seemed like everyone was really serious about learning Spanish. In Xela, it was a must. Even at the cafes and restaurants frequented by foreigners, many of the servers did not speak much English. It was a refreshing change from having people immediately revert to English once they heard me awkwardly say the word tarjeta.

Some of my recommended books for traveling Central America and working on your Spanish grammar:

 

Other fantastic resources for learning Spanish are Duolingo, Memrise, and of course Netflix (once you’re in a Latin American country, you can watch all your favorite American shows on Netflix dubbed in Spanish!)

Check out my other posts about Xela and Guatemala!

• 7 Things To Know About Xela, Guatemala