Andrew and I enrolled in Spanish classes our first week here at Antiguena Spanish Academy. There are many Spanish language schools in Antigua, as it seems to be a popular destination for people wanting to learn the language. Our school had good reviews and was located near our Airbnb, which were the two main reasons we chose it. We were able to book a private teacher for the two of us, and scheduled 4-hour classes our first week in town (Monday–Friday mornings).
On Monday, we walked 5 minutes to the school and were introduced to our teacher, Lety. I knew we would be learning in their garden but I assumed it was at the same location as the school/office building. However, Lety told us she would walk us over to the garden, which turned out to be on the far west and north side of town. Luckily, our apartment was also on the west side of town, so our new morning walk to class was only 10–15 minutes, but if we had booked an apartment on the east side of town, I probably would have been annoyed. Something to keep in mind if you’re booking classes.
The garden was nice and included restrooms and a concession area that sold snacks and espresso drinks. They provided free filtered water and brewed black coffee. Unfortunately, the week we attended, a crew was renovating the restrooms, so each day only one of the two (normally men/women) were available. There were 3 stalls for about 60–70 people, and the sink was outside in the middle of the garden. It was fine until our last day, when the garden lost its connection to the city water, and there were 3 non-flushing toilets for everyone and a drizzle of water in the garden sink.
Every day we met Lety upstairs on a terrace, at a little table with plastic chairs. Over the 5 days, she gave us a few different sets of worksheets and homework assignments, but mostly we spent the 4 hours each morning just chatting with her in Spanish. It was exhausting for our brains, but I think it helped us. It also gave her a better idea of our Spanish level and what we needed to focus on. She also played games with us, including Scrabble in Spanish and matching games with illustrated cards showing fruits, vegetables, or opposite words (e.g., full vs. empty, close vs. far, wide vs. narrow).
The school hosts an optional and free cultural activity each Thursday afternoon. The week we attended, it was a lecture about La Cuaresma y La Santa Semana in Guatemala (Lent and Holy/Easter Week). One of the instructors explained in Spanish how the Catholic holidays are celebrated in Antigua, including what alfombras are—street decorations that span blocks in the city and are made up of flowers, colored sawdust, fruits and veggies, and other offerings to God. The creation of alfombras is an offering of devotion in and of itself, as people hunch over their work and kneel on cobblestone streets for hours to make them.
Our group got to make our own mini alfombras in the garden and then we sampled a bunch of different local fruit. It was a fun experience and great to practice our listening skills. The school also offers students a free salsa class every Monday, but Andrew and I didn’t attend that. All in all, it was a good experience and we’d recommend the school.
