Quatzaltenango (Xela) language school

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I am trying to beak the idiot curve in language school by early in my second week, pray for me and all I come in contact with. I have completed 3 days of five hour one on one classes and the optimistic part of me realizes that I am further along than a semester of classes. However, my little mind can not take it. I read as slowly a 5 year old, I can’t remember words from one minute to the next and I am showing my frustration. Today I showed my frustration with my teacher over antes and using it in a sentence ¨Estudio en mañana antes voy a clase¨ She kept going on about antes is for time and not place and that it was wrong. I tried to explain that I thought I was talking about time, but she kept using an example different from mine and saying it was wrong. I gave up, because it didn’t make sense. I also am starting to show my frustration to my family as the father knows a fair amount of English and decides to quiz me on Spanish during dinner. Today at lunch after (despues) five hours of torture classes he asks what I am learning. I mentioned a couple of things and said that we have been working on verbs. He said which ones, I said regular and irregular. He said list them. Now to put all of this in context, I have been sick since I got here. I came with something and I finally got rid of it yesterday. Today right before the lunch quiz I started on round two Guatemala style. I have enjoyed trying to talk to the kids, but he is quizzing and correcting me, while I sit there politely waiting to leave, because I feel sick and am not planning on eating any more food. I know it will get better, but I am already counting the days and looking at pictures of my dogs and becoming homesick. It would be great to have one day where I felt good and it didn’t rain during my only free time.

The second week of class has been remarkably different. I have an understanding teacher, however we have started over on many things because she feels my first teacher went too fast. I am now taking classes in the afternoon during the rain, and have the wonderful sunny mornings to study and take the side trips offered by the school. We have a great group of other students in the afternoon, who end up being my companions on the organized side trips. I love the way this school organizes the trips. We take public transportation to every location, our guide only speaks in Spanish but is patient and understanding and he gives us the background of the communities and people focusing on the realities of average person. The school has offers speakers and at times movies during our free time, and again they are focused on telling the realities of the people. I strongly recommend the movie “Innocent Voices”. It is about El Salvador’s war, but has many similarities to Guatemala.

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Comments

[Celine]

Which language school in Xela?
Just wondering which language school you went to?