Menu
Wish List
READ REVIEWS
Request Info
Location
  • Guatemala
Language
Spanish

Program Details

Housing
Hostel
Apr 07, 2019
Jul 30, 2021
Wish List
8 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

Study Spanish in Guatemalan mountain villages outside Quetzaltenango. You will receive first-class one-on-one instruction from skilled maestros. You will eat your meals with local families of Mam origin, giving you the opportunity to witness rural life first-hand. Students sleep in the school house, once the home of a local coffee farmer, now set in a beautiful garden.

Supplementary activities are included, and will enhance your understanding of Guatemala - talks about history and aspects of rural life, current events, hikes in the country, and a cooking class. There are optional weekend field trips to Mayan ruins, a coffee finca, the beach, and more (at student expense).

La Escuela de La Montaña is focused on improving conditions for our neighbors by providing work and a fair wage. We also provide scholarships and free art and music classes, and have built a community library.

Founded in 1997, we are a project of Proyecto Lingüistico Quetzalteco de Español in Quetzaltenango.

Request Info

Video and Photos

View of Escuela de La Montaña school building

Related Programs

66 reviews
Thumbnail
Spanish Immersion in Antigua, Guatemala | Guatemala Spanish School
1 review
students
INEPAS - Non-Profit Spanish School
27 reviews
Thumbnail
Don Pedro Learn Spanish in Antigua Guatemala

Program Reviews

4.88 Rating
based on 17 reviews
Leave a Review
  • 5 rating 88.24%
  • 4 rating 11.76%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Instruction 4.95
  • Support 4.95
  • Fun 4.85
  • Housing 4.8
  • Value 4.95
Good for Groups, Solo Travelers, Students
Showing 17 - 17 of 17 reviews
Default avatar
Thomas
76
Male
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Unique language school in the countryside

Nov 22, 2015

I ate with a different family every week and had a different instructor each week. Every one was excellent. All but one family had many kids that either lived there or were related. I brought spanish children's books from the school library and read to these kids. I will never forget this.

What would you improve about this program?
Tough question. There were no restaurants around or coffee shops, but this was really part of the charm. The students created our own community and our own entertainment as there was none in the country.
47 people found this review helpful.
Helpful

Questions & Answers

How do you think this program would be for a 12 year old (middle schooler?) if I came with my son?

Mareika- thanks for your answer and appreciate hearing that children come along and that there are animals at the Escuela. I hope you don't mind this follow up: Did you feel safe traveling to a rural part of Guatemala? Also if you are female, how did you find traveling around? I am an East Asian woman and was fearless in my youth traveling around the world but now I'm not as nimble as I once was...

By Alex Park on February 20, 2020
See all 4 answers
Will there be a safe place that I can run there?

Hi Blake! There are safe spaces to run here, but usually we recommend you don't go alone. One of our teachers that stays at the school during the week runs in the mornings, and usually there are one or two students who want to run. Usually they run into a local finca in the mornings. There is also space on our property to exercise and run! Hopefully that helps :) --Amelia, Coordinator, La Escuela...

By ALI Alwindawi on April 17, 2018

Alumni Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with verified alumni.

Mareika Phillips

Program
Escuela de la Montaña: Spanish Immersion in the Guatemalan Mountains

Why did you choose this program?

I chose La Escuela de la Montaña because of their unique mission of helping revitalize a rural Guatemalan community, because of the great reputation of their sister school PLQE, and because it looked so beautiful in the pictures! I was definitely pleasantly surprised by how clean the dormitories and kitchen were and also how beautiful the school grounds were.

What did your program provider (or university) assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?

The program provider organized our meals with host families, or morning snacks, and our other daily programmings, like trips and cooking lessons. The only thing we had to organize on our own was transportation from Xela to the village of Nuevo San José/Fatima — and we had to go to the store on our own to get snacks if we wanted them.

What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?

I would advise you to bring bug spray and calamine lotion and to treat your clothes with permethrin before coming! The bugs are vicious and I got about 15 bites on one leg the one day I didn’t soak myself in bug spray! It reminded me of when I used to go to summer camp and come back with hundreds of bug bites. If you’re one of those sensitive people, make sure to prepare.

This is really my only complaint and for most people, it won’t be an issue!

What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?

Every day you wake up and walk to the family home that makes your meals all week. Breakfast is at 7:30. After breakfast you walk back to the school, grab water or coffee, and start studying with your teacher.

The teachers are extremely knowledgeable, patient and experienced, and looking to discuss complex topics if you’re up for it! There is a break at 10-10:20 when they provide fruit for a snack in the kitchen. You then study again until 12, then head back to your host family’s home for lunch at 12:30.

Most days there is an activity in the afternoon, whether that be a caminata (walk) to an interesting nearby place or a charla (chat) with an interesting local person. Or you can just chill on your own and read a book from the library! Then dinner is at 5:15 with your family, and often you’ll have homework to complete in the evening.

Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it? How did your views on the issue change?

I was terrified of getting sick! I am prone to illness and so I had convinced myself I would get

a) a bad cold,
b) traveler’s diarrhea or
c) dengue fever.

I went to the travelers' clinic and got all my vaccines and hoped for the best. I also prepped all my clothes with permethrin and made sure to get bug repellent with DEET. I didn’t get sick at all! I felt great the whole time. The families are EXTREMELY well trained in hygiene and nutrition, so it was always totally safe to eat their food.

Why should I study here versus the many other Spanish schools in Guatemala?

In order to be a knowledgeable global citizen, it’s vital to hear the stories of people in developing countries directly from their mouths.

The people of Guatemala have been abused and traumatized for generations by their government and by foreign corporate entities. Both the Mountain School and its sister school, Proyecto Lingüístico Quetzalteco (PLQ), teach your not only amazing Spanish skills but the history and context of Guatemala.

Location

Location:
Guatemala
Currency:
Guatemalan Quetzal
Weather:
Jan-Mar
90 F / 36 F
Apr-Jun
91 F / 43 F
Jul-Sep
91 F / 46 F
Oct-Dec
88 F / 37 F
Airports:
La Aurora International Airport
( GUA )
Mundo Maya International
( FRS )

If you want to spend a trip chasing waterfalls, meandering through lush jungles, and seeing world heritage sites; Guatemala should be high on your list. Guatemala can be easy to overlook when there are more travelled destinations in the area, but don't be fooled, this country is filled with incredible landscapes and culture, all at a great price.

About Escuela de la Montana

Located in rural Guatemala between Quetzaltenango and Columba, this accredited immersion spanish school for up to 14 students, features sleeping dormitory-style and eating with local mam mayan families in local communities. The communities are the result of the social disruption in Guatemala during and immediately after the civil war when the finca...

Other Programs You Might Like