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Our first visit to this heavenly place - it doesn't get any better than this.

Comments:
Xinabajul is a wonderful school, with terrific teachers, in an ideal location for immersion. Getting there is no problem, though it is a bit of a lovely adventure riding through the Guatemalan highlands by bus. Very highly recommended. I was a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa, and until Xinabajul nothing surpassed my Peace Corps language training in French and Ewe. Xinabajul was very similar, in fact one of my teachers was a former Peace Corps language and culture training director in Guatemala. Plus, the surrounding area is beautiful and fascinating. I work in community gardening and needed specific vocabulary in that area, and the staff did a great job meeting my needs. The town is great, the social action project (at an orphanage) is great, the other students were great (and about the only gringos we saw - you really can get immersion here). We could only stay two weeks, that's my only regret - I would have preferred 6 - 12. But even in that short time, both I and my 14-year-old daughter made excellent progress. What a gift! We worked hard, but the teachers made it fun - I could hear my daughter and her teachers laughing every day, it is one of my fondest memories. Our homestay was 'real' - a real family with real people and real issues (sick baby, various normal stuff). But, regardless, they provided nice clean rooms, good food on time, and lots of patient practice speaking with us, only in Spanish. Very nice people. And the price was very affordable, on top of all that. A peak experience. Passing through Antigua on the way back, I was really glad we decided to visit Antigua, but study in Huehue.

Comments:
Xinabajul Spanish Academy was a real immersion experience, perfect for the independent traveler wanting to avoid the touristy places like Antigua and Xela. I intended on staying one week and ended up staying for six during August / September this year, whilst staying with a family and got a lot out of it. Sheny, the director of the school and Otto, her husband are really relaxed and welcoming. They were flexible and prepared to help in every way. There's always lots of laughter and the teaching is one on one, professional and great for conversation development. The school's a beautiful building on a tranquil, safe street. Huehue is an authentically Guatemalan city and sits at the foot of the incredible Cuchamatan mountains - the beautiful, remote traditional villages of Todos Santos and Nebaj are just a bus ride away. There's an orphanage in the town centre to volunteer at, bikes at the school to ride up through the mountains and swimming pools just a short 'moto' ride away. This was by far the best school I experienced whilst traveling around Guatemala, felt very at home and got to experience some real local culture, food etc away from the backpacking/tourist trail.