We are renting a house for one month in Antigua, Guatemala. Have never been there, but we are very excited! Any tips or advice? The main goal for our kids is Spanish immersion, so we will probably hire a private teacher rather than do a language school. Would love to hear others' experiences. Thanks!

We have a member who travels to Guatemala frequently, and if you use the "find" icon with "Antigua" you'll find many posts from her and others. I believe she also blogged her trips on her blog.

Thanks-- it's hard to find others who travel with kids like this and have that perspective.

I would second the travel tips posted on this thread. I think they are in her blog also. They are good general tips for travel in Guatemala.

Another member also traveled for three months to Costa Rica with her family. I looked over her blog archives and you may be able to get some general advise regarding travel to Central America with a family. Here is a link to the start of her blog where she journals her trip. The World is a Book I haven't seen her on the forum for a while and she stopped blogging.

Antigua is great! It is such a beautiful place, I am sure you will love it. There are also a lot of wonderful nature oriented things to do outside the city.

I don't have kids but I have seen many people there with kids before, so I think it is a good choice. To make sure they get a lot of exposure to the language, it might be good to look into something instead of or in addition to the private teacher. It won't be real immersion if there is one teacher and a few kids, so maybe you could seek out a local school for them to hang out at, or maybe an after school program they can attend? It would be great to encourage their interaction with other children, as that would really speed up their language learning.

Another option would be to contact one of the many volunteer organizations there, maybe you could connect with a program that works with kids and your whole family could participate in that? That would give your kids lots of exposure to other children. Just search for volunteering in Antigua Guatemala and you will get lots of hits.

Good luck! I am sure you will have a blast!

Thanks, friends, what a great idea to volunteer! Why didn't I think of that (lol). I'll report back when we get home, and will try to blog photos as well www.onthegofamily.com . We are really looking forward to the trip.

Ha! Marta, how funny: The World is a Book is the blog of my colleague and great friend and she told me about this forum in the first place. She has been a mentor for me to do the homeschooling/traveling thing.

Hola!

How exciting that you'll have a month in my favorite city! My husband and I are trying to plan a month in Guatemala and I'll spend part of that in Antigua. There are so many great places to study Spanish, eat, play and rest!

I have friends in Antigua so let me know if you would like some contacts. My friend Jean Paul owns my favorite Spanish school (it is where I study) and could help find you some good private teachers as well. Some will come to your home. There is a man they call "Ricky Martin" who is very friendly and quite good. A friend hired him when she was there for a few weeks. I also have friends living there who are involved in volunteer work, some with children. The ex-pats there are very welcoming.

You will have such an amazing experience!

Hi Kathy,
Thank you so much, I'd love to pick your brain and get your ideas. How do I contact you? My e-mail is bookencounters(at)gmail dot com (not sure if this is a public forum or not).

Hi,

I've just sent you an email.

Just a quick update here! We are really enjoying our time in Antigua and thanks to Kathy for the great tips. Have some fun pics posted on my blog: www.onthegofamily.com

Be sure and keep us posted about Guatemala!

I'd love to be planning a trip there. I want to visit the artisans who weave and embroider the beautiful fabrics and clothing. Have you visited the villages around Lake Atitlan, yet?

Charity

What is the name of the hotel where you are staying? How far is it from the center of town?

Charity

Hi! We aren't staying in a hotel. We rented a house for the month from a local realtor, who was really easy to communicate with (well he's Canadian, originally and has a toll free US number, and answers his e-mails) and it really was the best deal for a family of 4. It's not upmarket, but hey, we live like the locals and save money. It's comfortable for us.

Today we spent the day with an expert Maya backstrap weaver who we met by chance in a craft market. Wandering through, we soon noticed that instead of trying hawk her wares, she was telling us all about her art of weaving (she speaks great English). Anyway, today we went to her house in a neighboring town, had a traditional lunch, a weaving lesson (including our loom to take home). While we were there some people from Chicago came wandering through the town, trying to find her by her first name because they couldn't remember her last name . And lo and behold they find her (she's usually never home during the day, she was only there because she had invited us). They originally met her in a campground 5 years ago in Indiana where they shared dinner! What a small world. Anyway, they joined us for lunch. Lydia, the weaver, has taught weaving in Japan, all over the US, and Canada, by invitation. After lunch she took us to the macadamia nut farm.

Needless to say, she's now also sold us a lot of textiles!

Wow! What a wonderful experience! Is Lydia an American?

I appreciate your reply. Would like to stay in contact for when we are ready to go to Guatemala, which could be next winter.

Thanks!

Charity B

Hi Charity, I wouldn't be so excited about an American Mayan weaver! Lydia is from here and started learning weaving when she was 8. Let me know if you want her contact details. You can contact me by e-mail at bookencounters at gmail dot com . When I'm not traveling or getting ready to, I probably won't be checking here that much. Actually, I should just post Lydia's information so others have it. Lydia A de Lopez
(502) 7943-9435 and (502)5413-7195 backstraploom_lidia at yahoo dot com I have no idea how often she checks her e-mail. You can also ask for her in a market of craft booth off the central square. I'm going to post pictures of our adventure soon (I hope) on my blog. Oh, she grows and roasts coffee as well.

changed email so it will not be picked up by bots

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Marta,

Marta, thanks for editing lydia's e-mail address. I had just come back to do that, realizing my error!

I'm back to Guatemala next month for two weeks. Looking forward to studying more Spanish in Antigua, seeing friends and swimming and relaxing out on the lake!

Glad all went well in Antigua. I hope you got to see Deet and get that massage.

Hi Kathy, yes-- I saw Deet yesterday and enjoyed my massage! Today we did all the zip lines on the mountain at the coffee plantation. It was a splurge (pricey), but something we could do that our boys would also enjoy and remember.

I get a massage with Deet the day I get into Antigua. It helps me to stabilize and relax after flying. She's got that mothering touch.

I've never been out to the coffee plantation but look forward to going one day soon. I look forward to hearing from you about your experiences in Antigua and perhaps you can share a few tips with me!

And, Kathy, be sure to keep me in touch with what you are doing! I've missed you. Just returned from the GTG in San Diego and wished you were there!

At Balboa Park in San Diego, I lost a jade earring that I bought in Antigua during my one afternoon there. I guess I have to go back to Guatemala to get another earring!

Charity