Spanish Language School Hopping in Central America

A Custom Summer Itinerary Learning at Different Language Schools

By Jennifer Colletti

Learn Spanish in many varied rural and city locations, including Costa Rica, around Central America.

Near the end of my 3-month study tour in Costa Rica friends marveled that I had been so many places in one summer. Many of them had spent the same amount of time studying Spanish at just one school. My unquenchable wanderlust just wouldn’t allow me to commit all my time and resources to one country, let alone one city. And to my great satisfaction the itinerary I planned — involving two private Spanish schools in Mexico, two in Guatemala, and two in Costa Rica — didn’t disappoint me once.

The goal of my trip was to achieve conversational-level Spanish and also to see as much of Central America as possible in just three months. I’ve always admired those intrepid solo travelers who simply strap on a pack and hit the road for months of improvisational wandering. Unfortunately, I’m the type of person who simply cannot imagine landing on foreign soil with no solid plan and no support network.

Hopping from language school to language school was the perfect solution. I got to travel extensively on my own, yet I always had someone waiting for me at the next scheduled school and host family. I arranged a free week or two for travel in between every stay at a language school, thereby allowing time to visit some of the places teachers and fellow travelers recommended. These weeks of solo travel didn’t feel too lonely or difficult because I knew I would soon have the company of classmates again.

Benefits of Planning the Itinerary in Central America

I pre-arranged my entire trip through Spanish Abroad, a U.S.-based company that networks with many language schools in Latin America and Spain. All I had to do was read through the company’s website and select the schools that appealed to me most. When I had mapped out where and when I wanted to study, I called them up and booked the whole thing in no more than 30 minutes. Spanish Abroad registered me with each school I chose and also arranged a homestay during each week of study. The cost for these services was a 1-time $90 registration fee in addition to the cost of each week of class and homestay.

Making my arrangements through a company here in the U.S. felt much easier and safer than having to contact six language schools separately. Also, I could rest assured that these schools wouldn’t disappoint — Spanish Abroad sends an employee to study at every language school it works with to ensure the standards are acceptable.

Another benefit of using one company to schedule my entire trip was that I always had an emergency contact in case I needed help changing plans. When I decided I just couldn’t endure a 2-day bus ride from Mexico into Guatemala, I hastily bought a plane ticket and asked Spanish Abroad via email to arrange an airport pickup and a 1-night B&B stay in Guatemala City. The whole thing went off without a hitch, and I felt like I had a personal travel agent watching my back.

Even if you’re not interested in mastering a language, spending just a week or two at a language school at the beginning of your trip can be the perfect gateway to a country’s culture, customs, and best destinations. During the first week of class in Costa Rica, for example, teachers, and veteran students taught me about the country’s transportation system, money, food, colloquial sayings, and the most interesting places to visit. While I could have arguably gleaned all this from my guidebook, having knowledgeable people to explain things made the assimilation much easier and the experience much richer.

Jennifer Colletti is a freelance writer living in Chapel Hill, NC.