X-post Foreign language immersion schools, vacations

[Mama Geek]

Has anyone done a family vacation that revolved around an immersion school in Central or South America?  I see lots of advertisements for the schools, but haven't found a whole lot of people talking about going to them and what they thought.  We are looking for something for dh dd(almost 4) and me.  We would really like one where we could stay with a family, but I don't know if that is possible due to dh having celiac (can't eat gluten).  Can anyone shed some light on experiences they have had doing something like this?

[rieshy]

My aunt and her children have done this multiple times- always to the same language school in Antigua, Guatemala. My aunt's family are all fluent in Spanish because of this school and their own studies back in the States. 

 

 My (at the time) 17 yo ds went with one of my cousins his age from the above Aunt's family during his junior year in h.s.  He stayed almost a month and loved every minute of it.   He learned a lot but just one trip won't make anyone fluent.  This is the school: http://www.probigua.org/files/en/content-19.html

 

I highly recommend it.

[Mama Geek]

Thank you, do they stay with a family usually or do they stay somewhere else?

[rieshy]

They always stay at the same boarding house.  The house is run by a woman and her family- all meals are eaten family style.  No English is allowed to be spoken.  It's a short walk to the school.  I know that the school also provides housing if you prefer. 

 

The boarding house was great- my son ended up with a room to himself.  He said the food was spectacular and the woman doted on him because of his big appetite.

[bakpak]

I did a Spanish immersion program in Oaxaca, Mexico for a month once and loved it. I stayed with a family for 2 weeks, then ended up getting my own room in a posada that had a shared outdoor kitchen. Both were great.

 

While I was there, a woman in my classes had rented an apartment and brought her van, and 2 children (ages 4 & 6) with her. She enrolled them in school/preschool as she felt that would be the best immersion experience for them. They ended up staying maybe 4-5 months since it was working well for them & they could afford it. As I said, she was taking courses through the immersion program. It's a fun, beautiful area with a rich,varied culture so always something to see and learn and experience. I thought she was amazing and hoped I'd get to do something similar with my own daughter one day.