dcsam

I will be taking off a half year from teaching 2nd graders My leave of absence begins mid February. My plans ARE/WERE to attend a Spanish language school in Oaxaca (Instituto). With all that's going on there, should I look at attending school in another location? If so, where would you recommend? I'm not a BIG city girl. I do enjoy the beach. I'd also consider somewhere other than Mexico if you thought it would be a great experience. Any thoughts or suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. I haven't made plane reservations yet.
Thanks so much
Caroline

suze

I am no expert on the situation in Oaxaca, but even people who regularly travel there have been staying away (according to posts I have read). As a cautious person myself, I would not want to spend 6 months there right now.

I do love Mexico so might look at Guadalajara for a city, or Puerto Vallarta if you want a beach.

TrvlMaven

I would recommend changing to attend school in San Cristobal de las Casas. You would fly into Tuxtla Gutierrez and it's a short bus ride there. SCC is at 6900' elevation, so it will be cooler than the surrounding jungle areas. It is a wonderfully quaint city and the surrounding areas would provide so many opportunities for exploration. I have traveled extensively throughout Mexico and it would be my first choice for language school.

dcsam

Thank you for the suggestions. I'll check into all of them. Anybody happen to know if there are any language schools near Manzanillo?
Thanks so much
Caroline

mmb23

I love Oaxaca, but am unsure how it is right now, stability-wise. Are you set on Mexico? I had a great experience at CPI in Costa Rica (they have 3 campuses and you can split your time between beach/cloud forest/small town in the central valley). I had a great homestay in the small town near the central valley.

I'm also off to Ixabalanque in Copan Ruinas, Honduras, in November. It's incredibly reasonable with 4 hours of one-on-one classes and homestay for $210/week, discounts for longer (I think). There are folks on the list who've had good experiences there, and I'll report back when I return.

Good luck and have fun!
Melissa

dcsam

I really did have my hopes set on Oaxaca, but changing the plans seems likely now.
I'm thinking I may be able to accomplish 2 of my goals for my leave of absence in one sweep. My husband and I were planning to do some exploring of Baja after I returned from Oaxaca. I know there is a Spanish language school in La Paz, but anybody know of any others? This way, we could bring our two 'babies' (2 dogs). I really hate to leave them for any length of time.
I admit, the experience would be quite different from an immersion program, but it could work, don't you think? Just not sure how well that would go over with the admin. at school. Sounds probably too much like a 'boondoggle'. But I'll check it out and see what's possible. What are your thoughts about hiring private tutors if a language school can't be found?
My goal is simply to learn enough Spanish to work with my 2nd grade students and their parents, and perhaps take over as an ESL teacher if that position ever became available.
Any thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Caroline

suze

I spent two weeks in La Paz a few years ago. It's a wonderful city. And it WILL be a bit of an immersion regardless, because there is not near as much English spoken around town (in my experience) as in some more touristed places.

If you "search" this forum on La Paz, another poster recently went to the language school there.

glover

Have you talked to people in Oaxaca right now re how things feel? You might post your message on Thorn Tree board at lonelyplanet.com where they have regulars posting who live in Oaxaca. Just mentioning cause I'm planning to go back in January.

If you don't want to do Oaxaca, how about Guanajuato - or Morelia - both beautiful university towns.

TrvlMaven

Glover's suggestion of Guanajuato or Morelia is a good one--especially if you are trying to become fluent enough to be an ESL teacher (many immigrants from Mexico come from Michoacan). You might also consider Patzcuaro. I wouldn't limit myself to thinking only in terms of what you will learn language-wise. Consider too learining about the cultures. Are you driving the dogs to Mexico? Have you looked into the health regs for your "children"? Might not be worth the time/hassle.

emd

Yes, definitely do go to lonelyplanet.com's Mexico board before you decide to ditch Oaxaca. There is a poster there now, applesister (immigration lawyer on 6 month hiatus) who has been in Oaxaca for 2 months at a language school (and taking private lessons there now) and she is also taking some cooking classes w/Susan Trilling, another great thing to do while there. She's also posted on Chowhound about the cooking school. I think you could private message with her to ask her questions about her experience. And another poster there, juliainak (a music teacher in Alaska), was in Oaxaca for the month of July at a language school. Do an author search for those two names on t he Mexico board and you'll see their posts and be able to private message them.

Applesister has a blog too, but it is mostly Oaxaca food-related. But it's a nice blog for someone going to Oaxaca.
http://www.oneforkonespoon.blogspot.com/

I'm not sure I'd ditch Oaxaca. It doesn't seem to be anywhere near what it was last year (there was a flare up in July surrounding the Guelaguetza festival but it was NOT near the zocalo like last year seems to have died down now, and it was nothing like last summer), and I have not seen posts about these people in the language schools leaving or feeling threatened at all now. If you do a search on thorntree for "Oaxaca safety" on the Mexico board you'l get posts from potential visitors in which people who have traveled to Oaxaca and those who live there have responded recently.

Dude

I can't say for sure because I haven't been to Oaxaca since June. I have been there nealy once a year, sometimes more, for a long time. This year there were a lot less problems than the previous year, although some report they started up after I left. I am in contact with people in Oaxaca for work on weekly basis and they are not reporting any specific problems right now. I wouldn't write it off, but I would do my homework as suggested above. Personally I have never had any negative experiences in regard to personal saftey.

dcsam

Thanks everybody for the helpful info. I'll check into Thorntree. From the little I've read about the situation in Oaxaca, I have not read about tourists getting injured or attacked. Where can I read more about what's going on there? All I really know is that the protesters are teachers, trying to improve the conditions.
Caroline