Hi :) My name is Kaleigh Lawrence and I am from Canada but grew up in the California, USA from the age of seven. Growing up in a small community in California I was surrounded by Spanish speakers and Mexican culture – friends, food, music, markets, parties, Spanish classes, etc. You’d think that I would have learned Spanish fluently, but I never did! I only got really good at pronouncing thing correctly and fell in love with Latin culture… especially Latin dance culture (which developed in the last few years)! 18 years later, after too many missed opportunities of connection and also deciding to backpack Latin America, I finally chose to work towards fluency.
If I’m honest, I didn’t go too deep into my research for Spanish immersion schools, but when I quickly came across Maximo’s website and saw how they clearly laid out the their program details, I had a good feeling. Then when I submitted my interest form, had my Zoom call with the awesome Phill, and everything just came together so cleanly and easily, I had no problem in choosing Maximo and was really excited for my new adventure.
With Maximo Nivel I choose to do their most intense Spanish Immersion option in Antigua, Guatemala: 6 hours of classes per day + home stay for 4 weeks. At first I thought my course load would be a lot and that I would be exhausted at the end of days, but I wasn’t! My 4 hour group classes were fun, dynamic, practical, and our professor was so kind and amazing! I also LOVED my 2 hour private classes. My profesor totally “got” me and always pushed me to keep going and trying… this was also where the rubber met the road and I got the chance to actually put what I’d been learning to the test. I loved Maximo and Antigua so much that I decided to stay an extra week – but I choose to only do 4 hours of private classes. I could then go at my own pace – which was beginning to be ahead of the group class. Further, I took one week of online classes with Maximo whilst traveling and plan on taking even more online classes at home!
One of the biggest aspects of Maximo that I loved was the MANY opportunities to meet and chat with the local students who were learning English: salsa classes, local tours, cooking classes, tandems, etc. Through the Maximo Salsa class I discovered the best place to go dancing (I had prior dance experience, so I was so excited), and there I made a friend who was also passionate about dancing who then told me about a dance studio. I attended a free class at that studio and then signed up for private Salsa lessons, where then the dance instructor asked me to help him with his other dance lessons – of course I said yes. So this dance studio became like my second home in Guatemala! There I had community, met locals, was immersed in Spanish, and felt even more inspired to keep working hard in my learning of the language.
All I can say is MAKE FRIENDS WITH LOCALS! Is this not why we want to learn another language in the first place? To have deeper connections with more people in our worlds? Making friends with locals was a game changer for me. Not only do I have friendships that I will treasure forever, but I found real-time inspiration and motivation to keep learning and working hard. Would I get discouraged when my language skills fell short? YES! But my friends were so patient with me and helped me keep moving forward. I loved being able to also see Guatemala through the eyes of locals. Antigua and the surrounding areas are so much more than just hiking Volcan de Acatenango or the many lovely coffee shops… there is a vibrancy, joy, kindness, pride in the culture and land, and a beautiful ethic of Guatemalans and their country.
What I would also like to impart to other students is that, yes, Maximo is an immersion school, but if one truly want to excel in your language learning they’ve gotta get out – practice in the market, sit in on Spanish conversations (even if one can only understand a percentage of what is being said), engage in one’s hobbies locally, volunteer, and go beyond the main tourist attractions. Daily and hourly I had to challenge myself to get out of my comfort zone. And it is so worth it! Also, one may need more time than they think if one truly wants to engage with Spanish speakers. At around my 2 week mark I felt like I was really beginning to gain momentum. I could have basic conversations and I was making local friends! But after 5 weeks I felt WAY more comfortable in speaking, felt a sense of belonging, but also felt much more prepared to continue my traveling adventures.
After Maximo Nivel I traveled throughout Latin America where I was forced to use my new language skills to navigate transportation, order food, find my next locations, and (most importantly) making connections with people! My experience in Latin America was DEEPLY enriched due to my time at Maximo Nivel. If one truly wants to make the most of their travels through LatAm, Spanish immersion lessons are a must! – Kaleigh L. @kale_maple_leaf