DO learn spanish

While backpacking through Central America in Summer 2010 with Sean, we got stuck in San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala due to massive mudslides caused by tropical storm Agatha. We had planned to take a Spanish immersion course at some point during our trip and this seemed like a great opportunity to knock that out. We signed up at San Pedro Spanish School for a week long program. The program included room and board with a local family and private Spanish lessons four hours each day. At a price of $105.00 US a piece (for a week) it was a pretty good deal. In my experience, this was cheaper than most programs in other countries. We started with basically no Spanish. We chose to study in the afternoons and had our mornings free to kayak in the lake, do homework, or recover from the night before at the Buddha Bar . Our "classroom" was outside near the lake, under the trees or, if it was raining, a cabana. Our teacher, Maria, was amazing. This was a true immersion program as neither our teach nor our family spoke any English. At the end of one week we were able to ask pertinent questions, understand the answers, and hold small conversations. This knowledge served us very well through the rest of our trip, particularly in those "off the beaten path" places. We found that even if you weren't speaking well, people were a lot more receptive if you at least attempted to speak the language instead of constantly asking if they spoke English. Also, getting a good base through the immersion program made it much easier to pick up new things on our own. This is a major DO.