Mexico Travel – Study
Spanish in Guadalajara: The Guadalajara Language
Center
After two excursions to Lake Chapala over the past
couple of days, I had another busy day ahead of
me. In the morning I was planning to spend some
time with Wouter Stut, the owner of the Guadalajara
Language Center, to find out a bit more about his
language school. I was spending this week at his
school in Tlaquepaque and was enrolled for two hours
of Spanish classes every day. Most foreign language
schools only offer programs with a minimum of four
hours of instruction a day, which is not a suitable
schedule for me as a travel writer. Two hours of
lessons a day still allow me to have most of the
day free for local and regional explorations and
study Spanish at the same time.
Wouter Stut, owner of the Guadalajara Language Center,
with his dog Slimpy
Wouter originally hails from Holland and was a
computer programmer in his previous life. After
he had decided to settle down permanently in Mexico
he wanted to move into a new career direction, and
in 2004 he founded the Guadalajara Language Center
together with a friend from Great Britain. They
originally offered English courses to locals and
later also started offering Spanish classes to foreign
students.
Small group sizes at the Guadalajara Language Center
From standard Spanish courses to a Spanish program
for families, immersion programs for educators and
college credit courses, the Guadalajara Language
Center offers a wide range of Spanish programs.
Students come from the United States, Canada and
different parts of Europe and Asia. Students range
in age from about 10 years up well into the 80s
and everything in between. The location in Guadalajara
is also a big draw: it’s easy to get to, offers
great opportunities for sight-seeing and the Tlaquepaque
neighbourhood surrounding the school is very attractive
and safe.
The Cathedral of Tlaquepaque
Wouter mentioned some of the main attractions in
Guadalajara such as the 16th century cathedral,
the Palacio del Gobierno and of course, the Hospicio
Cabañas, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tlaquepaque
itself is an important destination in its own right,
with its beautiful zócalo (main square),
its cathedral, the Parián restaurant complex
and Calle Independencia, the attractive pedestrian
main street with its many galleries and art shops.
Guadalajara's Plaza de Armas with the Cathedral
Many excursions outside Guadalajara are also available:
Lake Chapala is less than an hour away and the Tequila
region – where the famous liquor of the same
name is produced – can also be reached within
about an hour. Indeed, later today I was planning
to go on an out-of-town excursion with local tour
guide José Orozco who provides many guided
tours to Wouter’s language students.
Sunset on Lake Chapala
Wouter took me on a tour of his building which
has a sitting area, free computers, a kitchen and
a classroom on the main floor. The second floor
houses class rooms while the third floor has a recreation
area. Students can access the school the whole day
to study, get on the Internet or socialize with
their colleagues. Wouter’s dog Slimpy was
accompanying us on our tour. Slimpy (Dutch for “smartie”)
is a young, exuberant dog that Wouter picked up
on the street and gave a new home to. Wouter has
a soft spot for dogs and regularly picks up abandoned
canines and gives them a better life. Many of the
students enjoy horsing around with Slimpy who adds
to the relaxed ambience at the Guadalajara Language
Center.
Slimpy, the language school's mascot, in the common
area
To show me some of the accommodation options, Wouter
and I started a walk through the neighbourhood.
We walked by the little snack bar where I usually
get my favourite lunch: “sincronisadas”,
tortillas with ham, melted cheese, tomatoes and
onions. Just around the corner we arrived at “the
Castle” – a huge mansion built in a
Moorish style that also accommodates language students.
Wouter added that homestay accommodation is very
affordable: a homestay with a swimming pool is US$
25 including three meals. Homestay accommodation
without a pool can be had for $20 a night.
The living room at "The Castle"
I was amazed by this mansion: from the gorgeous
interior courtyard with its fragrant orange trees
to the large formal salon with its unique intricate
Mexican tiles and a huge bedroom with three beds
on the other side of the courtyard, this stately
edifice is nothing short of impressive. The huge
house has ten bedrooms, four of which are used by
students. Some of the interior spaces reminded me
of the Alhambra, the medieval Moorish castle in
Spain.
Student bedroom at "The Castle"
In the dining room we caught up with my co-student
George, a retired university professor from Oregon
in his mid 70s. George has been studying Spanish
for 45 years now and his wife, who recently passed
away, spoke Spanish as her native language. George’s
Spanish skills are outstanding and over the last
few years he has studied Spanish at different language
schools in Mexico, Argentina, Costa Rica and Colombia.
No wonder his Spanish keeps getting better and better…
Architectural detail of "The Castle"
We left the castle behind and walked up to the
main square of Tlaquepaque. Just steps away from
the zócalo is the municipal market, a very
colourful place with dozens of vendors. Wouter showed
me where the locals do their shopping. Even many
of the language students pick up fruits and prepared
dishes here at the market as all the merchandise
is fresh and very inexpensive.
Friendly merchant at the Tlaquepaque municipal market
Over the years Wouter has become a real local expert
who also knows Mexican cuisine and ingredients.
As we walked through the market he pointed out different
local fruits and vegetables. Jicama, for example,
is a sweet root vegetable that looks like a turnip.
Nopales are the pads of the prickly pear cactus
and are often chopped up and added as vegetables
to all kinds of meals. Chichayote is a root vegetable
that is often prepared with chile, lime and salt.
Peanuts are also very popular in Mexico and pumpkin
flower (flor de calabaza) is often used for soups
or fried.
Fruit stand at the Tlaquepaque municipal market
Huge varieties of beans and legumes were available
for purchase. We walked by several tables of fresh
seafood which is brought in from the Pacific coast
of Mexico, just about three hours away. White tiled
tables were holding freshly slaughtered chickens
that still had their heads and legs attached –
a bit of a morbid sight, but the locals are used
to it. Traditional refrigeration is not used much
in the market because people go shopping for fresh
ingredients every day and by about noon there is
not much meat or seafood left. Photo opportunities
abounded: from colourful tropical fruits to brightly
coloured piñatas of all shapes and size –
the Municipal Market in Tlaquepaque is a colourful
place full of fascinating sights and smells.
Dead chickens - in all their glory
Wouter had to get back to the language school,
but I continued my walk to another place that I
had wanted to check out. Two language students from
Canada were staying at a small hotel called “Mi
Viejo Refugio” and they were absolutely raving
about this place. In addition to homestays with
local families, small local hotels and private apartments
are other options for the language students at the
Guadalajara Language School. I wanted to find out
first hand why Bonnie and Turney enjoyed their hotel
so much.
Alejandro Jimenez, in front of his hotel Mi
Viejo Refugio
The hotel was just five minutes away from the main
square and I asked for the owner, Alejandro Jimenez,
at reception. Moments later Alejandro, a dynamic,
very outgoing man in his early thirties, started
taking me on a tour of his small hotel. He first
showed me the rooftop terrace which is mostly used
by smokers, but offers a great view of the surrounding
rooftops of Tlaquepaque.
Traditional decor at Mi Viejo Refugio
Mi Viejo Refugio has 12 bedrooms, all
decorated differently with bright colours. Each
room has a private bathroom and rates vary between
about 500 and 1200 pesos (around $50 to $120) a
night. The kitchen and main floor are decorated
with intricate tile work and equipped with traditional
Mexican furniture. He also plans to add some big-screen
television screens to entertain local and foreign
sports fans. Alejandro also took me into the courtyard
which he plans to turn into a restaurant in the
near future. Alejandro’s energy is contagious
and it was obvious he really enjoys interacting
with people. I was not surprised that my friends
were have a good time during their stay at Mi
Viejo Refugio.
Courtyard at Mi Viejo Refugio
My tour finished at about 10:20 and I headed back
to my Spanish class for another 40 minutes. We started
getting into a really interesting conversation about
the family structure in Mexico and how families
are still much closer knit in Mexico than in the
United States or Canada. Our teacher Miguel cautioned
us though that family structures are becoming more
relaxed in Mexico as well: when he was a child he
had to address his parents with “Usted”
(the formal way of addressing people, equivalent
to “vous” in French”). And when
Miguel’s mother was upset with him because
he did something wrong, she would even address him
with “Usted” in order to create more
distance between him and her.
Action at the Tlaquepaque municipal market
We also touched on the role of religion on Mexico.
Americans and Canadians often perceive Mexicans
as deeply religious people, but Miguel explained
that religion is more based on culture and tradition
than pure religiosity. In this context we also talked
about Mexican fashion which sees women often dressing
in extremely tight and sometimes provocative dress.
I had noticed many women in the street dressed in
skin-tight jeans and very tight-fitting and low-cut
tops. Coming from Canada, Mexican fashion seemed
to be quite revealing. We all enjoyed this discussion
and practiced our Spanish at the same time.
Fruits at the municipal market
After a quick lunch I was ready for my next adventure:
local expert guide José Orozco, who had already
taken me on a tour of Lake Chapala, was ready to
take me on an excursion to the Tequila region, the
place where Mexico’s national drink is made.
