I attended Habla for 2 weeks at the end of February. It was a very good experience. I have a decent…read morebackground in Spanish (high school and college years ago and some use in recent years) but my Spanish definitely needed sharpening. This was a good environment for practicing, reviewing, learning and gaining confidence to speak. The entire staff is energetic and passionate. The teachers, all young, have excellent teaching skills and obviously put a lot of effort into planning their curriculum and lessons.Each week, in each class, there is a theme. The themes includes history, literature, social issues and culture. Interwoven is grammar and vocabulary so that you can express and communicate more clearly.
There were a maximum of four students in my classes, all of whom were at the same approximate intermediate level as I am. We were encouraged to speak Spanish at all times, during meals, breaks, etc. We mostly did. Speaking of meals, breakfast and lunch are provided and very tasty.....typical Yucatan meals, eaten outside on a shaded patio at a big table with the staff and students.
My first week I stayed with a local family in the suburbs. My second week I stayed in a wonderful small hotel, Casa Mexillo in El Centro. The home stay was fine, but I much preferred staying downtown. Merida is safe, the people are quite reserved and are used to tourists. Although there are a lot of tourists, the city does not have a touristy feel to it. No large groups following a leader with a flag. It is a big, working city, with a fascinating culture and history. Staying in El Centro let me enjoy restaurants, historic sites, shopping and outdoor concerts. My Spanish got good enough that I was very comfortable in all situations.
There is another review of Habla that I just read that says many of the same things I would say and I concur with that review 100%! Habla is an awesome place and Merida is wonderful.
