There are several housing options when you study
in Antigua. We spoke to (and heard of) people who did a variety
of things, including staying in hostels, renting an apartment or
living in a home with a family. Each has varying costs and Mario
at the school can help you. Our viewpoint is biased because of
the wonderful experience we had, so we are not saying that this
is only option, but in our estimation, it would be difficult to
imagine a more meaningful or comforable situation.
We lived in La Casa de Mary, also known as the home of the Lopez
family. Salva and Mary provide a unique chance to get to know a
Guatemalan family in positive setting. Highlights include:
1. Three meals per day are served family-style, Monday-Friday.
Breakfast on Saturday is also included.
2. Mary is very health conscious and serves meals that are
organic, healthy and largely vegetable based
3. The main meal is at 1:00 p.m. and all family members
(including Juanita, the domestic help) are present
4. Dinner is served at 7:00 and is typically lighter fare, such
as sandwiches and soup
5. William, Salva and Mary's son, is a professional tour guide
and can help arrange tours or provide help with local
trips, transportation or ideas for excursions
6. Every room has a private bathroom
7. The dog, Klaus, is friendly, cute and popular throughout the
neighborhood
8. The neighborhood is very quiet and far enough from the
traffic noise to ensure good nights' sleep
9. Linens and towels are changed regularly plus a light room-cleaning
is included
10. The terrace provides gorgeous vistas as well as a quiet
place to relax, read or study your Spanish
For us there were no "down sides" but we heard that the house
was too far for some students. It was about a 15-20 minute walk
(all flat) so for us it was a great way to get the day started
and to decompress from classes. The city itself has very little
contour and everything is (in our opinion) close.
La Casa de Mary was arranged for us by the school, but we would
suggest contacting them directly. Here are the contact
addresses:
Street address: Lotificación San Francisco No. 12
Antigua, Guatemala
Email address: salvalopezm46@gmail.com
Telephone (H): 502-7832 2781 (yes, there are 8
numbers in the local part)
Telephone (C): 502-5054 7218
A few pictures:
Main
hallway of
home
Garden area in
hallway
Dining room- setting for all
meals
Neighborhood street to the home
Salva
and Mary with
us
Typical healthy
dinner
Klaus
View of volcanoes from terrace