Living Environment

The Immersion Experience
CX extends the immersion experience beyond the classroom. Students are lodged with local Guatemalan families on a one student per family basis, allowing for both cultural exposure and the practice of newly acquired Spanish skills. All of the families CX works with are within walking distance of the school and have experience lodging foreign students. They provide with a private room, a place to study, hot water, and three meals a day. CX can accommodate a wide range of dietary needs and lodging preferences (with or without children, etc.) through its network of established families The school works with both indigenous and ladino families.

Participation in social and cultural activities complete the immersion experience. Each evening, students participate in activities related to Guatemala's political, educational, social and environmental realities. Local university professors and other experts present forums on a wide range of topics and view points. Students are exposed to social and cultural realities through cooking, dance and music classes and visits to nonprofit organizations, businesses and nearby communities. The school also organizes several trips a month to different parts of Guatemala. For example: Panajachel, Chichicastenango, Abak Takalik and the coast, Huehuetenango and Todos Santos, etc. Teachers, the international coordinator and the school director review the schedule of programs on an ongoing basis in order to make sure that both current issues and cultural topics are adequately covered.

Family Living
While studying at CX, students live with a Guatemalan family, an arrangement that helps students appreciate daily life in modern day Guatemala. In addition to cultural exposure, the family provides constant opportunities for practicing newly acquired Spanish skills.

Perhaps best of all is the famous Guatemalan hospitality: guests are welcomed as a member of the family. There is one student per family, however we occasionally need to make an exception to this policy during the months of June, July, August and January. Families with a big house and two bedrooms can host two students maximum. Each family provides the student with a private room and three meals per day.


Social Projects
CX participates in a variety of social projects, including reforestation, volunteer work in orphanages, and housing construction through Habitat for Humanity. CX uses its contacts with local agencies, universities, etc., to place students with interest in a specific field (health, environment, etc.) in volunteer positions and internships. Volunteer opportunities depend on a student's Spanish speaking ability and her/his length of stay in Guatemala.

CX also has a long term relationship with a local impoverished community near the school, La Pedrera. For more information visit the website: http://www.casaxelaju.com/pedrera

Document updated in April, 2006