Hotel El Pequeno

Nice pic. Mine was a literal hole about 3 blocks from the plaza and I would nod to the cop on the corner every 0700 before my eye opener/taxi ride to class. Just south of the plaza if I remember. My Spanish is conversational at best, Smartalex. I have a near perfect accent but struggle conjugating verbs at times. Dad is from Ciudad Juarez and mom is from Kentucky. I am a San Diego native and grew up hearing Spanish my entire life. Despite that and 2 years high school, 2 years college, immersion school in San Miguel de Allende and living in TJ for 6 months, it still hasn't sunk in. Part of my reason for coming to Chapala is my desire to actually learn Spanish fluently.

If you want full Spanish immersion Chapala is not the place. They speak as much English around here as in SMA. Maybe try a small town on the south side of the lake where little English is spoken.

The best place for immersion would have to include a wider cultural exposure. If you have time, visit one the colonial cities of Jalisco, population 100 - 150,000. I liked the walled city of Lagos de Moreno, but I have heard many good things about Tepatitlán, 70 Kms east of Guadalajara. The other nice thing about Tepatitlán is that it is also near the massive nature reserve Rio Verde.

I have tried an tried with Spanish. My undergrad degree is in Writing Studies, so I have been trained in the English language. Not sure if that is an excuse, my sister is fluent in Spanish and my accent is great, but I keep falling back on English and trying to translate words instead of speaking.

My experience of Chapala has been that you can almost always find someone who speaks some English. However, even those who can converse in English love to talk with you in Spanish. If you speak Spanish to them, they will (most often) speak Spanish back. There are some people who want to practice their English as much as you want to practice your Spanish. Then the conversation becomes a wonderful mix of both.

My favorites are driving a "Carro" and eating "Sandwichos for Lonche".