Immerse
Yourself
Spanish immersion classes at the Cetlalic School
in Cuernavaca, Mexico
by Christopher Ott
Studying another language can be hard,
especially for gay people. In most other kinds of classes,
you talk about everything but yourself: economics, Hamlet,
the quadratic equation. Language teachers, on the other
hand, love to put students on the spot to make them practice.
“Describe your perfect girlfriend,” they might
demand, or “Describe your ideal husband.” They
might not realize that in prodding you to use simple vocabulary,
they’re getting the gender all wrong and making you
feel even more tongue-tied than you already are. In some
classes, there can also be homophobic jokes (especially
when you get your genders or pronouns wrong), and if you’ve
ever wanted to stay with a family in another country to
immerse yourself in their language, it can be uncomfortable
to wonder if you’re really welcome (or even safe)
to be out.
The good news for students of Spanish
is that there’s an answer: the CETLALIC school
in Cuernavaca, Mexico (Madero 721. Tel: +777-313-2637.
http://www.cetlalic.org.mx).
The school offers gay- and lesbian-specific
courses several times each year, which can be done in
two or three weeks, and it welcomes LGBT students at
any other time. Some of CETLALIC’s teachers are
lesbian and gay themselves, and the school makes a conscious
effort to ensure that all students, no matter what their
orientation or identity, feel comfortable, both in class
and in queer-friendly homestays.
CETLALIC—a Spanish acronym that
combines “center for languages and intercultural
exchange” with an historical name for the region
where the school is located—isn’t exclusively
gay. It’s a progressive school with an across-the-board
emphasis on social justice, with special programs like
“Women and Social Change in Mexico,” and programs
for professionals such as teachers, health care workers,
and clergy in progressive churches. At CETLALIC, the
odds are that you’ll be among other students like
youself.
Telling your friends that you’re
going to study Spanish in Mexico for a couple of weeks
might raise doubtful eyebrows. They might picture you
enjoying sunny, margarita-soaked afternoons with a textbook
tucked away somewhere in your hotel room, but CETLALIC
is the real thing.
The school’s main emphasis is on
the Spanish language, both grammar and conversation,
but it’s not limited to a textbook approach. Rather,
the school teaches in part through the discussion of
larger themes, bringing in clips from the news, as well
as talks by (or with) local leaders of progressive political
organizations and social movements. It’s teaching
with a conscience, bringing to light Mexico’s sometimes
brutal political history, the struggles of Mexico’s
indigenous people, and the current facts of life in
a nation where the official minimum wage is still only
around five dollars per day.
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There’s plenty of fun and LGBT-specific
content as well, including three specific programs. There’s
a two-week winter LGBT program, generally held the second
and third week of January each year. There are also parallel
three-week programs in the summer, timed to coincide with
Mexico City’s massive Pride celebration: “Coming
Out: Gay Men’s Experience in Mexico” and “In/Visibility:
Lesbian Lives in Mexico.” Talks include topics such
as coming out experiences for both students and residents
of the local area, the history of LGBT organizations in
Mexico, visits to local bars and restaurants, and candid
lessons on the vocabulary of gay life, love, and anatomy,
which you’ll probably never get from a traditional
class.
The school keeps classes small, generally
with only five students per teacher, and geared toward
each student’s level of ability. Having some prior
knowledge of Spanish helps, but everyone from beginners
to advanced speakers can enroll and be placed with students
at a similar level after a written test and a brief
oral exam.
Each day’s schedule typically involves
three hours of class in the morning, focusing on grammar
from 9 A.M. to noon, and each class gets a new teacher
every week for the sake of variety. These morning classes
are then followed by afternoon sessions in a different
group, depending on the student’s particular interest.
Some days there are conversation sessions, while on
others, there are specific talks. The school also makes
translators available for novice students when complex
topics are under discussion in Spanish.
The CETLALIC school occupies what used
to be a grand, three-story house near the center of
Cuernavaca, with administrative offices on the top floor,
and classroom space on lower levels terraced into the
side of a leafy hill. There are shaded outdoor tables
for classes, and even a swimming pool. The mild climate
of Cuernavaca, known as the “City of Eternal Spring,”
generally provides t-shirt weather even in the middle
of winter, and the city’s altitude helps keep things
from becoming unbearably hot in the summer. Each hour
in school, a hand bell signals the start of a 10-minute
break, and students gather on the open-air veranda to
sip coffee or bask in the sun near a banana tree in
the yard. Classes are hard, but still, studying Spanish
in typical high schools and colleges probably never
had these perks.
CETLALIC draws most of its students
from North America, though visitors come from other
parts of the world too. Depending on the time of year
and the program, there’s roughly an even balance
between men and women, and also a wide range of ages,
from current college students studying for credit, to
vacationers from their 20s to their 60s, either taking
part in one of the school’s specific programs or
doing an independent study tailored to the amount of
time they have. Some participants return to CETLALIC
in subsequent years to continue their studies.
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