Spanish School ATABAL
It is currently in Guatemala. ( アクセスカウンター  visitor since 1998/5/13 ) 
Spanish school in Antigua, Guatemala. Online classes are also available!!
( General Info )
General information about Antigua
 
The former capital of Guatemala, which lies at the slope of the "Volcan de Agua", and was declared by UNESCO "Monument of the Americas", is now a major tourist attraction. Antigua is located 45km (60 minutes) from Guatemala City. However, this travel time may take much longer due to recent traffic congestion. Please allow plenty of time for your travel plans. Antigua has outstanding Spanish colonial buildings from the 16th century. The highlights are the ruins of "The Convert of La Concepción", "Popenoe House (a restored residence built in 1630)", the Arms Museum, "The University of San Carlos de Borromeo" and the city\'s numerous churches, such as "San Francisco", "Santa Clara", "Capuchinas" and "La Merced". On the border of the city\'s central plaza (Plaza de Armas) is the Palace of the Captains General, the former residence of the governor, a striking block-long building offering a sample of Spanish Renaissance architecture at its best.
 
Antigua is a city of eternal spring. Nevertheless, it sometime, gets cool in the evening so you may have to put on a sweater. Also it is a good idea to bring a light jacket ---especially in December and January.
 
You can easily walk through the city in less than 30 minutes. It is safer and quieter than Guatemala City; however, you should still guard against theft by not walking alone late at night.
What are the travel requirements?
 
Admission requirements vary according to the country. In every case, a valid passport is needed. For citizens of Italy, Germany, Spain, France, Great Britain and most of Europe, theses are the only requirement, as they need no visa. United States Citizens need just a tourist card for admission.
For other nationalities, please consult with the Guatemalan Consulate or Embassy nearest you.
Exchange, cashing and remittance
 
 
(Credit card)
Cash advances with cards from the Plus family (international and VISA cards from various banks and post offices) and the Cirrus family (MASTER cards, etc.) are available at several ATMs in Antigua City. Some bank tellers also offer cash advances.
However, some ATMs in rural areas are not equipped with ATMs, so we recommend using cash in U.S. dollars instead of relying solely on cards.
Some services, such as online balance inquiries, may require prior registration in Japan. Please check with your credit card company or bank before bringing your card.
 
 

Exchange Rate

 * A handling charge of each special bank is added to.
(Banks)
There are more than a dozen banks around Antigua\'s central park. There is no problem at all in exchanging money from cash in dollars.
Exchanging other foreign currencies is difficult, and cash other than dollars can only be exchanged at banks in the airport.
 Business hours are generally 09:00-18:00 Monday through Friday, 09:00-13:00 on Saturdays, and some banks are open only in the morning on Sundays.Exchange rates vary from bank to bank and town to town (Antigua and Guatemala City generally have better rates than other towns). It is advisable to choose the bank with the best rate in each case.
(Remittance)
You can send money to a Guatemalan bank via an American bank. You do not need to open an account and can receive the money by presenting your passport, but it takes time, there are fees, and the money may be stopped at the head office in Guatemala City.
All cash advances and remittances are withdrawn in the local currency, so in order to obtain U.S. dollars, you must first receive them in local currency (quetzals) and then buy U.S. dollars. Therefore, a foreign exchange loss is incurred.
Shopping and Prices
 
Prices are relatively low, and generally, the cost of living per month for a Spanish student in a homestay is around $900-1,000, including tuition to the school.
Mercado (markets), supermarkets, and stores are well stocked, and all daily necessities can be purchased in Antigua. There is also a large American-style shopping mall in Guatemala City, where cosmetics and other items can be purchased. Payment can be made by credit card, except in the case of folk art and mercado (markets), which are sold in open-air stores.
However, you may not be able to obtain special items such as regular medications, so it is best to bring your own.
There are also many dry cleaning stores in Antigua City, and many travelers use them. The fee is by weight, and if you bring your clothes in the morning, they will be washed, dried, and folded, and you can pick them up by the evening of the same day. There are many stores, so it is a good idea to ask someone who is staying here for a long time about their reputation before choosing one.
Contact with Japan and communication environment
 
(Telephone and communication environment)
International phone service is available at Internet cafes. Many stores will also allow you to connect your PC or smartphone to Wifi on an hourly basis, and some homestay families will allow you to use Wifi at your home freely. Fees for use vary, so you will need to check each time.
If you bring your own computer, the electrical outlets and telephone modular jacks are the same as in Japan, but the voltage is 110V. This is slightly different from Japan and may cause malfunctions with some equipment. It is advisable to check the specifications of your equipment before departure to see if it can be used overseas (100V-240V compatible), and if necessary, prepare a transformer. Also, it is safer to have a ballast (UPS) to protect your equipment from lightning strikes and unstable voltage that often causes malfunctions when connected to a power source with a cable.
 
(Smartphones and SIM cards)
If you bring a smartphone from Japan, you will not be able to use a SIM purchased in the region with a "SIM lock" and will have to use a data roaming service. In this case, the cost will inevitably be high. If you want to use the same device, you will need to remove the "SIM lock" before leaving Japan.
Most SIM cards in the region are prepaid (pre-paid). You can recharge your SIM card anywhere in town by providing the phone number you obtained when you purchased your SIM card.
If you are unable to unlock your "SIM lock" due to lack of time or other reasons before leaving Japan, you can purchase a phone in the region.
Some devices do not have Japanese as a default language setting, so you need to check in advance if you wish to use Japanese.
 
(Parcel)
It is possible to pick up the items at our school, but if they are not small items, they will be stopped at the main office in Guatemala City and you will have to wait for notification and then go to Guatemala City to pick them up. In some cases, a tax will be charged for this service, so we do not recommend using this service unless the item is very necessary.
When sending a package, please do not write "ATABAL" in the destination address, but write the recipient's name prominently in Roman characters after the address of the school. If the recipient's name is written as "ATABAL" on the arrival notice, it is difficult for the Guatemalan Post Office to identify the recipient with his/her passport, which is a troublesome procedure and makes it impossible to inform the recipient of the package since he/she does not know to whom the package is addressed.
* The Guatemalan postal system is currently not functioning. International mail is also not available, so please use other means to send items to and from Guatemala.
 
 

1a Av. Norte #6, Antigua Guatemala, GUATEMALA C.A.
TEL: (502)7832-1894
clatabal@gmail.com
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