Livit Immersion Center

Over the years, I have attended several Spanish immersion programs in both Mexico and Argentina, and Livit Immersion Center was by far the best. I participated in the four-​hour morning instruction and my husband and I stayed in an on-​site private apartment (more about that below). The full program offers lunch, two hours in the afternoon with guides to practice conversation and visit places in the interesting and historic City of Pueblo, a weekly excursion, and a homestay with a local family.
The teachers at Livit are excellent. The school itself is bright and welcoming and comfortable. My husband, who speaks Spanish, and is a linguistic anthropologist, reported that he has seen a greater improvement in my Spanish than ever before. The whole atmosphere of the school is relaxed and permission is given to speak Spanish as best you can without feeling uncomfortable. At the same time, the lessons are aimed at speaking Spanish well, with a variety of activities and drills. Given that I seem to have a second language learning and speaking disability, I really appreciated the patience of the teachers.
I also took the online classes offered by Livit via Skype for three days a week for a month prior to arriving in Puebla, and am currently taking a one day a week class since returning. I highly recommend these classes. They would be an excellent way for people who cannot travel to Puebla for the immersion program to learn or improve their Spanish. My instructor was very good at identifying my strengths and weaknesses and creating an individual program for me.
The onsite apartment where my husband and I stayed while I took classes at Livit was great. The apartment was quite private and very quiet, especially since Mexico, in general, can be pretty noisy. It was located at the back of the main house and language school facility, all of which is on a private street. The apartment is reached from outside steps off a lovely side garden, and had an automatic light at night. While small, the space was very well designed. The lower floor has a nicely equipped kitchen with good counter space and a clever dropdown table, and a little sitting area with a comfortable couch, TV, and a good-​sized worktable. The upstairs included a bedroom with lots of storage areas, and an enclosed. The apartment is light and airy and attractive, with lots of windows and a skylight, and you can see «Popo,» the volcano, outside the bedroom window. There is another smaller accommodation for guests at the front of the property.
The area felt very safe, and was only a couple of blocks from the Plaza del Carmen, which is a pleasant leafy place to hang out, surrounded by a couple of coffee shops and an excellent ice cream store, with a zillion flavors.

I spent a week at Livit Immersion Center and couldn’t be more impressed. The owners, Scott and Maru, are very hands-​on and really want the students to be successful. Even though we were encouraged to speak Spanish all of the time, it was extremely helpful that the teachers are able to speak English, especially when explaining a difficult concept.
We had four hours of lessons each day and were broken up based on our levels of ability to speak Spanish. At lunch all of the teachers and students came together to socialize and get to know each other.
After lunch, each student was paired up with a personalized guide. My guide, Emilia, was fantastic. She took me everywhere I wanted to go and knew a lot of facts about the city. She was also very patient with my broken Spanish.
The homestay arranged for me by the school was also great. The lady who owned the house, Lupita, was an excellent cook. She is a retired kindergarten teacher so she was very patient and spoke slowly when I needed her to repeat something.
I have been to two other immersion programs, one in Oaxaca and one in Antigua, Guatemala, and this was by far the best of the three. Some of the students stayed on for two or three weeks and I was jealous because I would love to do the same. Hopefully, I can return again next year.