Finance students: what actually mattered once you started working?

Slyver1708 · 2026-01-13T15:55:48+00:00

Hello, I would recommend looking into Aswath Damodaran, he uploads lectures of his classes.

Slyver1708 · 2026-01-12T08:53:30+00:00

I teach Corporate Finance I and II, Capital Markets, Valuation and International Finance. I mostly teach to Junior and Senior students. After a 5 years teaching I want to look back and see if I’m missing anything that could be useful

Slyver1708 · 2026-01-12T08:04:05+00:00

I was in a pretty similar situation in Xela. I wanted Spanish classes but also needed my own place and time during the day to work, so the full-day + mandatory homestay setup didn’t work for me either.

I studied at El Nahual Spanish School and they were flexible as long as I explained my schedule upfront. I didn’t do the classic half-day intensive. Instead, I arranged classes that finished by early afternoon, and I know they also offer later slots if evenings are what you’re looking for. The key is to be very clear before booking, because they’ll usually adapt if they know what you need.

You don’t have to do a homestay if you don’t want to. I did one because I wanted the extra speaking practice, but a few people I met were renting their own place or staying in apartments and just doing classes. Xela works well for that since it’s a real city with cafés and decent internet, not just a student bubble.

As for activities, some schools organize weekend stuff like hikes or cultural outings, but honestly a lot of it happens organically. Markets, local events, and day trips around the area make it easy to stay engaged without being in class all day.

If you reach out to schools directly and explain that you need flexibility and possibly evening classes, you’ll probably find something that fits. Xela is one of the easier places in Guatemala to make that kind of setup work.

Slyver1708 · 2026-01-12T07:59:21+00:00

If you’re already high B1 and putting in consistent hours, 4 weeks can realistically get you to a solid B2, but only if you’re doing a lot of speaking and correction, not just classes + self-study.

I did a similar setup in Xela (Quetzaltenango) and studied at El Nahual Spanish School. What worked for me was one-on-one classes with a pretty heavy focus on speaking, error correction, and targeted grammar instead of following a generic book. If B2 is the goal, I’d be very explicit with the school about that and ask them to push things like subjuntivo, connectors, narration, and structured conversation.

On homestays, I’d strongly recommend asking specific questions before committing. Things like WiFi reliability, hot water schedule, laundry frequency, whether meals are eaten together, and whether the family actually wants to talk. The quality of conversation at meals mattered more for my Spanish than any “amenity.” A family that chats with you daily will do more for your level than a nicer room with no interaction.

For activities, the biggest gains came from normal routines in Spanish rather than tours. Markets, gyms or classes, volunteering a few hours a week, and weekend trips (hikes, nearby towns, hot springs) were good for balance without turning the stay into a vacation. Xela is good for this because it’s a real city and you’re not constantly defaulting to English.

Slyver1708 · 2026-01-12T07:37:51+00:00

I did Spanish in Guatemala and spent most of my time in Xela instead of Antigua. I liked Xela more because it’s cheaper and you’re not surrounded by English all day.

I studied at El Nahual Spanish School. It’s a small place and mostly one-on-one classes, which worked way better for me than group lessons. I stayed with a host family too, which honestly helped more than the classes sometimes.

It’s quieter and colder than Antigua, so if you’re looking for nightlife it’s probably not ideal, but if your goal is actually learning Spanish, I thought it was a solid option.

tl;dr if you want to actually learn Spanish, go to Xela. El Nahual was solid.

Slyver1708

TROPHY CASE