Our first week of spanish school is over and we only have good things to say about it. We went to the school that Dominic attended 7 years ago (Excel - http://www.excel-spanishlanguageprograms-peru.org) and were totally satisfied. In the first week on top of learning spanish, we managed to do salsa lessons, a Peruvian cook class, and a ceramics/pottery class. In our spanish classes, our teachers Luis and Nati didn't just teach us a lot of Spanish, they also taught us a lot about the culture of Peru and Cusco.
In the cooking classes the teachers first took us to the local market to buy the ingredients. We then went to one of the teachers' houses where they taught us how to prepare "Aji de Gallina" and Deliciosa de Maracuya". The most surprising thing about the class was that we used Clorox bleach to clean the vegetables…. this is allows us to eat the peel of the fruits/vegetables.
In the pottery classes, an attendant from the school took us to a another local school where we could experience what Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze scene in the movie Ghost ;) We did not keep all the wonderful things we made as they would be a bit awkward to carry around in our backpacks for a year, but the experience was what we were looking for anyways!
Finally the school also paired us with the Covarrubias Flores family. Isabel and German where very kind and helpful. They greeted us with open arms and made us feel at home. Isabel's cooking made us discover dishes like Rocoto Rellano, Arroz Cubano, Escaveche de Gallina, and Papa Moraya (papa blanca - a potatoes that was dried up and then is rehydrated). They also made us taste a new fruit every morning… mmm Granadilla …. :)
