Instituto Cultural Oaxaca

The School

My family is living without me for the month of March (thanks to 'St. Joseph') so that I can immerse myself in the spanish language and Mexican culture. I have I wanted to learn Spanish since long before I met Joseph, and the fact that he has two sisters and two nieces living in Spain only increases my desire to learn the language. There are a number of language schools in Oaxaca offering different programs with emphases on anything from learning conversational speech to indigenous culture.  

I chose this particular school because  they have a program that offers up to 7 hours per day (!!!) and as I said - I wanted to immerse myself. Way back when in 7th grade, I took Spanish class and am embarrassed to think about my behavior. I also took a weekend course three years ago for school credit but can't say I got much more than a partial review of my class in 7th grade.

My schedule here at school (I am in "A1" - beginner-beginner level) is three hours of class work. The teacher doesn't speak a word of English.  She'll go to her iPad before saying anything in English.  Then we have an hour of conversation which is of course very interesting in the beginning class. : )  Often we play games to help us along.  

At 1:00 we have a two-hour break.  Lunch, siesta, errands, the time always flies by. At 3:00 each student is assigned an intercambio -  someone who wants to learn or practice their English.  You divide the time between speaking english and spanish however you want. Alyeda is my intercambio. She is getting her Phd. in nutrition at a university in Spain and has to present her thesis in English.  Wow!! She is super sweet and we have a great time together.  

We both feel it is mutually beneficial to get together and have done things together outside our assigned hour.  From 4-6 pm you have a choice between a few different classes. The first week I chose salsa. What a blast! Unfortunately there were more girls than guys so the girls had to dance alone some of the time. What an elegant style of dance. (JB want to learn?)  The second week I took a cooking class. So fun!  There were only two of us in the class so it made it even better.  We cooked entomatados, chilaquiles and amarillo mole.  And I learned a lot of kitchen vocabulary.

Here are some photos of the school and activities:

My salsa class on the last day.  You can see a bit of the school setting too.  It is an old mansion and one of the heirs decided to turn it onto a language school. It has been very successful.	I just love this set up. Truly a Mexican feel.  This was a celebration they had for "good Samaritan day".  The entire city celebrates this day.  The businesses give out  traditional Mexican drink to anyone who walks by until noon.  Some of the drinks were Chilacayota, horchata, tejate and aqua del dia.  It was fun to see the whole city participate.
This is my intercambio. Aleyda	How cool is this set up?  These are simple gas burners. The counter is all cement. Think I want to build one?  You bet!!
This is a pan called a cazuela.  The sauces get cooked in this dish for a long time. Vicky roasted chilies on the lid laying next to the dish.	Vicky our cooking instructor.

I feel fortunate to have choosen this school. I am sure that many of the schools in Oaxaca are good, but this fits my needs.