October 3, 2007
From SATA-Peru-2007
Today was another typical school day here in Cusco. After breakfast, we went to our Spanish classes. The advanced Spanish class had the opportunity of sitting in on an anthropology class at a local university, which was a nice change for them. After our second class, ethnohistory, Hayley and I decided to try out the new “dark chocolate” craze and went straight to the market in Plaza de Armas to buy some. I may have had a little too much before lunch, but to my surprise I did feel more energized later in the day. When I was telling my Spanish teacher about this current obsession, she told me that chocolate has always been magic and that she wasn’t surprised. We were also sure to buy Maná cookies at the store, another favorite group snack. There are many different kinds, but so far the favorites are chocolate filling or lemon filling. After a lunch of breaded chicken breast, most of us came back to our rooms to start the reading that is due tomorrow. Today was one of the most intense Quechua classes yet, practicing conversational skills. For dinner we had a creamy soup and pizza! The pizza was pretty good, and hopefully we can have more soon. The cheese was pretty good, as some of the cheese here has a very strange texture, what we call “squeaky cheese.” And the word on the street is that we are getting croissants tomorrow morning, which will be a nice treat!
And, if anyone’s interested, here’s the article Erich found on the effects of dark chocolate. [1]. But don’t get carried away: Experts said patients should consume chocolate in moderation.
