Bohdan Malaniuk – Lima Spanish School– Republica Checa
I got to know about ECELA from a friend of mine. ECELA gives vouchers of free lessons to its former students. Thanks to the voucher my friend gave me I got one week of school for free. Saving so much money is a reason to feel happy.
The first thing about Lima I noticed was that it is really a huge city (9 million inhabitants). As in all big cities certain neighbourhoods you should be avoided and others should be visited in order “to touch the pulse” of the city. The city centre built in colonial style is definitely worth visiting. The same goes for the Chinatown where you can eat in the best chifas in Peru.
Peruvian food is actually one of the best cuisines I’ve ever eaten. It is mainly a combination of (surprisingly) Chinese influences and indigenous basis. The climate in winter months is quite warm compared to European reality although occasional drizzle and humidity can push you to dress warmer.
The school and the accommodation of ECELA are located in Miraflores. It is probably the best district of Lima talking about cleanness, service availability and security. The accommodation provided by ECELA has a standard that is far above the average Peruvian housing. It is a good option to choose mainly because of the unique possibility of meeting many people from different countries. And the house has really a kind of “special something” that connects people.
I’ve learned a lot in the Spanish lessons in Lima. I don’t know how far it was an accident but I caught a great teacher that was able to make the lessons both entertaining and beneficial. But based on the experience of the other students I was talking to I would say that this kind of professionalism is a standard quality of the majority of the ECELA teachers.
“Personal dimension” was actually the strongest point of ECELA. Not only teaching staff but the other staff as well – from cleaning lady in the house to the guy who took care about free time activities – was qualified, always ready to help and mainly nice. ECELA offers free time various activities as well (from lessons on Peruvian cuisine, salsa lessons to city tour). The positive thing about it is that you can reach easily some interesting activities that would be hard to organize by yourself. And the second point is that it is quite cheap. My stay in Lima was a great experience for me. My Spanish got better (that was the actual purpose), I gained weight because of the delicious food and I met lot of nice people.