New York City and Los Angeles are very proud of their cultural diversity. The Los Angeles campus recently celebrated Cinco de Mayo, which is a celebration of the Mexican Army’s improbable victory over the French in the city of Puebla, Mexico (1862). See what The ESL School did to mark this special day!

“Sharing our cultures allows us to be more open-minded and it promotes respect and unity. I am American, but my heritage is Mexican and Scottish. Food and music are my favorite ways to explore cultures with my students!” said Associate Education Director Prima Gonzalez.

The students tried new foods such as churros (fried dough covered in cinnamon and sugar), tamales (cheese and green chili peppers wrapped in corn dough), and spicy Aztec chocolate truffles (dark chocolate with cinnamon and cayenne).

Churros are similar to doughnuts, but they have a crunchy outside with a soft fluffy inside.

Tamales are made from a corn dough that is spread inside of a corn husk. Many different ingredients can be put inside – caramel sauce and bananas or chicken or beef.

They can be sweet or savory, yum!

Sherry, a Level 5 student, said that diversity “is interesting and people should learn more about other cultures. I also thought that vegetarian people only ate vegetables and tasteless food, but I really liked this vegetarian food!”

While studying in another country, it’s important to do some traveling. In global cities like L.A. and NYC it’s possible to travel around the world in a weekend…by using your stomach as a passport. Get out there and try something new!

Want to find out more about Cinco de Mayo? Watch the following clip!

Vocabulary

diversity (n.)- different types of people

improbable (adj.)- not likely to happen

fluffy (adj.)- soft

corn husk (n.)- outside covering of corn

savory (adj.)- not sweet, but salty or spicy