I left part of my heart in Arequipa

I have a very different perspective of my experience. I am married and we have a 2.5 year old son. My husband took the course in May and I took in June. We have made best friends from this course. The teachers we had were Bill Nelson and Emma Wing, and they were the best teachers we have ever had. Besides making sure we understood the materials (which they did and made sure we understood every little thing) they made us feel comfortable! They connected with each student and we spent a lot of the class laughing and smiling. The town is lovely and I LOVE Arequipans. My son became best friends with the cleaning staff of the school. If you open up to the town and school, you will not be disappointed. I wish I was back in Arequipa now. I recommend not going during the rainy season (I wasn't there for it but 3 months of rain never sounds fun). The Peruvian food is to die for! Try everything! Yes this course is intensive, but if a married couple can do it with a toddler then it can't be that hard! The teachers really care about you. I recommend you get to Arequipa one or two weeks before the course and explore before diving into the class. Do your research about Arequipa before you come though. We didn't no any Spanish and the Peruvians we're extremely helpful and would help as much as they could even with the language barrier. Long story short, don't think about going, do it! You won't regret it I promise!!