Calling All Top Chef Wannabes Can’t find the elective class you’re looking for in the course register? Try looking to another of University City’s schools. The highly-regarded Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College (4207 Walnut St.) offers a wide array of cooking classes, from one-day classes on regional cooking styles to classes in pastry arts and, if you missed out on the preceptorial, wine tasting. We recommend the six-week Introduction to Culinary Arts, which will teach you a bit of everything you need to know in the kitchen, making you look a whole lot smarter when commenting on the latest episode of Top Chef. The course is a bit pricey ($325) and requires you to bring your own kitchen utensils, but the pain is eased when you don’t have to clean the kitchen afterwards. The class offers some social benefits, too. You can showcase your classy side next time you’re thinking of taking a date to Marathon. How many classes at Penn can you say that about? — Michael Horowitz
Get Outside! Though certainly not for the faint of heart, outdoor adventure classes, offered through PennRec, are a great way to get out of the city and change up your weekend routine. We highly recommend trying an outdoor rock climbing class. Offered several times a semester at $65, a one-day beginner class covers transportation, gear and instruction. Getting to spend a day in Ralph Stover State Park is a pleasure in itself, but scaling vertical rock formations, especially as a first-time climber, is truly exhilarating. Expect to leave at 8 a.m. and return home around 5 p.m. totally exhausted. Other offerings include hiking, backpacking, skiing or rafting.
Stay Safe Concerned for your safety? Fortunately, here at Penn they make it unbelievably easy to learn how to defend yourself should a worst-case scenario occur. The Division of Public Safety offers free Rape Aggression Defense courses to every woman in the Penn community (as well as a Resisting Aggression with Defense program for men). The certified instructors lead lecture and discussion, as well as provide hands-on training in advanced courses based on physical defense techniques.
Dancing For Dummies For those of you whose idea of moving to the music consists of drunken arm-flailing at a frat party (accompanied by an occasional “woo-hoo!”), some formal training may be in order. Koresh School of Dance (2020 Chestnut St.) offers more than 35 classes for adults, ranging from the classical (jazz and ballet) to the funky (modern, tap and hip hop) to the exotic (Afro modern and bellydancing). One class costs $15, or if you really want to dance, sign up for a set of 10 ($140) or 20 ($260). See ya on the dance floor! — Laura Johnson
