Hi, my name is Annika an Art Major and sophomore at Luther. It’s hard to believe that Monday officially marked two weeks in Oaxaca! The weather has been amazing and we have all had so much fun!

I have really enjoyed spending time with my host family. The host family is very kind and all of the meals are delicious. At my host family's house there are four other girls from different Universities, it has been really nice to talk with them and compare our experiences with each other. We can also help each other answer any questions that the family asks if we are confused at all.

Our group's schedule has been busy and packed with exciting things. In the morning we all have Spanish class together for three hours and then we normally go to a cafe after to get smoothies. Then everyone goes back to their houses and eats lunch. At three we return to the school and speak to a native Spanish speaker. This is a great opportunity to practice the lessons we learn in class. Then after that we have salsa dance lessons.

The salsa classes that we started this week are a fun challenge that also help everyone improve their Spanish vocabulary. There were four different steps that we learned today. We all started out in a line while the teacher demonstrated the dance in front of us. The first step we learned was called the basic step. This was the step that we continued to add to while learning the other steps. Learning the steps to a dance in another language is a great way to learn directional vocabulary in an environment that is different than the classroom. I think that being completely immersed in Spanish has really improved my comprehension overall and  I am learning so many new words everyday.

-Annika