This summer, 12 students and two faculty members are traveling to Oaxaca, Mexico to immerse themselves in the culture and language of Oaxaca, Mexico and develop their conversational fluency and understanding of daily life in Mexico by living with Oaxacan families and attending class at the Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez. Please enjoy this first blog post from Julia ’26 where she shares about the group’s first day in Oaxaca, exploring the ancient Zapotec ruins at Monte Albán, enjoying traditional food, practicing Spanish with locals, and experiencing live music and street culture in the city.
Hola familias!
Today we had an amazing first day in Oaxaca!
Our morning activity was a trip up to Monte Albán (Zapotec Ruins). We had an amazing tour guide who showed us around and explained how the buildings were all built with specific purposes in mind. The coolest one was a building that also acted as a calendar which perfectly lined up with the sun as it changes position throughout the year. After the tour, we went to a traditional Oaxacan restaurant. The food was absolutely amazing! My favorite was papas tortas (potatoes shaped in circles and cooked). After lunch, everyone went back to our houses and had time to explore the city. Julie and I walked around central Oaxaca. While walking, a little boy asked us if we had time to speak English with him because he wanted to practice. It gave us the chance to practice Spanish and him and his sister a chance to practice English. I felt super proud being able to have a full conversation and being able to help them learn more English! Afterwards, we continued to explore the city. We found a band and dance group performing. They were performing a traditional dance of the mountain region of the state of Oaxaca. We were so lucky to run into the group performing! Later in the evening we ran into the rest of the group and explored a park. There was a lot of street food and a group of people having a rap battle! Everyone then joined us in our home to visit our host’s dog. We can’t wait for our classes tomorrow and the tour of the city!
