Hispanic Heritage Month starts today, Sept 15th, because today is also el dia de independencia (independence day) for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. I have a best friend from Costa Rica, I've been to the airport a few times in El Salvador, and I vacationed in Nicaragua. So that's pretty cool...
I grew up in Brewster, WA, USA, which is a tiny rural town with a large Hispanic population. So early on, my mom taught me basic Spanish, hoping I would become more fluent than she was. I resisted learning Spanish for a long time. All I knew was hola, como estas, colors, numbers, and a few other things. Then after going on a short mission trip to Ecuador and taking Spanish in high school, my interest in the culture and language increased. In college, I dated a guy whose grandparents only spoke Spanish at home. I finally decided to take the plunge.
I took Spanish in college and spent 10 months as a student missionary in Peru. (My Christmas break was to Nicaragua where this photo was taken.)
So now I'm a proud Spanish speaker, Peruana in my soul, salsa dancing novice, and daily eater of frijoles y arroz.
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