¡Algo Nuevo para Gozar!

Moving to a new country is one thing, but integrating yourself into the community is another. Finding yourself looking for new social groups and activities can be daunting at first, but given some time and effort those connections can be made. With the start of the new semester and new year, it's only fitting I found myself learning something new: salsa dancing.

Now, I'll preface this by saying my previous experience with dancing is fairly limited. All that I've picked up until now is the tiny bit they taught us in high school marching band. So going into this with an open mind was my best friend. And after the first two weeks I can't say that I'm the best or worst, but I can say that I'm enjoying it.

In addition to the dancing, it has also been a great area for exposure to Spanish. Our instructor is trilingual with Spanish, English, and French, but 90% of the class is taught in Spanish. Only flipping into English for the occasional joke or clarification makes it a fun environment to have lots of language input and output. Being able to converse with so many native speakers has really helped to make friends and create a better understanding of the informal language exchange.

The biggest non-apparent characteristic that I have learned about dancing, is how universal it can be in different communities. I first heard about it through another auxiliar at my school. Dancing is meant to be social and shared. Our instructor who creates group chats and organizes meet ups for all of his classes, loves to simply go out dancing to meet new people through dance. This gave me the idea that if I continue learning, I can take this going forward in life to make it that much easier to make authentic friends and memories in new communities.