Ancestral Flavors: A Oaxacan Culinary Journey

Arcos answered all of our questions quickly and thoroughly! We also benefitted greatly from our director's relationships with all of the cultural excursions. During each event, it felt like we were welcomed into studios, homes, and restaurants like friends due to the close relationships she has and maintains. As a faculty leader, I highly recommend Arcos for your students.

10 out of 10! I improved in Spanish, had some great food, and had lots of fun! The Arcos programming was good and my homestay mom was amazing. I had so much fun going out with her and talking to her. Remember to bring good walking shoes and electrolytes.

My Arcos directors were so much fun to talk to. I had amazing conversations about life, Oaxacan culture, and just about anything! They are great with communicating and establishing safety while also being kind and friendly! I felt so welcomed and when the program ended I felt so sad to say goodbye. They are so caring and attended to everyone’s needs and really showed they cared for every individual! I absolutely adored my host mom and dad, they were such great conversation-makers and easy to talk to! I learned the most Spanish from them and they felt like a real family! My relationship with my host mom felt like my relationship with my grandma back home and it was so wonderful and comforting. My advice is to be open to try anything - whether it is food, activities, whatever! Don’t be shy when getting to know people, since everyone is so kind and welcoming in Oaxaca!

My homestay in Oaxaca was great! My advice to other students is to be open to speaking Spanish. I didn't really have any challenges to speak of. The greatest benefits of the program were practicing Spanish and gaining new cooking skills. This is a great experience!

Bring good walking shoes because you walk most places. This was my first time traveling alone, so it was a bit difficult to try and manage everything by myself but it was definitely a growing experience and it taught me a lot about responsibility. I learned so much about the culture and cuisine that I wouldn't have learned about in my regular Spanish classes at home. I have a new found appreciation for Mexico and everything it has to offer.

Don’t go crazy trying to learn as much Spanish as you can before coming. Other students will be around the same level as you and you can help each other as well as using Google translate. I loved learning about a new culture. It was just so amazing, and I’ll always remember this experience and have stories to tell.

The biggest benefits were ganing confidence and independence in their abilities to travel and experience life on their own. Overall, we were absolutely thrilled with the experience Wes had!! It was wonderful and life-changing in so many positive ways!! We will definitely be looking at another program next summer!

This was a program that combined Spanish language immersion with Mexican culinary exposure in Oaxaca. Class of 5 visited local homes each day to assist the lady of the house prepare the days meal. It was handy to have a program director escorting the group as she was also able to translate as the locals often spoke rather quickly. All in all a great two week experience and highly recommended.