Naranjo gets a taste of Minnesota

To help reach her goal of teaching Spanish and English, the new Spanish amity comes to us all the way from Bogotá, Colombia. Every year, a new amity is chosen to come spend the year teaching and learning with the students at Minnehaha. This year’s Amity is Oriana Naranjo.

Photo by Bailey McKenzie

Naranjo’s hometown, Bogotá, is very large, with a population of about 8 million. She describes it as a very busy, modern city, but she also enjoys its historic neighborhoods.

Naranjo first learned about Minnehaha Academy from her friend, Katherine Martinez, who was last year’s Spanish amity.

“She told me about Minnehaha and she told me that it was a really nice school, the students were really nice, and the teachers,” Naranjo said. “So I wanted to come and to teach Spanish at this school.”

The first two things Naranjo learned about Minnesota was that it is very cold, and there are lots of lakes. So far in Minnesota, Naranjo has been to the State Fair where she ate her first corndog. She has also been to downtown Minneapolis, the Walker Art Center’s sculpture garden and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. During her stay, she would like to visit more popular sites in Minneapolis and St. Paul, and she really wants to go to Chicago.