In this semester-long unit of study, we explored various myths, legends, and stories of magic from the Spanish-speaking world. We read a full mini-novel in Spanish titled: El Ekeko: Un misterio boliviano. At the end of the book, we got to write out own spin on it for our final projects. The book El Ekeko: Un misterio boliviano by Katie Baker is full of the twists and turns in young Bolivian native Paco's life. When he is looking for his grandfather's old boots in the closet, Paco discovers an old Ekeko talisman. He quickly finds out that this is no normal Ekeko, but a magical one that can transform miniature items into real things. In the beginning, Paco abuses the Ekeko and uses it for selfish reasons, but he eventually sees the errors in his ways. When the Ekeko disappears after Paco tries to get a car, he realizes that he has been using the Ekeko for unnecessary situations. Paco sees a fo in need of help, so he gives him money, a video game system, and an invitation to be friends. Later that night the Ekeko returns to Paco as mysteriously as it left. Paco decided that he is very fortunate and doesn't need any special help from the Ekeko right now. He puts the Ekeko right back where he found it in the closet. In this unit, I got a deeper understanding of different cultures' food, stories, and lifestyles. While we were learning about the myths and history of them it gave me a look into what it would be like to hear about these growing up. I thought it was really interesting to learn about the different lessons these stories were teaching. Then compare them to different stories in English that conveyed the same thing. I also loved learning about the different foods that are embedded in these cultures. It was cool to see how important food is to their day-to-day lifestyle. One thing that really stood out to me was, how much of a labor of love most of these foods are. Inparticualar relleons de papas that were sold in the market. It took her all morning to make, but she sold out in only a few hours. But this was her livly hood and passion, so each and every day she continued to wake up and make them. It was very insporational to see how committed and hard working she is for not much reward. Throughout this semester I have grown a lot in Spanish class, not only with my personal Spanish skills but also with what I know about different Spanish-speaking cultures. I found learning about how different people all around the world live their lives, it is fascinating to see. My Spanish skills were also pushed this semester by learning about the difference between past and present tense in Spanish. This challenged me in a new way because I had to keep all of my endings and conjugations consistent in order for people to understand me. Overall I really enjoyed this semester learning about new people and the world around me.