Laura Dzubin studied Spanish as a child in Tucson, Arizona. She spent her teens in San Diego, California, where many of her friends were Mexican cowboys. She became the first “gringa” to ride her horse sidesaddle in traditional Mexican charreadas, with an exclusive Asociacion de Charros, and the ladies Grupo de Escaramuza. Later, while serving in the U.S. Air Force, she was selected to attend the elite Military Language Institute, in Monterey, California, where she studied intensive and immersive Spanish, graduating with the equivalent of a four-year college degree. She did a tour of duty in Colombia, as an Airborne Spanish Linguist. She later spent three semesters sola in Guanajuato, Mexico, fulfilling her wish to study advanced Spanish, one-on-one, with instructors at the famed Instituto Allende, in gorgeous San Miguel de Allende. Laura has a strong passion for all things Spanish, including history, culture, food and music, and delights most in learning Mexican slang. Her pastimes include backpacking throughout Latin America, and riding horses in Baja.