Voyager
Modern Language Journal
Spanish Exchange By Victoria Asuar Living in Philadelphia and attending to Germantown Academy has been one of the best experiences in my life. We were all looking forward to improve our English and make new friends and I think we all accomplished it.
The main difference was getting used to the schedule: in Spain we eat later and we wake up and go to bed late. Spanish food is very different from American food, but I didn’t find it difficult to get used to it, as there is a lot of variety. Family life is quite similar; in Spain we are also really close to our families and relatives. American and Spanish cities have very little in common. In Spain we have more old historical buildings and American cities are modern. The trips to Philadelphia, New York and Washington D.C. were all really fun and I really enjoyed visiting them and learning about your culture. I really liked play ing soccer every day after school, getting to be part of the team and meeting all my teammates. In Spain, school teams are not popular, so if you want to do sport, you have to look for a team and go to practise after school, which finishes at 5.30. I think that having all these school teams is the best way to encourage students to do sports.
Finding out that I had been chosen for this exchange was probably one of the best news I’ve ever received. In Spain we have to work really hard to get this opportunity. Planning everything and wondering how everyone would welcome us was really exciting, because I had been told that everyone was really welcoming. Everything turned out to be even better than what I had expected and I think we all felt part of GA during these past months. I am really grateful to my exchange and her family and I would like to encourage everyone to go to an exchange if they ever have that opportunity, because it’s going to be one of the best experiences of their life, not only for what they´re going to learn, but for all the places and people they will meet.
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