Although their reasons for choosing to study in the United States are very different for Spanish students Sofia Borras Mas, Patri Menendez and Carla Powell, they all agree that after a year in Wessington Springs, their minds and hearts are forever changed.
Borras Mas, a sophomore from Barcelona said that she and some of her friends in Spain saw social media influencers enroll in foreign exchange student programs, which piqued her interest.
“I saw a lot of influencers going to the USA,” she said. “I saw how much fun they were having and I wanted to have that experience.”
For Menendez, a sophomore from Madrid, she had insider information on the types of experiences students could encounter in Springs.
“My brother Antonio was here three years ago,” she explained. “He told me people were really nice and he had a lot of fun, so I requested Wessington Springs.”
Powell, a junior, also from Madrid, said that advancing her English comprehension was the main driver for her to enter the exchange student program.
“My parents wanted me to improve my English,” stated Powell, adding that she had previously studied in England but wanted a more immersive experience in the United States. “At home I speak English with my dad, he is English.”
Borras Mas and Menendez point to challenges early on that eventually, helped with personal and academic growth.
“At the beginning only a few people understood us,” laughed Borras Mas, who lived with the exchange student host family of Jeff and Tricia Messmer. “It’s so different now at the end of the school year. We have all improved very much.”
“It was difficult getting used to living with another family. Also the personalties here are different than the people of Spain. Spaniards are much more touchy, affectionate,” explained Menendez, who finished the school year with the host family of Jim and Audra Scheel. “But now after a year, it will be very hard to leave my family.”
The biggest takeaway for all three was the “real life” curriculum at Wessington Springs High School (WSHS).
“I loved the school year — you can be in math, then in the next class you go into the kitchen and cook,” said Powell, who lived with the longtime exchange student host family of John and Heidi Dornbusch. “We don’t do that in Spain. Here they prepare you for the real world, we even learned how to do taxes. In Spain the main focus is to pass your exams.”
Menendez echoes that sentiment about “learning real life.”
“We don’t have fashion construction or cooking in Spain,” she said. “And there are so many activities outside of class that kids are involved in that help you learn more of what happened in the classroom.”
That hands-on approach taught Borras Mas a wide variety of skills during her time at WSHS.
“What I love about here is that the school and community does a lot of things with kids leading — they are always making the kids do it. It is incredible,” Borras Mas said. “In Spain the teachers are the ones that organize everything. Not like here where we are all Spartans and we are a family.”
“I feel like my family is my second family. I love them very much,” Borras Mas reflects, fondly recalling her time with the farm/ranch family driving the ranger, lambing in the winter and spending time outside with her family. “ I loved that time of year, it is going to be hard leaving them. I never thought I’d come to a farm in the middle of nowhere and love it.”
Menendez recalls one specific experience with her farm/ranch host family that she will never forget.
“The best time were the days before their sale,” Menendez remembers with a smile. “I came from school and all the family was there cooking, making food, working together — it was so fun. Sale day was a big day and seeing the auctioneer work was also cool.”
What Powell refers to as “family time,” will be her fondest takeaway from her time within the Dornbusch household.
“The family comes over and we have a big supper — there is so much family so close,” Powell said. “All my cousins are in Australia, we just don’t get together like they do here.”
Powell has already flown back to her homeland and Borras Mas and Menendez will follow suit this month, returning to Spain with many cherished memories of the people they met and experiences they enjoyed in Wessington Springs.