This fall, for the first time in three years, Spanish exchange students from Madrid were on the SPA campus and spent time with the community through Sept. 28. The students came from their school in Madrid on the 14th and had their first days on campus on Monday the 18th.

Exchange students shadowed their assigned American students and went to all of their classes in order to experience a typical school day. With the exchange students arriving two weeks ago now, the SPA community was excited and ready to learn and spend time with our new Spanish students.

Sophomore Bokii Mullataa said, “I feel like it’s a really unique opportunity for us to talk to each other and learn about each other…I’ve already learned a ton of Spanish from trying to talk with the Spanish kids.”

For most students in the Upper School, this was their first experience with the Spanish exchange program. Students who take Spanish at school have a great opportunity to try and use their abilities to converse with the exchange students, while the exchange students get a chance to practice their English. Students who do not take Spanish could use the exchange as an opportunity to learn more about the language and about Spanish culture.

The students at SPA who took in Spanish exchange students played a huge and crucial role in the exchange. “It has been fun having a non-native English speaker with me,” said Coda Wilson. Wilson was one of the many students who welcomed Spanish kids into the Twin Cities with open arms. His exchange student was Gayle. “I think Gayle has had a good experience with American culture and has had a fun time. I’m very glad I got Gayle,” said Wilson.

As our time with the Spanish exchange students is now over, it is important to remember what a great opportunity we had for these two weeks. We got to interact with students from a whole different country and culture. Hopefully, everyone in the community had a good experience over these two weeks and learned about Spanish language and culture.