Article by Aubrey Hickman
Maria is a foreign exchange student we have at Southern Lee this year. She is from Spain and has been here for a little over a month and a half. Maria has wanted to be a foreign exchange student since she was a little girl. It was her dream. She says, “Being a foreign exchange student is very normal in Spain; it's everybody's dream to be one. It’s been my dream since I was around maybe 8 years old.”
Maria explained that she is very grateful for the opportunities she has had to become an exchange student. This is actually Maria’s second exchange experience! She participated in a small exchange from March 28th, 2025 - April 12th, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. During her time there, she experienced many new things, such as attending a Dodgers game and visiting Hollywood. She had originally planned to spend her exchange year there but was unable to because of the wildfires at the time.
She has loved her time at Southern Lee so far. When I asked her about her favorite parts of her experience, she excitedly shared how many friends she has made and how many memories she has already created. One new experience she’s enjoyed is joining the tennis team. She loved going to away games and traveling to the tennis conference tournament with all of the other schools. She has also shown her Cav Pride by attending football games and participating in Homecoming Spirit Week.
Some of the new experiences she has enjoyed since arriving in America include trying Raising Cane’s for the first time and attending a Ty Myers concert with her host sister. She also plans to attend prom and is very excited about it. She explained that prom is something she has only seen in movies, and she is excited to experience what it is really like. Maria looks forward to making the most of her time in America before returning to Spain and cannot wait to make even more memories along the way.
When I asked her what her first thoughts were when she arrived in America, she said, “Like the films, everything is how I dreamed it would be.” One of the biggest surprises for her has been the new food she has tried and the different times people eat meals. She has had to adjust to the different daily routines in America. In Spain, breakfast is around 7:00 am, lunch at 3:00 pm, and dinner is at 9:00 pm. School days are 1 hour shorter; they have a lot more time to go out after school and hang out with friends and participate in extracurricular activities.
Back in Spain, Maria's favorite thing to do is go shopping with her friends. Her favorite vacation destination is the Maldives. She loves going to the beach and visits every summer because it is only about 3 hours from her house. Maria can speak 3 different languages: English, Spanish, and French. Her favorite show is The Outer Banks, and now she is here in North Carolina! Her main sources of communication are TikTok, Instagram, and WhatsApp. She also uses Snapchat, but only while she is in the U.S. because it is not commonly used in Spain.
Although Maria has enjoyed her time in America, she still misses people back home and the traditions she grew up with in Spain. One tradition she misses is Semana Santa, also known as Holy Week. This is the final week of Lent and is an important Christian holiday that celebrates the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The week leads up to Easter Sunday and is celebrated in many Spanish communities. When I asked Maria what one thing she would bring from her culture to America is, she replied, “ Jamón Serrano; it's the most typical food. We use it for everything.”
The best advice Maria would give other foreign exchange students is to socialize as much as possible. She encourages students to talk to everyone and step outside their comfort zone. As she puts it, “Good things never come from comfort zones.” She wants people to make the most of every opportunity and always try new things!
See Mrs. Shanna Roberts if you have a passion for storytelling and video interviews