Relocating to a country on the opposite side of the world can be frightening, especially when it involves leaving your family behind. It takes courage for a teenager to step out on foreign grounds, attend a new school, and join a new, temporary family. Through the Foreign Exchange Program, senior David Jordan has made this his reality for the 2021-2022 school year. 

The Foreign Exchange Program provides high school students with the opportunity to move to a new country to study abroad. The duration of a student’s stay can range from one to two semesters. All the while, these teens are learning to live in, and adapt to, a new culture. 

“This program is about bringing people from other countries or continents and making them get to know other cultures and religions,” Jordan said.  

During David’s time here, he will be housed by a host family. As a part of the Foreign Exchange program, each student is assigned a family who can best accommodate their needs to live with. This family also helps the newcomer in discovering the family culture of the specific country. 

“My host family is very kind to me,” David said. “They also have a son that is 14 years old.” 

Moving to a new country to discover often unveils the uniqueness of someone’s home country. The different traditions, schooling, religions, and languages are exciting to uncover and learn about. Being immersed in a totally different part of the world is an open door to exploring new places. 

“I’m pleased by being here,” David said. “I’m always going to places that I had never seen before.” 

David has lived in Spain all his life. The architecture and scenery of the U.S. differs in many ways from Spain. There are a number similarities and differences alike from the two countries. David is getting the chance to experience those for himself. 

“Spain is a very pretty country, not as big as the U.S., but still pretty big,” David said. “The main difference in the schools is that schools in Spain are very small and here they are huge.” 

There are many things that David enjoys about his temporary home. He has been gifted the chance to live out the life of an American teen.  

“One of my favorite things here is the place I live,” David said. “I also enjoy the neighborhood.”