Pablo Crabifosse and Miguel Alonso are two exchange students coming from Spain. They have both experienced many culture shocks while staying in a different continent. They have both been enjoying their time here, and they hope to continue to make amazing memories and connections while staying in Salida.
Alonso moved from Madrid, Spain. He likes to play sports. Here, he plays sports like soccer and football, unlike back at home when he would play handball, which is a game played with two teams of seven to 11 players who try to throw an inflated ball into a goal at either end of the playing field while also defending others from doing so. He enjoys that there are more sports options here. He never played football or soccer before moving here.
“I wanted to try both of them [soccer and football] so I’m just doing it,” Alonso said.
Moving here from Madrid was hard at first, especially with jet lag from the eight hour difference. Once he had time to get used to the time difference, the language took time to get used to as well. However, he likes the school because it is larger than his school back at home, so he has more options for classes.
“So, I couldn’t say something I don’t like about it [SHS], I have been here for a month now, so I can’t say anything bad. I’m enjoying psychology class, and Tenderfoot Times. I don’t find it as hard as I thought with the language, for example in my math class, Algebra 2, I find it not easy but not hard, it’s a good class,” Alonso said.
His host family is the Wierzbinskis. His host brother in the highschool is Gavin Wierbinski. He described them as really nice, and he said they felt like family. Back home with his mom and dad, he has a 31 year old sister that he has low contact with. With that being said, he really enjoys having brothers around.
His favorite things to do are ride his bike which he does every day. He likes training for soccer and football with his friends. His plans after highschool are to go to college in Spain, but first he has to take a university entrance exam. If he doesn’t pass this and go to college, he’s not really sure what he will do.
Crabifosse also plays soccer. He loves playing soccer with his friends and hanging out with them. He really likes Salida. His host family is the Jones. Sam Jones, the sophomore, goes to Salida High School. He says they are really nice.
His favorite part about the high school is the lunches because they are a lot better than the ones back in Spain. His least favorite part is that where he’s from they only went to school until two, but here school goes until four. He speaks English and Spanish fluently. In Spain, English classes have a lot of grammar, but here it’s more reading and writing. He also wants to go to college after highschool!
SHS is so happy to welcome so many new exchange students to our school and community! The culture and new perspectives they bring to the Salida community is truly invaluable. Even after Alonso and Crabifosse move on from their time here in Salida, the whole community hopes that they gain some precious memories to take on with them wherever they end up.
