Sandoval achieves dream of becoming an exchange student
After a fun-filled year as a sophomore at Giltner Public Schools, Spanish exchange student Paula Sandoval has said her goodbyes to the friends and family she has grown to love at Giltner and has headed home to Spain.
“I feel a little nervous and anxious about seeing my family and friends, and at the same time sad, because I am leaving my life here,” Sandoval said.
Sandoval is from the city of León which is located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. It is known for its prominent architecture, such as the Santa María de Regla de León Cathedral.
“I think I always wanted to be an exchange student since I was 10 years old,” Sandoval said. “But my mom would always say no, I think because she was also scared for me to leave and come here for one year.”
However, thanks to her friend, Inés, who had previously participated in an exchange program in South Carolina, Sandoval was able to get the green light to pursue an exchange year in the U.S.
“She came to me and it was a year (of us) talking about it, because this is the year we normally can do an exchange year,” Sandoval said. “I remember my friend came to me and said, ‘Paula, I’m going...’ I was so excited for her, but my mom never told me yes. Then her mom and my mom talked, and my mom said yes.”
Then when she found out she was coming to Nebraska, she saw her mother crying tears of excitement.
“My mom was crying, ‘Paula! Paula!’ when I was getting up in the morning,” Sandoval said. “I saw her and asked, ‘What happened?’ She said, ‘Nebraska! Nebraska!’ I said, ‘Oh, my friend is going to Nebraska?’ and she said, ‘No, you are!’”
Since arriving in Giltner, Sandoval has found a second family with her host parents, Brad and Tracy, and host siblings, Peyton, Livie and Karsyn.
“They were at the airport and I wasn’t there (yet), but they told me it was like every single girl that came out was like, ‘Oh my god, it’s her,’” Sandoval said. “I remember when I got out, they hugged me. My host mom started crying and Peyton was like, ‘Mom, no.’ I was really nervous and I didn’t talk at all. I didn’t understand them, but they were like, “Paula, we’re going to get food. And I was like, ‘Food!’”
Like other exchange students before her, Sandoval said she was curious about whether American high school would be as it’s depicted in “High School Musical.”
“No one would be dancing on tables, but there were the yellow buses,” she said. “I think sometimes, ‘Oh my gosh,’ because it’s nothing like I expected. The football games are awesome. I got to go to the football games all the time. The most exciting thing I saw was the yellow school bus, because they use it all the time in the movies and (I was thinking) there’s no way they use it for everything.”
Compared to her classes back home Sandoval said her American classes were much more relaxed.
“Here you have time to do whatever you want,” she said. “(But in Spain), no, we are in class. It is the time for class, and when the class is done, it’s done. If you try to get up or tell your friend something, no, you can’t get up and normally, when the teacher comes into the room, we have to stand up.”
Sandoval said she was surprised that, unlike in the movies, she actually had to study during her exchange.
“School is more difficult in Spain than here,” Sandoval said. “It’s not difficult here, but you need to study. I talked with more (exchange students) that came here and they were like, ‘You don’t have to study at all.’ I guess on occasion. Then I came here and I was like, ‘Okay, you are not right.’”
Unlike in Spain, where she spent her afterschool hours studying, Sandoval had the opportunity in Giltner to participate in other activities.
“Normally in the afternoons, I’m doing track, doing my homework, watching TV and going to bed,” she said. “I do believe in Spain, we study for three or four hours depending on if we have tests or not. It’s difficult and here we have a lot of extracurricular activities... (In Spain) we don’t miss school at all. Like (May 7), I had track, we missed school and we don’t do that.”
Sandoval has frequently played volleyball in Spain, but found it challenging to adjust to how the game is played here.
“It was difficult because they play with colors and numbers,” Sandoval said. “I never learned their rotation. I met a lot of people and I made a lot of friends. What we do in volleyball, we write notes saying things like, ‘You’re a good partner,’ or ‘You’re good.’ I think that was really cool, because it was an intro to meet with people.”
Along with participating in one act plays as part of the backstage crew, Sandoval took the opportunity to perform in speech with her OID group. In their piece, “So You Want To Be A Cheerleader,” she played the ‘dumb cheerleader’ who loved pizza.
“I talked with my friend Ciany (Ledezma), and she said, ‘You need to do speech,’” Sandoval said. “I was like, ‘No one is going to have any idea what I’m saying.’ She was like, ‘You’re going to be really, really funny,’ and it was really fun. I can do speech again and again.
Sandoval was also a member of the cheerleading team.
“Cheer was so fun,” Sandoval said. “I will always remember all the soccer and basketball games with all my friends.”
Towards the end of the year, Sandoval competed with the Giltner track team, participating in the 100 meters, 4x100 relay, 4x100 throwers relay, shot put and discus.
“It was difficult,” she said. “I remember the first day during practice thinking, ‘There is no way I’m doing this.’ Because you’re running all the time. I don’t think I ever ran that much in my life. Then I liked it. I’m with everyone in high school and the meets were really fun.”
She also made memories with her host family on a trip to San Antonio, Texas.
“We went to SeaWorld and we rode a golf cart on the beach,” she said. “We saw turtles and dolphins, they took me to a Spanish restaurant and we saw caves.”
Sandoval returned to Spain on June 11, where she was reunited with her parents, Julian and Miriam, and her cousins Mario and Martín, who are like brothers to her.
As she was preparing to return home, Sandoval said she felt sad that she wasn’t going to be seeing her Nebraska friends and host family as much as she used to.
“I think it’s really sad, because right now, I need to go back home,” Sandoval said. “I came here and left my family, left everything and I need to go back home and leave my new life here.”
After Sandoval finishes school in the next two years, she plans to earn a baccalaureate and attend college. She wants to become a clinical nurse.