For the week of homecoming, our hallways were excitingly filled with the new faces of the Spanish exchange students. Twenty students joined our Seven Hills community for ten days through the exchange program, staying with eighteen of our own students in the senior, junior, and sophomore classes. In those ten days, the exchange students got to experience many things with their hosts. Whether it was a trip organized by the school or somewhere that the student’s host family brought them, each student had a variety of experiences that gave them a small glimpse into what life is like in Cincinnati.
The school brought the exchange students to many different places in downtown Cincinnati. The students went to Great American Ball Park, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Smail Park, and canoeing down the Little Miami River. Junior Will Ackerman’s student claimed to have really enjoyed the trips that the school took them on: “They had nothing but positive things to say. The students really liked the experiences, and my student thought that the school did a good job of showing off.” Senior Amara Kulkarni’s exchange student had a similar takeaway from the trips that the school took them on, saying that her student said, “She loved the trips”.
Seven Hills did a great job of taking the students to places that highlight interesting things about Cincinnati, and the host students expanded on that by giving their students everyday experiences in America. Outside of the field trips that the school took the students on, Kulkarni took her student to a Bengals game, Kings Island, Target, and Findlay Market. Ackerman took his student to an FC Cincinnati game and also explored downtown to further immerse his student in life in the US.
The Spanish exchange students were given a true glimpse into what the high school experience is like in the US by getting to be here for our annual homecoming celebration. It was a great and memorable event for the students to be here during our spirit week and homecoming dance, which is not something that they have back in Spain. Ackerman stated, “My student really liked the dance.”
After getting to spend about two weeks in the US, the host students were able to form a close bond with their exchange students. Ackerman expressed his excitement for when he gets to go to Spain in May: “I’m excited to go to Spain at the end of the year, and I can’t wait to live with him for two weeks.” He and his exchange student were able to form a friendship during the time that they spent together.
The exchange program is far more than just getting to visit places that make Cincinnati special. It is also about forming a bond with the students and having memorable experiences with them in the US during the fall and in Spain during the spring. The Spanish students got to see many comparisons and differences from their high school experience in America, and when the Seven Hills students go to Spain this upcoming May, hopefully, they will be able to have the same kind of positive experiences.
