Here we are, 22 Wayland High School students and two teachers in the lovely city of Oviedo, in the northwest of Spain. We arrived here on Friday, after a long flight with many connections. My host mother and Sofia, my exchange student, met me at the airport. On Friday, most of us napped, showered, ate, and hung out with our new host families before going out as a big group of Americans and Spaniards.

On Saturday morning, all of the students participating in the exchange and their parents met at a cafe for chocolate and churros, an oblong Spanish version of fried dough. The chocolate was so rich that most of us Americans had trouble finishing it. Saturday was the day I learned two important things about the proper footwear for Oviedo: First, they must be waterproof, because if it is not raining when you leave the house, it will probably start soon. Second, they need to be suitable for long walks, as Oviedo is a great city for pedestrians. After breakfast the Spanish students took us on a tour of the city and we ended up playing cards for hours in a cafe. We learned that a good card game removes cultural boundaries.

All the Wayland students slept for as long as possible on Sunday morning, for we were still pretty jetlagged. Most of us got to know our Spanish families better on Sunday. Some families visited the mines, while others just relaxed and talked. My family and several others went to Gijon, a gorgeous seaside village. As soon as we arrived in Gijon, we started snapping pictures and taking a walk along the coast. We stopped for a long, late Spanish lunch at a restaurant not far from the port. Once again, a series of games broke the language barriers of the group. After lunch, we visited the ancient Roman baths, and then headed home. Almost everyone went bowling together that Saturday night. During my bowling group’s game, Seth Harper and his host brother, Nico, were neck and neck until the bitter end. Unfortunately for the rest of us, Seth won both games.

I woke up quite early on Monday morning because I had school for the first time since the previous Wednesday. IES Alfonso II (the school almost all our Spanish exchange students go to) starts at 8:30. Students stay in the same classroom, while their teachers rotate in and out. I didn’t have any problems with my French class, but the biology and math classes were hard to understand (although the material seemed quite familiar). Students in Spain go home for lunch, their biggest meal of the day, after school.

My Spanish may not be very good right now, but I can understand most of what people say to me. This trip has been a lot of fun so far. On Wednesday the Wayland students leave on a trip for Galicia, one of Spain’s other provinces.