Education spans the globe, and when students from Europe and South America wind up in Piedmont, new relationships can also serve as new learning opportunities.

Junior Marta Perez came to the U.S. from Madrid, Spain through an exchange program. As Perez stays with a host family, she said she will complete the rest of the school year at PHS.

“My host family here is pretty similar [to] my family in Spain,” Perez said. “I don’t feel that there’s a big difference, and that’s why I feel super comfortable here.”

Senior Benjamín Meza grew up in Santiago, Chile, but is staying with his aunt and uncle who moved to the U.S. 40 years ago. Despite the distance between them, Meza said his aunt and uncle visited his family in Chile multiple times when he was younger, allowing him to develop a relationship with them and later move in with them for this school year.

“[I came to the U.S.] to learn English and experience another culture,” Meza said.

Counselor Chris Hartford said Meza enrolled at PHS the day before school started, causing his schedule to take some unintended twists and turns. While Meza is currently a senior, both Hartford and Meza accidentally misinterpreted Meza’s transcript, and he began the year as a junior.

“A couple weeks into school, [Meza] talked to his dad, and he was really a senior,” Hartford said. “He wanted to earn a diploma, so we had to add in Civics and Econ two weeks into school.”

Unlike Meza, Perez enrolled in classes back in Spring. Despite being a fluent speaker, Perez chose to take AP Spanish, and while she said the class adds a nice grade boost to her GPA, she has other reasons for taking it.

“[AP] Spanish is my time to relax and speak my language,” Perez said.

Sometimes fluent speakers still want to practice their writing and grammar when they move to a foreign country, Hartford said. Spanish class can serve as a safe space for native speakers.

“Imagine how much English she’s hearing in one day,” Hartford said. “It’s probably overwhelming, so the Spanish is a nice balance.”

Perez has been learning English for her entire life, and while she does not find much difficulty with the language overall, she finds the most trouble when with her friends.

“It’s very hard because they like talking really fast, and I will [wonder], ‘Oh, what are they saying?’ and I don’t want to interrupt,” Perez said. “When you’re with your [host] family, they’re clearer, but I think I’m getting better.”

Meza said he found the most trouble at the beginning of the year when making friends.

“Talking with other people in English is very difficult when you speak [another] language,” Meza said. “When you speak your original language, it’s easier to meet more people.”

Although Meza and Perez share the same circle of friends and often eat lunch together, they rarely speak Spanish together, Perez said.

“I don’t like to speak Spanish with [Meza] because I [want] people to understand the conversation, so I speak English most of the time,” Perez said.

While exchange students are able to immerse themselves in a new culture and practice their English, the benefits of exchange programs also extend to other students, Hartford said. Exchange students provide an outlet for students taking Spanish to practice the language and expand their worldview.

“Everyone loves the cultures and [meeting] different people,” Hartford said. “I even find out later that a lot of people go and visit these students back in their home countries.”

Despite the parallel learning opportunities for both exchange students and their peers, there are large differences between the education both Perez and Meza received at home versus their education at PHS.

“In Chile you stay [the whole] day in the same classroom, and you go to school [in a] uniform, not typical clothes,” Meza said.

Schools in Spain rely heavily on tests and reading textbooks, Perez said.

“It’s more memorizing [in Spain], and here [there] is more understanding the things you’re learning, which I like better,” Perez said.

Going to college is also a different experience in Spain, Perez said. While most students in the U.S. move away from home to receive a higher education, students in Spain tend to remain with their families.

“You have your college 15 minutes from home, and you can [travel] back and forth every time you have to go to school,” Perez said.

Despite the differences, both Perez as well as Meza said they enjoy many things about American culture. For Meza, the little things stand out the most.

“My favorite [part] is to go to school with normal clothes,” Meza said.

Perez loves the food here, and she also enjoys the larger aspects of American culture, Perez said.

“My favorite thing is that you do everything big here,” Perez said. “You celebrate Halloween very big. You celebrate Christmas very big.”

Although there are also some things she dislikes, Perez said.

“It’s the way you hang out with friends,” Perez said. “Here you go for ice cream or whatever, and in Spain we go party. I like that better.”

Meza said he also considers himself a very sociable person, but he finds most people in the U.S. to be less so compared to people in Chile.

“I think in the United States there’s a more distant relation,” Meza said. “More distant than [in] Chile.”

For both Perez and Meza, though, they have found a warm welcome from the students at PHS.

“In Spain, I’m always with my family, but [here], most of the time I’m with my friends because I’m in school,” Perez said. “I’m very thankful for the people [here].”