Judging by her Indiana University sweatshirt and ability to speak English, no one would guess that junior Edurne Lopez was an exchange student from Spain.

Lopez has been living in Glenview for nine months and has been attending South for approximately eight months. Lopez has experienced numerous American traditions, met many new people and encountered some awkward situations.

“I’ve always been really interested in English and American culture,” Lopez said. “And I also got bored of the lifestyle in my school [and] city, and as soon as [my mother] told me [about the exchange], I loved the idea. I thought that it would help me a lot in the future since I want to study languages.”

Lopez had been researching and meeting with agencies ever since her mother came up with the idea of becoming an exchange student. Although her mother accepted her choice in becoming an exchange student, her father did not approve, according to Lopez.

“He didn’t want me to come here because he thinks that I’m too young for this,” Lopez said.

However, Lopez decided to come to America anyways. According to Lopez, she also chose to come to America because she has been studying English since she was three years old, and the language comes easily to her.

Despite the fact that she could choose to come to America, she could not choose which state she went to.

According to Lopez, she also could not choose her host family; her host family had to choose her. The selection of exchange students by host families involves a process of the exchange student writing a profile of themselves. Submissions like Lopez’s are then reviewed to see if the exchange student would be a good fit for the family. The host families have the right to choose the exchange students because they are volunteers. According to Lopez, once she knew who her host family was she was given their contact information, so she could contact them and get to know them better.

The family that chose Lopez was the Coopers, consisting of Katie and Michael, senior twins at South, as well as their mother, Mary. According to Lopez, they have been really helpful for her educational experience, especially her host mother, Mary.

“[Mary is] always texting me and asking where I am and what my plans are and helping me all the time and driving me everywhere,” Lopez said.

According to Lopez, Mary’s attentiveness to her whereabouts and needs are reflective of how welcoming the Coopers have been toward her.

“They make me feel really welcome and like part of the family,” Lopez said.

According to Lopez, she has gotten very close with her host family. She considers her host sister, Katie, her closest friend at the moment, and her host brother, Michael, just like a real brother.

“I’m really close with Katie because she’s a girl and we speak all the time, and then Michael, he’s more like all the time trying to make me mad and joking with me,” Lopez said.

However, Lopez’s experience didn’t start out this way. In fact, her experience in America started out awkwardly, according to Katie. Originally, Katie felt slightly uncomfortable about the idea of hosting. She was worried about the language barrier and the added responsibility.

“I was a little nervous about it because I was unsure how living with someone for a whole year who I hadn’t met would go,” Katie said. “I felt like it was going to be my responsibility to show her around and introduce her to people and let her know what was going on in the school.”

Michael was initially against the idea of hosting an exchange student.

“I knew it could definitely present some odd conditions,” Michael said. “Someone in your house living there full time that you don’t even know. You don’t know [what] this person is going to be like, so there’s a chance they just might not mesh. You might find them awkward. They might find you awkward.”

Lopez defied Katie’s and Michael’s skepticism, however, according to Katie. Her English skills were surprisingly advanced, and despite the initial shyness, Lopez and her hosts opened up to each other.

“Well the beginning was a little weird,” Katie said. “We didn’t really spend a whole lot of time together, and then over time we went to [a lot of exchange student gatherings] […] and since we didn’t know anyone else we would spend time with each other, and I think that was really beneficial.”

Michael was able to pinpoint when the exact change from disconnect to closeness took place. For her to get comfortable with the family, he believes it took about a month or two. To actually be part of the family, though, it took around four. Michael witnessed this directly on a trip on which Lopez accompanied the Cooper family.

“When we went [on a] family trip [to] Dallas around Christmas time, [I] saw a change,” Michael said. “[She was] having more fun with the family, getting into all the conversations [and] interacting more.”

This was not something that happened by itself, according to Michael. Activities that the kids all partook in together were what caused the change.

“We didn’t really have a whole lot planned so we were kinda stuck entertaining ourselves,”  Michael said. “At the end of the night we get back to the hotel from whatever we were doing and watch tv for three to four hours together and we had a lot of conversations, played a lot of games and stuff […] that definitely got us talking and […] interacting more.”

According to Katie, however, Lopez’s initial goal wasn’t to make lasting friendships, but to learn.

“I think it’ll be a sad […and] weird goodbye because it will be eleven months with someone, living in the same house with someone, and then being like, ‘See you in a few years, maybe,’” Katie said. “[…] It’s weird to spend so much time with somebody and then say goodbye and not know when we’re going to see each other again.”