In late September, students from South and two public high schools in Spain, the Instituto de Educación Secundaria (IES) Tháder and IES Gabriel Miró, participated in South’s Spanish Exchange Program, spending a week experiencing what it is like to be a high schooler in America.

The Spanish Exchange Program began 22 years ago and collaborates with two high schools in Spain. Starting on Sept. 21 and through the week of homecoming, 24 students and two teachers from Orihuela, Spain, arrived here at South and stayed with their hosts, shadowing them in their South classes and going to Chicago for day trips, Bauman said. During spring break, South students will go to Spain to stay with their host families. This program is an excellent way for students to practice Spanish and learn about other spanish cultures, Mark Bauman, Program Director and Founder, said.

“It’s [both] a cultural and linguistic exchange,” Bauman said. “[The students] get to see what real life is like outside of tourism and see what real life is like in Spain and America.”

Spanish Teacher Anne Lugo-Walsh, who participated in the program as a student in 2006 said that the program has countless benefits for its participants, including inspiring kids future careers and fostering a love of learning about other cultures.

“[After] I [did] this exchange, [it made me] realize [that] I wanted to keep experiencing and meeting different people and places,” Lugo-Walsh said. “I would [not] be here [as a teacher] without the exchange program.”

One essential aspect of the program is the experience of a different cultures, Bauman said. There is a big difference between America and Spain is the different roles schools play in students’ lives.

“Life in America for students and teenagers is very organized and controlled,” Bauman said. “When we go to Spain, they see how Spanish kids have more freedom while the Spanish students get to see all the great resources that the South has.”

The exchange program is also a way to make new friends between people at South and from Spain, Bauman said. Before the exchange started, junior Grant Miller was excited to meet his exchange student, and experience spanish culture.

“I have never left the country before, so I wanted [to] see what it’s like,” Miller said. “What time they eat dinner [and] things we think are normal here could be different there.”

For most of the students participating in this program, this will be their first real life experience putting their Spanish to the test, Bauman said.

“I hope this program will inspire students from both countries to keep exploring, traveling, and taking advantage of every opportunity,” Bauman said.