Spanish exchange students Dana Timar, Ferran Prats, Maria Masip, Sara Camí, Adrià Barrufet, Mariona Guillamet, Anna Berent, Biel Cardona, Júlia Arbós, and Xènia Llobera (left to right) attend a party held by the Hernández family.
We’ve heard English and French spoken before in the Flint Hill hallways — now we can add Castilian and Catalan to the list, two of Spain’s four official languages. On Thursday, September 10, Flint Hill welcomed 15 students from the Institut Josep Vallverdú, a high school in Lleida, one of the oldest cities in the Autonomous Community of Catalonia, Spain.
Several Huskies were eager to receive the Spaniards into the Flint Hill community, jumping at the opportunity to meet new people and immerse themselves in the Spanish culture and language, which many had studied in school for some years. Coming from a hispanophone family, senior Jake Elmendorf wanted to make his guest exchange student feel right at home.
“We became hosts originally for me to hear what it would be like in Spain as well as to practice my Spanish", said Elmendorf. "If there is any problem, my whole family is fluent in both [English & Castilian] to help [my student] learn English as well."
Little did the FHS hosts know that they had gotten a two-for-one deal. Coming from one of Spain’s many bilingual communities, these Spanish students are fluent in both Castilian (commonly referred to as Spanish) and Catalan. For many in the United States, learning a second language proves difficult, but for these natives of Catalonia, it’s second nature.
Exchange student Maria Masip and her host, junior
Olivia Hernández pose for a photo on the Flint Hill lawn.
“My family is Castilian, but also speaks Catalan,” said Maria Masip in Castilian, an exchange student hosted by junior Olivia Hernández. “So I speak in Catalan with my friends and in both Castilian and Catalan at home.”
Unintimidated by the language barrier, junior Kayla Hewitt feels the cultural differences were what really united them.
“The Spanish exchange students made it clear just how similar we all are,” Hewitt said. “Despite the fact they live in a culture and place extremely different from mine, we were still able to chat in the same way I would with another Flint Hill student.”
Elmendorf and his guest, Ferran Prats Domènech, quickly became friends, sharing common interests in music, pastimes, and even fashion.
They recently posted an original song on YouTube, which Prats described in Catalan as one of those experiences that “make you grow, [and] discover who you are.”
Elmendorf agreed, saying that the experience transformed him.
“I can confidently say that they changed me; not only Ferran, but all of them. I became so close with [the exchange students] over the course of the two weeks, and I wouldn’t change that for the world. [In addition], I know I made some new lifetime friends.”
Another host was senior Michelle Cole, who welcomed Núria Güell Araque into her home.
“There was someone looking for a place to stay,” Cole said, “and we wanted to provide that place while getting to know the life of someone living a similar, yet totally different life in a different language and culture than Northern Virginia.”
She, like many other students, recognized the potential learning experience this exchange could bring her and was more than happy to offer a place in her home.
“It was such a great experience to meet with someone from another part of the world,” Cole said. “It reminded me that I am just a small piece of a greater picture, [and] that there is beauty in every little piece of the puzzle and every pixel of the composition.”
Many of the hosts took it upon themselves to show the Spaniards the monuments and museums that Washington, D.C. has to offer, but Cole showed Güell some of the local attractions and restaurants as well.
“Núria really enjoyed her time [here], as we took her to lots of different local malls like the Leesburg Outlets and Tyson’s Corner [Center], our favorite grocery store, Wegmans, and some restaurants like Kobe and Panera Bread,” Cole said.
During spring break, Flint Hill may have the chance to send some of its own students to Spain in exchange.
“I know it will be such a wonderful experience for all who do choose to go on this trip, and I would highly recommend it,” Cole said. “It [will be] an amazing experience to see how different things like the education system, the restaurants, and even some of the shopping stores [are compared to] those in [the United States].”
The students of Josep Vallverdú walked out the doors of the Upper School last Friday wearing Flint Hill T-shirts to further display their membership to the Flint Hill family. They left, but their impression on our community stays. They will go back home with many stories to tell to their families and friends.
The Spaniards weren’t the only ones who benefitted from the exchange program; the various hosts also felt enriched by this unique experience. Junior Olivia Hernández appreciates the scholastic benefits, as well as the new friendships.
“I feel a lot more comfortable with the Spanish language because of this,” said Hernández. “I found that when you are put in a situation where language is a barrier, you are forced to take ownership of the language, and this new perspective has helped me so much.”
According to Hernández, it’s the “simple, silly little [memories]” that stay with us in the end.
On behalf of the Spanish students, Masip offered her gratitude:
“Gracias de todo corazón por habernos dado esta oportunidad y habernos acogido tan bien.”
(We wholeheartedly thank you for giving us this opportunity and for having taken us in and cared for us so well.)-
See more at:
Link to the song of this school exchange "Get along": By Jake Elmendorf and Ferran Prats
☺️ Get Along -Jake Elmendorf y Ferran Prats
Lyrics -
Verse 1
Time is waistin', we just sitting here, we're playin'. Our time is right now, to be there, to show you, to ask you, to know you, better than I had before.
We haven't, known each other for too long, it just happens, it just happens your the one, I want to, impress for, you're someone, I'd give for, so what do you think about?
Verse 1
Time is waistin', we just sitting here, we're playin'. Our time is right now, to be there, to show you, to ask you, to know you, better than I had before.
We haven't, known each other for too long, it just happens, it just happens your the one, I want to, impress for, you're someone, I'd give for, so what do you think about?
Pre-Chorus
Talking more with me, it's killing me knowing that we are so close and that you, can't see what you mean to me, just tell me what I need to be, then I'll see,
Talking more with me, it's killing me knowing that we are so close and that you, can't see what you mean to me, just tell me what I need to be, then I'll see,
Chorus
But give me one, Kiss kiss, what do you think about, it's just u, just you and me right now. We haven't talked in so long, I think it's time we get along
Tomorrow’s coming coming faster then we ever knew, I think it’s time, I think it’s time, we get this through.
But give me one, Kiss kiss, what do you think about, it's just u, just you and me right now. We haven't talked in so long, I think it's time we get along
Tomorrow’s coming coming faster then we ever knew, I think it’s time, I think it’s time, we get this through.
Verse 2:
Todavía estoy pensando que ves tú en mi. Que mis ojos, mi mirada, fijándose en ti. nuevos sentimientos, que me haces sentir cuando diga, quiero algo, es el tiempo, bésame.
Cuando regresemos no te olvides de mi. Llévate el recuerdo, de todo lo vivido aquí. Y ahora estoy aquí, esperando un si, tu respuesta, significa mucho para mi, what do you think about?
Todavía estoy pensando que ves tú en mi. Que mis ojos, mi mirada, fijándose en ti. nuevos sentimientos, que me haces sentir cuando diga, quiero algo, es el tiempo, bésame.
Cuando regresemos no te olvides de mi. Llévate el recuerdo, de todo lo vivido aquí. Y ahora estoy aquí, esperando un si, tu respuesta, significa mucho para mi, what do you think about?
Pre-Chorus:
Talking more with me, it's killing me knowing that we are so close and that you, can't see what you mean to me, just tell me what I need to be then, I’ll, see,
Talking more with me, it's killing me knowing that we are so close and that you, can't see what you mean to me, just tell me what I need to be then, I’ll, see,
Chorus:
But give me one, Kiss kiss, what do you think about, it's just u, just you and me right now. We haven't talked in so long, I think it's time we get along
Tomorrow’s coming coming faster then we ever knew, I think it’s time, I think it’s time, we get this through.
But give me one, Kiss kiss, what do you think about, it's just u, just you and me right now. We haven't talked in so long, I think it's time we get along
Tomorrow’s coming coming faster then we ever knew, I think it’s time, I think it’s time, we get this through.
Bridge:
Its just I tried so hard to get you, don’t want to make you feel so pressured, so take your time, im right here.
Its just I tried so hard to get you, don’t want to make you feel so pressured, so take your time, im right here.
Chorus:
But give me one, Kiss kiss, what do you think about, it's just u, just you and me right now. We haven't talked in so long, I think it's time we get along
Tomorrow’s coming coming faster then we ever knew, I think it’s time, I think it’s time, we get this through.
But give me one, Kiss kiss, what do you think about, it's just u, just you and me right now. We haven't talked in so long, I think it's time we get along
Tomorrow’s coming coming faster then we ever knew, I think it’s time, I think it’s time, we get this through.
"Get Along - Jake Elmendorf (ft. Ferran Prats)
Original" a YouTube -
Original" a YouTube -
