For my second blog post, I had an opportunity to speak with another friend of mine, who is also from the country of Spain. His name is Juan Pelaez, and he lives in Madrid, Spain. We became the best of friends when he came to my high school in Rustburg, Virginia as a foreign exchange student in 2015, where he was apart of both the boy’s basketball and tennis programs. I was a student assistant with the boy’s basketball team, so Juan and I had the opportunity to spend a lot of time together as teammates. It was great to finally get the chance to speak with him again, as it had been about four years since we last chatted. We had a conversation for about 20 minutes that put a smile on my face!

Over the course of our chat, I learned that the life of people who live in Spain is one that is much faster than the ones we live here in America and the English language is much more important than what we think it is. The language is truly “universal”.  Since many of you do not know who Juan is, all I can say is that he is one of the most “chill” and genuine people that I know. He is a person that is easy to crack a joke with and really talk about anything. He’s just an overall swell person.

Juan said that a big reason he wanted to come to America is to learn the English language because he felt that he would not be able to get a job anywhere if he didn’t have knowledge of the language. He is currently a junior at La Universidad Politecnica De Madrid and is studying Industrial Engineering. While not knowing what he wants to do at the moment, he said that knowing the English language will only assist in his search for a job one day. Juan also said that getting his masters degree will be a possibility after he completes his undergraduate studies, as that will take two more years of schooling.

Upon first arrival, Juan said that it was very difficult to adjust to American culture. He said that dinner normally takes place in Spain at around 9 p.m. when dinner happens around 5 p.m. here in America. He talked about how he felt alone upon his first arrival with not having a vast knowledge of the English language hampering him. Juan said that he had a hard time expressing himself at first because he simply didn’t know how to speak our native language.

Over time, as Juan got adjusted to school and made new friends both on the athletic field and in the classroom, his knowledge of English and morale grew greatly. Juan and I would always grab a bite to eat from the local Subway or a delicious sandwich restaurant in Rustburg called “The Lunch Box” before practice. We became great friends, and we talked basically every day. His friendship also helped me get through a tough junior year of high school.

As a result, Juan said his experience here in America was highly positive because of the relationships he built also coupled with the fact that his level of English also grew. As he looks back, now being gone for four years from the United States, Juan said he was very thankful for his time in America, and he really misses his host family of whom he built a life-long relationship within his time at Rustburg.

In conclusion, I am thankful for knowing Juan because he’s taught me how to always look for the positives in life, he showed me that teenagers from other countries are pretty much the same as they are here in America: driven and looking to enjoy themselves from time to time. Doing this interview really showed me how lucky I am to have the “universal” language as my first language. It really makes me want to reach out and assist with those who are looking to learn!