Jaime DeMarcos, junior, came to America wanting to have new experiences and learn things he couldn’t learn.

“I wasn’t expecting anything, I just wanted to come and see how other countries work,” DeMarcos said.  “My parents have been telling me all my life to come here.  I and I always said okay next year but not this year and then I said okay lets go my last year.”

Being involved in sports and learning about the culture and the people behind it has been one of DeMarcos favorite things.

“I did Cross Country, I learned lots of things about culture and the way people think and the fact that everyone uses the car.  [I am not going to miss] going in a car everywhere,” DeMarcos said.

He says that the people in spain are nice, but not in the same way they are in America.

“People are way more open,” DeMarcos said.  “You come here and they can see who you are and they are nicer.  They are nice in [Spain], but not that open.”

DeMarcos enjoys the school system here because he is able to choose courses according to his interest rather than what they schoo make you.

“I think it’s way better than [my school] because here you get to choose what you want to study and focus on what you want to focus on.” DeMarcos said.

Of his classes, history is one of his favorites.  DeMarcos loves the teacher and going into American history more than he would have ever done back home.

“I love history.  I hate it back home but I love it here,” DeMarcos said.  “I think you learn way more.  We study American history but we don’t go that in depth.”

DeMarcos really loves his host family and all that he has done with them.

“It’s awesome, they take you because they want you,” DeMarcos said  “I love it and have had a really really good experience with [my host family].”

Most don’t like the school food but DeMarcos loves it along with his host mom’s homemade food.

“I love it.  Everyone says the school food is really bad, but I love it.  I eat out a lot, but when my mom cooks she cooks really really good food.” DeMarcos said.

Being able to walk home and around is something DeMarcos really enjoys because he is often reminded of his home.

“I go walking in Topeka and I just like it, I think it’s beautiful. It kind of reminds me of home,” DeMarcos said.

DeMarcos loves his teachers and all they have done with him.

I love [my teachers], all of them, they are so good.  At least the ones I had are really good and they treat me really good.

Making friends from the start and having them last his whole stay has been a big part of DeMarcos’s experience.

“The friends I have made here.  I have really good friends,” DeMarcos said. “I love my classes.  Since the first day in my first class people start talking to me and those are the people I am really good friends with today.  I really like that I get to meet all those people.”

To all who have been a friend to DeMarcos he says thank you.
“Thanks for everything I am going to really miss all of you and I hope that one day I will see all of you again,” DeMarcos said.