This year at Timberline we have 9 exchange students from around the world. I got the honor of talking with one of them, Lucia Rodrigouz Elasgaray. Let’s learn a bit more about her home and what she has experienced here at Timberline this year.
Elasgaray is a junior here at Timberline, along with all the other exchange students, because Timberline places all of their exchange students in junior level.
I started to talk with Elasgaray, she’s 16 and from Algorta, a town in the Basque Country of Spain. Elasgaray said to me that she misses her hometown and the ocean so much. “Each day I think about how I used to be surfing at the beach, I miss that,” said Elasgaray. She continued explaining how she used to do a lot of ocean activities with her friends, and that she was at the beach multiple times a month.
I learned a lot from Elasgaray about how it is to live with a host family. She really enjoys it, but unfortunately she had to change midway through, due to health problems. Elasgaray was sad about that, but she still visits her old host family, and she really enjoys her new one. One thing Elasgaray enjoys is that she now lives closer to Timberline. Elasgaray explained to me how much she loves Timberline. “Before I got here, I had never experienced a high school assembly before, which I found to be so much fun,” said Elasgaray. She continued explaining how she not only loves our school spirit, but also loves her friends at this school.
To round up the interview, I asked her what the hardest part of being an exchange student was because I wanted to hear about that from her perspective. She explained that it was difficult leaving her family and the things that made her feel safe. “It’s hard to leave, but I would never not had done this, it’s gonna be my life experience”
It is truly such a privilege to have exchange students at Timberline, as they enrich the culture and social life. Thank you Lucia Rodrigouz Elasgaray for the time, we appreciate having you here, and we hope you’ll have an amazing year here at Timberline.
