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BY EUGENIO MARTINEZ TIRICO & LAILA PEMAN MUNOZ
In August, 13 international students came to Dexter High School for improving their English and experiencing one year at an American school. Two students, Laila Peman Munoz and Eugenio Martinez Tircio, came to Dexter from Spain. Here are the stories of their journey.
LAILA’S STORY
My experience started in January of last year when I booked my exchange student year. I really wanted to come to the US to study. I started to sign a lot of papers and make some requirements for coming here.
After doing all this I selected the state and the high school; I always wanted to go to Michigan, but I wasn’t sure of the high school. I decided to go to Dexter because it seemed really pretty and has a good reputation. It was hard to decide, but it didn’t take me so long – only like two weeks.
I had to buy so many things to come here, but after all that process I booked the tickets and after three months I was on the airplane.
I arrived two weeks before starting high school and I remembered being really nervous about how it was going to be. It ended up being amazing. I joined a sport and I will join another one in spring.
I did cheerleading in the fall and I will be joining lacrosse in the spring. I’m really happy to try so many new things.
Even though I didn’t end the year yet, these six months have been amazing and I’m so excited to see how it’s going to end and I will miss this forever.
Dexter helped so much and I’m so grateful for everything I lived.
EUGENIO’S STORY
After booking my exchange student year, I started to count the days. I did that for like six months. Today, I still don’t realize that I’m here. I decided to come when I realized that we need to know how to speak good English for the future and this was my only chance to improve my level of English.
In my country, we see the US and the High School as a movie, as a dream, as an experience.
I managed to come with an agency that processed my visa and my flights. I was supposed to travel to Phoenix before here but my mum didn’t let me because 45% of the citizens there speak Spanish; she thought it will be bad going to study in another country and speak the same language.
I finished in Dexter; no one speaks Spanish, so it’s not a problem. When I arrived here it was August, but it was colder than Spain. A bit of humidity but nothing else. I arrived here two weeks before school started and I think those days were very helpful to try to adapt myself to the new country. I’ve been meeting people from here, orientations, a Dexter football game, I’ve been into a Michigan game, some bonfires, and restaurants…
After 6 months here I feel incorporated. I did soccer in the fall and now I’m learning and enjoying lacrosse.
For me, the first days in high school were not as hard. It was just trying to talk with all the people and making friends. I like that and I think that I’m a sociable person. Now, I’m excited about the last months: spring, prom, and graduation. I will miss Dexter, so I prefer to not count my days left here because this is going to be only one time in my life.
