Sara Jimenez D.

2008-09 Inbound from Spain

Hometown: Marbella, Spain

Sponsor: Benahavis-Costa del Sol Rotary Club, District 2200, Spain

Host: St. Augustine Rotary Club, District 6970, Florida, USA

School: Pedro Menendez High School, St. Augustine, FL

Bio

Sara's Bio

Hi!!! My name is Sara. I am from Spain. I live in a small city near Malaga, the name is Marbella in the south of Spain. I have one brother, he is 18 years old. I live with my brother and my mother, but I love my father. I live in the city and we don't need to ride the car, we have public transportation too.

My hobbies are skate by rollerblades, tennis, and paint. In my free time I love go out with my friends and go shopping or to the beach, we go out always in Spain, and that is the hard part for me here. I decided to be here because I think that will be an amazing experience for me, for my future. The beginning of that is because last year my brother was in an exchange program at Seattle, and he says that is a beautiful experience, so I decided to be here in a different place, with different people,a nd different culture.

I think that all the persons who is in that program are good people and the exchange students are strong too for doing that. I am glad to be here, and I hope that this year will be the best year of my life. I am happy now, sometimes I miss my friends and my family but I should enjoy this year.

My first days here were so hard for me, and the first days of school too. Now I am more comfortable with it all. I love my host family, now I feel like at home, and I am beginning to meet new people, I love my new friends. I think that I am lucky here because I have help so I don't have homesick now, my host family Louise and John are real good persons, and Edgar he is helping me to be more happy going out with friends - he is like my brother here. Now my English is getting better, and the high school is now better for me. All I want to say is Thank You.

October 25 Journal

Hello!! This is my first journal...since I am here I am getting better in my language and I don't have homesickness, when nobody have homesickness. I am enjoying my experience, and I really like this. I learned a lot of new things.

The culture is different but sometimes is better. The first days here were the hardest, but now I can say that I am really here because now most of my time, I think in my things here. At the beginning my mind was in Spain. I don't play any sport at school but I will like to play soon something different. Last Sunday was amazing with all the exchange students, we had a weekend together and we went out together.

I really like the weather here and sometimes is funny because when is raining is still hot, now is getting colder. Something different here too is the food, here is more restaurants of fast food, you can see all when you go out your house, but I eat healthy when I am with my host parents:) I really like the stores here all is cheaper, and the food too.

School is all different, more people, bigger, but all the people is nice and I really like to go to my school:). I have 5 classes and 6 periods, my first class is Spanish..:), my 2 and 3 period is biology and is always about cells, after that I have the “A lunch,” some people at the school have “B lunch” (which is different, in Spain is only one), after the lunch English, and then algebra (I love my teacher - is so funny) normally he sings in class and he is always kidding, his name is Mister Keating ahaha. After the school I normally do my homework...and then I sleep:).

I have to say thank you very much to my host family, I really fell like at home when I am with them, thanks to my host mother Louise, she is always trying to make me feel better, and to my host father Jon who is always making us be happy. Today is my homecoming:) and I will go with my friend Laurita from Belgium - she is now like my best friend. She is a really good person and I am happy to be with her here. In two weeks I’m going with my host mother to NY:D, thanks Louise:), and on December is Disney:). And nothing much more to say - I am happy to be here and I am sure that this year will be the best year of my life. THANK YOU!