Owatonna High School’s second foreign exchange student from Spain is Laia Garcia. She is 16 years old and from Barcelona. She has a younger brother back home and three host sisters here in Owatonna while she stays with the Aarsvold family.
Some cool things about Barcelona are that they have a daily nap time, and most stores close from 3–5 p.m. They also value food highly and make time to sit and eat together as a family. This might be why Garcia misses certain foods from home like Tortilla de patatas, Huevos Revueltos, and Fuet.
Garcia likes to hangout with friends, go shopping, play sports, and journal. Throughout the school she participates in DECA, key club, and thriving minds. She also has been on the Cheerleading team and Swim/Dive team.
Garcia shared some of her biggest struggles so far, saying, “The change in routine, like here, there’s always things happening.” With being so involved and living with a host family of five, Laia is always busy. It is hard not to stay busy, especially because she was surprised by how welcoming and kind people are here.
Garcia also talked about some of her favorite experiences in the United States. “I got to go on a cruise, and my host family has a house on a lake with a boat,” she said, listing them as highlights of her year so far. She has also discovered some favorite American foods: Raising Cane’s, Pop-Tarts, and Crumbl Cookies. She is excited to visit California with her host family later this year after a fun, successful trip to Florida this past fall. She was especially excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas, known for all the good food.
Garcia appreciates the people she’s met so far—specifically Lainey Steckleberg, Ainsley Halverson, and Jimena Marcos Martin. She is grateful for the chance to grow and learn new things this year, saying, “Since you lose all the things you know, you have to start over and learn things on your own.” She also misses her family and friends from home, explaining that “home isn’t a place, but the people you’re surrounded with.”
When asked why she became a foreign exchange student, Garcia said, “I’ve always wanted to be a big dreamer… I want to travel the world and go outside my country.” She notes that school schedules are very different between Spain and the United States. Garcia says she will definitely want to return to the U.S. after her exchange year, but she also can notwait to go home and enjoy good food and celebrate with her friends.
For these ten months Laia Garcia is proud to call Owatonna her home, so make sure to help her feel welcome!
