Wake up, put on a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt, go to school, go home, have your parents ask if you have done all of your homework, eat dinner at six, repeat. While Parker student’s schedules can vary, many students can see at least part of that simplified cycle in their day-to-day lives. This coming March, 23 Parker students’ routines will experience radical transformations as they travel to Sevilla, Spain. Belén Maroto, the exchange program coordinator for the school in Sevilla, Spain is expecting Parker students to be surprised with some aspects of their new routines. Dinner at nine, a greater feeling of independence, an abundant social life, and elegant clothing worn at school are just a few of the potential culture shocks that Maroto anticipates.
Three years into Upper School Spanish teacher Antonio Amo’s time at Parker, he has finally succeeded in bringing a Spanish exchange program to the school. Amo said that “this is my third year at Parker. When I interviewed for the position, I had a conversation with Dr. Frank about this trip.” In the past three years, the program has made its way through the bureaucracy of the school and is near fruition. Amo said that “[his] goal was to provide a truly unique opportunity for the students at Parker,” and that if not for that belief, Amo wouldn’t feel motivated to put in the extra work required to organize this program through hours of coordination with Maroto. Amo said, “It’s much more complicated to organize an exchange program…but many of the students here are fortunate enough to be able to travel to other destinations, they have done it already, and will probably do it again in the future.”
A former teacher at the Lycée Français de Chicago, Amo formed the connection with Colegio Irlandesas de Bami, the prestigious Catholic school in Sevilla, Spain that Parker will be exchanging with after his switch to Parker. In his transition from his past school to Parker, he was referred to Colegio Irlandesas de Bami to start a new exchange with them.
After the meeting where the Sevilla exchange was announced, many students considered whether they would apply. Junior Felix Farkas said that it “was not something I expected… it took me a little bit to be like, ok, is this something I’m comfortable with? Yes.” Relative to the Paris trip of 2022 where students stayed in a hotel, didn’t interact with French high school students, and went on daily excursions planned by a travel agency, Amo agrees that this exchange pushes students further out of their comfort zones but also fosters greater individual growth. Although the living situations are very different and there will be less time for excursions due to time in school, there are still many planned activities and excursions to famous sites. In the end, 23 students — mostly seniors, a few juniors, and two sophomores — from Spanish III, Advanced Topics in Spanish, and Advanced Spanish: Latin American Lit and History decided to apply and were accepted for the trip.
Amo also believes that an exchange draws a different crowd than a solely touristic trip similar to the Paris trip would. He said that “the people that this exchange draws are people who are particularly interested in getting to know a new culture..”
During the ten-day trip, students will stay with their host families, go to school with their host sibling, have cultural activities organized by an agency called Centro Mundolengua, and go on day trips to cities Cordoba and Granada. They will eat breakfast and dinner with their host families, and spend a full day with them over the weekend along with going out with their host siblings after school.
Amo says that the city of Sevilla “has a lot a lot a lot of history. It was the capital of Spain in a period when Spain was the most powerful kingdom in the world, so when you go through the streets you can feel that it has a lot of history and that it was a very important place.” This abundant history will be explored through excursions to La Mezquita, la Plaza de Toros, la Plaza de España, and la Catedral de Sevilla.
While Parker students will be able to spend time with each other on excursions, Amo also tries to promote the building of life-long friendships with the Spanish students. In an effort to support the growth of these friendships, Amo and Maroto have their students fill out a student pairing questionnaire. They ask students to describe their personalities, list some of their favorite activities, and say whether they are a morning person or night owl.
Once Amo and Maroto receive the filled-out questionnaires, they try their very best to place students in pairings where they will feel comfortable and where they will be with a student with some shared interests. Farkas is excited about his placement as he is staying with another transgender person. He added that “I have American trans friends, but it will be very cool to see what it is like to be trans in Spain.” Initially, Farkas’ family had been worried about his safety in Sevilla, but Farkas said that “Sr. Amo said that Spain is arguably more progressive and safe than America.” Junior Nash Oliphant is excited because he feels that “experiencing new things is revitalizing.”
At the end of the Parker students’ ten days in Sevilla, the goodbyes will not be forever. As it is an exchange program, Parker students will then host the Spaniards at their homes in May of 2025. While there was an option to opt out of hosting a student in Chicago if families were unable to, it was highly encouraged to take part in the reciprocal nature of the exchange. When possible, the student who hosted a Parker student in Spain will also stay with the same student while in Chicago. Farkas hopes that “when the Spanish student comes to Chicago…it’ll feel like seeing a friend.”
Both Amo and Maroto have had very successful past exchanges and are excited to once again feel a sense of fulfillment in watching their students branch out, improve their language skills, and forge new friendships. Amo says that “what people are always going to remember are the new friendships that they’re going to make with the Spaniards, the time that you are going to spend with them just going to the park at the end of the day to hang out with a couple Americans and a couple Spaniards”. Most of all, Amo is excited to show his students what he believes is “the most beautiful city in the world.”
