Back in the spring we decided to apply for an exchange student. It was rather a spontaneous thought that just felt right so I presented it to Chad. He had his reservations initially, I did too, but was more excited about the thought than reserved. We addressed it with the kids thinking if they had any hesitation whatsoever, we wouldn't even consider it. They surprised me by ALL being very excited at the prospect of opening our family, home, and hearts to someone new. Even Lilia who would have to give up her room was on board without hesitation. We had several discussions as we considered it. The funny thing was after getting the kids on board, I suddenly started having all sorts of reservations while Chad got more excited. We received some applications from some girls in Spain and looked them over. There was one in particular that stood out to us and it just felt right! But I still was scared about what else the experience could be. So we called the director and spoke to her for 45 min about her experiences with foreign exchange students, what kind of problems frequently arise, and what measures were in place to help prevent issues as well as how to deal with them. By the end of the phone call I was excited again and we immediately upon hanging up the phone, proceeded to print and fill out the application and submit it.
I said one application from Spain stood out to us. It was that of Ane Martinez Chacon. She sounded like an exuberant and responsible teen. She was Jaedyn's age and loved to be active. She was also a competitive skier which excited us since we just bought our first ski passes this spring and took the kids!
We received word that Ane accepted her placement with us and we were so excited. I still remember getting her first email after receiving word. She said, "I´m Ane, the student that you will host in August. I could say just thank you for hosting me, but there are no words to describe how exited I am to meet you. Your home, the state, my high school, the town, everything looks amazing! "
I got all choked up with emotion... which is so weird for me. We reached out throughout the summer via Facetime and got to talk with her mom and brother a bit. She talked about how much she loved the cold and was excited to come to Idaho. Chad and I chuckled at this thinking the poor girl had no idea what she was in for! But we hoped the experience would offset the nasty cold! Through these communications, she seemed so sweet and we eagerly anticipated her arrival. And then it finally arrived!
The last night Lilia spent being Jaedyn's roommate they decided to party it up. Unbeknownst to their parents sleeping in the other room! LOL They made a big bed on the floor and stayed up until 6 am making bracelets, talking, laughing, watching movies, and eating popcorn. They were nervous I would be really mad but I was so touched that they had made it special. (Insert 1 week after Ane arrived, Lilia was really missing sharing a room with Jaedyn. I came in one morning to wake them up and found that Jaedyn had crawled into bed with Lilia and spent the night. I'm so touched by these tender showings of love from these sisters 💜)
We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. We had gifts, flowers, and welcome signs in tow. Please note our gift of a large fuzzy blue blanket... I'm still nervous how the cold will affect her!
We tried to wait patiently but it was just so exciting! Every single passenger passed us. We watched each one and as each one passed the kids faces would fall. FINALLY bringing up the rear was Ane with a big smile on her face! Such a great moment! She was even sweet enough to give each of us hugs as she greeted us.
Welcome to America Ane! To our home and to our family! We hope your experience here will be full of fun memories, learning, positive emotions, and a lot of great experiences. We can't wait to learn all about you and about Spain!
