Hello, my name is Enric Ferrer Rodriguez and I am 12 1/2 years old. I have “lived” for two months in a large house in the country, 3km from a small town in France – called Pouance. The most curious thing has been that everything was so different there; I lived on a farm with goats, cows, chickens, dogs and cats. The house was twice the size of my small flat in Spain, with a pool and garden; 7 of us lived in the house, including myself ( and during 2 weeks there were eight of us because a young guy from California lived with us as well), while I live in a house with 4 people, including Elie, the French boy who is now spending two months in my home in Barcelona.
Luckily, I still remember my first week in France, to be honest, it was a little hard because I did not speak French and I did not know anyone. But one of the valuable lessons of the exchange is communication, the language, and making friends. The truth is that the family made it easier for me, because they made me repeat all the words and they taught me all the vocabulary needed to help me day to day in France. This is how I slowly began integrating myself into the family: with effort and the desire to learn. During difficult moments, a family member would give me a word of encouragement.
In addition to learning a large part of a new language, I have formed a relationship with Ellie (the boy who I have exchanged with) which I think and hope will last for many years, if everything goes well, which I am sure it will, we may be able to do another exchange next year.
In short, I will not forget those two months, because I have loved it.