Ramiro de Maeztu Secondary School students arrived at Latin for the annual Madrid exchange on December 3. Roughly 20 Latin families are hosting exchange students through December 17, and host students will reunite with their exchange students this June in Madrid, alongside two teacher leaders, Upper School language teacher Xavier Espejo-Vadillo and Upper School history teacher Milena Sjekloca.

This is junior Elle Hodes’s second time hosting a foreign student. At the beginning of the school year, Elle hosted a German student for four days, but this will be her first time traveling for an exchange. “I wanted to participate in the exchange program to improve my Spanish through experiences outside of the classroom,” Elle said.

The agenda for the trip includes a Bulls game, a trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo Lights, ice skating downtown, and other explorations of the city. Elle’s exchange student, Sofia Penaherra, said, “The best part of my exchange experience has been meeting new people and exploring Chicago.”