By Anya Veach, Op/Ed Editor and Emily Olsen, Circulation Manager
For the past nine months, students from all over the world have made Paso Robles their home, finding new and exciting ways to involve themselves in a new culture and sharing theirs with their fellow students. Now, as the end of the year approaches, we must say goodbye to our new found friends. Before they depart however, they obliged to share some of their favorite parts of their high school experience over the past year.
“I’m going to miss Paso Robles. I like that it’s small and I really like the scenery and stuff. I also really liked disneyland; it was awesome…. I’m more open minded now. I just do stuff. I’ve gained a lot of confidence.”
“I think it was a different experience because the school is so different from Spain, here there’s like a spirit of “We are Bearcats!” and we don’t have that there, so you’re more involved in the school and that’s more amazing.”
“My favorite part was the soccer team. I made the JV soccer team with my host brother and that was pretty cool. I made a lot of friends during that time. I really liked having a sport after school. I think I’m gonna miss just the whole school community.”
“I’m going to miss my new friends the most, I met a lot of new people and I really have a new life here. It’s like a second life, so I’m going to miss everyone.”
“I played water polo for the first part of the year, and it was really fun, it was amazing knowing people because it actually helped me to find friends… and then I did track even though I’m not good at running, and I really enjoyed it and I’m gonna miss it.”
“I really enjoyed it. I’ve always been a super open minded person, but what I’ve been doing here… what I’ve been through, because of the people I met and the places I’ve been have been it’s been great. It’s been hard, but super challenging. But I really liked it.”
“I actually had somethings here that we didn’t have in my country, and I’ve had so much fun here. I did play volleyball this year… now it’s over, but I miss it.”
“My favorite part of this year was Mr. Harvey’s English class and the football games. What I am gonna miss the most is In-n-Out and all all the amazing people I met here.”
“My favorite part of the year was definitely my first day in here. It really was mind-blowing and I feel like I taught as much as I learned. The thing I miss the most is definitely my new host family, they just made the whole year a lot more fun.”
“I got to experience American culture which is so different from Japanese culture… In Japan we don’t have dances - homecoming, winter formal, that kind of thing - so I’m gonna miss that.”