Throughout the year, there are always a few new faces in classes. At a school like West High, that’s not unusual. Students transfer in from neighboring schools and move from other states. Still, meeting someone new always adds a touch of excitement to an otherwise familiar routine, especially when that new face has come from 4,600 miles away.
Alejandro Domenech Aparicio ’28 is one of West High’s exchange students. He is from La Selva del Camp, a municipality in the autonomous region of Catalonia in Spain.
With the dream of studying abroad in the United States, Domenech Aparicio began his journey by working with an agency called EF, through which he and his family learned about the feasibility of his plan and the process for traveling.
“We started talking with them last year to see how it works and if I could study here in the U.S. In July, they told me that I was gonna go to Iowa. I can’t choose where I go for the program; it’s random. They look for a family, school and all,” he said. “I arrived in the U.S. on Aug. 13. First, I had a summer camp in New York. I was there for three days with students from all around the world.”
For him, the first challenge of adjusting to school in a new country involved finding his place socially. In Spain, Domenech Aparicio was used to staying with the same classmates all day while teachers rotated classrooms. At West High, every period brought a new group of students.
“In the beginning, it was hard to make friends because there were a lot of new people,” he said. “But now, I know a lot of people.” Although the structure felt unfamiliar at first, he has grown more comfortable as the year has gone on.
Farhan Abdul ’28 is one of Domenech Aparicio’s close friends. “I met Alejandro at the lunch table, and we instantly bonded over ‘Clash Royale,’” he said. “It might seem like he’s some random guy from Spain, but he’s funny, nice and just very enjoyable to be with.”
Domenech Aparicio lives with his host family, the Rutkowskis. “I didn’t know them before, but it’s like a second family now,” Domenech Aparicio said. “We made croquetas with my host family. I had never made them before, so my first attempt at making the Spanish dish was in the U.S. with an American family. They turned out great.”
His host brother, Benjamin Rutkowski ’28, is also a sophomore. “It’s a really interesting experience having someone from a completely different culture living in my house. He usually wants to eat dinner three hours later, and that’s just one of the many differences. It’s fascinating to see just how different Spanish culture is from ours. It’s fun to adopt some of that culture into our home too,” Rutkowski said.
With the great support system from his host family and friends, Domenech Aparicio navigates new academic experiences at West High. “In Spain, we have 13 subjects, twice as many as here,” he said. The larger number of classes meant different daily schedules. Because he is from Catalonia, he had to study both Spanish and Catalan, which is the main language of the autonomous region. Having the same schedule every day at West High felt strange at first, but it is now something he has well adjusted to.
His favorite class at West High is music production, a course he said wouldn’t exist in his home country. “I have always wanted to learn how to produce music. I know that here, there are some ‘special’ subjects, like culinary arts, ceramics, et cetera. We don’t have that in Spain, so I started music production. I only wanted to take it for one trimester, but then I really liked it, so I’m doing it [again this trimester].”
David Haas, the Digital Music Production teacher, admires Domenech Aparicio’s work ethic in class. “Alejandro is a great student. He asks really insightful questions, and always comes in and puts in extra time on all of his projects,” he said.
Beyond the classroom, Domenech Aparicio can often be seen wearing a West High basketball jersey on the court after school. Basketball is a big part of his life. He started playing on a team in Spain in his early childhood. Now at West High, he plays on the sophomore team.
Switching to playing on a high school team in the United States, he noticed a change in the atmosphere. “Sports in Spain are different from here. Sports here are related to the schools, but in Spain, they are all private clubs. You don’t play at school. We don’t have freshman, sophomore or varsity [teams], only teams for ages and levels.”
While basketball has helped him meet new people, the larger sports culture in the United States surprised him. “Here, sports are very important for people, especially at the college level,” he said.
Domenech Aparicio recalled being shocked when he learned that the University of Iowa’s football stadium is larger than many professional soccer stadiums in Spain. Attending his first West High football game was another memorable experience.
“Almost all the students were there supporting the team,” he said. It was something he had never seen before. Traditions like the marching band and playing the national anthem before games were completely new to him.
Besides basketball, Domenech Aparicio doesn’t think he will participate in any other sports. “I also wanted to try American football, because in Spain, it’s not common. But it was too late when I arrived here. And I don’t have the body for football, but I would really like to try sometime,” he said. “I like watching soccer, but I’m terrible. Most people say, ‘No, that’s because you are comparing with people in Spain, since they are very good at soccer.’ I’m like, ‘No, no. I just like to watch the game.'”
Balancing school and sports has made his daily routine demanding. Basketball practices start early, often requiring him to wake up at five a.m. “I’m always tired,” he says, explaining that he sometimes only gets five hours of sleep. He uses study hall to keep up with assignments before heading home. Because of the time difference, late nights are often his only chance to talk to his family, girlfriend and friends back in Spain.
While enjoying his life at West High, being away from home has not always been easy. Domenech Aparicio was surprised by how emotional it felt to leave Spain. The night before he left home, his friends filled his room to say goodbye.
“I thought I was gonna be happy to come here, but I was really sad,” he admitted. Still, he describes his host family as a “second family,” and experiences like Thanksgiving trips and traveling with them have helped make Iowa feel like home.
“For Thanksgiving, we went to St. Louis. It was my first Thanksgiving. I always see it in the movies with the turkey and all of that. I felt like I was in the movie. In St. Louis, we went to the Gateway Arch. I don’t really like heights, so I don’t even know how I went up there, but it was fun.”
As his exchange year continues, Domenech Aparicio believes the experience has changed how he sees school and community. “I’m going to miss this school a lot. It’s really different from Spain, because we don’t have basketball courts or a football field at the school. It’s really good to have the weight room if you want to lift, or all the equipment here. I really like the teachers. I really like the school. I’m gonna miss it when I go back to Spain,” he said, pointing to the teachers, facilities and opportunities that don’t exist in Spain.
He knows that returning home will bring new adjustments, but his time at West High is more than an exchange. From navigating a new school environment and bonding with his host family to making new friends and enjoying sports on the court and in the audience, he will always carry these memories with him and remember West High as a home far away from home.
