Noa Isabel Martinez Jasto is from Madrid, Spain and is attending Blue Earth Area High School as an exchange student. Dr. Aaron Johnson and his wife, Jenna, are hosting Noa are pictured with her.
It was a long trip from Noa Isabel Martinez Jasto’s hometown of Madrid, Spain, to Blue Earth.
Noa, who is an exchange student at Blue Earth Area High School, arrived in New York on Aug. 13. Four days later, and after going through some orientation classes for foreign exchange students, she got off a plane in Minnesota. Her host family is Dr. Aaron and Jenna Johnson of rural Blue Earth.
“My home in Madrid, which has a population of three million people, is in an apartment in the middle of the city with malls within walking distance,” Noa says. “Back home I am able to walk everywhere.”
It’s a little different living with the Johnsons.
“Here, I get to live in a big house in the country,” Noa comments. “And we drive everywhere.”
Driving is one thing the 15-year-old has not yet learned to do.
“In Spain, you have to be 18 to drive,” she remarks. “I was very surprised to learn that people can get their license here when they are 16.”
In addition to being able to walk to many places when she is in Madrid, Noa shares that Madrid also has a very good public transit system.
“We can get on a train, a bus or use the subway,” she says. “It is very easy to get around.”
Noa says the other big change for her was adapting to speaking English.
“But, I am improving,” she notes. “I learned there can be some differences in the Spanish language I am used to and what is spoken in Mexico, but I am easily able to understand anybody who speaks Spanish in school.”
Spanish and English are just two of the languages that Noa has learned. She also knows French and Italian.
“When I got here I was mixing up my languages,” she laughs. “It got easier once I started school. I am actually better at writing Chinese than I am at speaking it. I find what I love about the different languages is the accents. The French accent is beautiful, but difficult.”
Noa shares she is pleased with how easy it has been to make friends at BEA.
“I’m a bit of an extrovert. I love to talk and that helps,” she acknowledges. “If I was an introvert I am sure it would be more difficult to make friends.”
Joining the Bucs’ tennis team gave Noa a good start on making new friends.
“I went to the first tennis practice and the girls were so nice,” Noa says. “I had never played tennis before. We have a sport called Padel that is kind of a combination of tennis, racquetball and squash and is played on an enclosed court. My school also has a swimming pool so I get to swim.”
In addition to tennis, Noa has participated in cheerleading and wants to try softball this spring.
“We don’t have softball in my school,” she explains. “So it is fun to be able to try new things.”
Noa states that while she is enjoying her time in the states, she does miss her father and mother.
“I am an only child and my father works in a bank and my mother is a wedding planner,” she says. “I also have a small dog back home, much smaller than the dog the Johnsons have.”
The Johnson’s dog, Bingly, and Noa, have become good friends.
“I used to be very afraid of dogs,” she admits. “Now I love them.”
She has also gotten close to another member of the Johnson family, their youngest son, Spencer.
“They act like a brother and sister,” Jenna says. “They know how to push each other’s buttons.”
Noa is the second full-time exchange student the Johnsons have hosted. They have also hosted five students during summers as part of the program that allows students from one state to visit other states.
“It is fun to see and learn about other cultures,” Aaron reveals. “We also get a chance to experience parts of other cultures.”
Like food.
“The food here is good but Spanish food is the best,” Noa declares. “But I like the food here, just not corn. Fast food is better here than in Spain. I am a bit of a picky eater. And I love the crumble cookie the Johnsons make. We don’t have those in Spain.”
“But she never complains,” Jenna shares. “And she has become fond of grilled cheese sandwiches.”
The Johnsons are also going to show Noa some other parts of the United States.
“We are going to Florida and spend a day at Disney World,” Noa says excitedly. “I love Disney and I have been to the Disney park in France three times.”
Another planned excursion will take the Johnsons and Noa to Arizona where they will visit one of the Johnson’s sons, Jacob.
“I am hoping the weather will cooperate and we will be able to go see the Grand Canyon,” Aaron comments. “We are also planning to go up north to Lutsen.”
That is another trip Noa is excited about.
“I love to snowboard and am able to snowboard in a mall back home,” Noa says. “I love snow but not winter, not the cold. But I am excited to go snowboarding in the snow. However, spending the winter here could be a challenge.”
Noa expresses that she believes school is tougher in Spain than in the states.
“The things the kids my age are learning here I have already been studying for two years,” she remarks. “So even though I would only be considered a sophomore here, I am taking advanced algebra with a group of juniors and anatomy and physiology with some juniors and seniors.”
Between being able to participate in different sports and different classes, she shares she sometimes feels like she is in a movie.
“I just like everything,” Noa says. “I have been able to take forensic science, cooking and pottery – things that are not offered back home.”
And after almost two months of school, she already has a favorite teacher.
“Schoney (Mr. Schoenfelder) is so nice,” Noa says about last year’s BEA Teacher of the Year. “He is very kind.”
While staying in the states, Noa has also gotten together with other exchange students for planned outings.
“We went to Valleyfair for one of our get-togethers,” she comments.
She has discovered other differences between life in Spain and life in the United States.
“We eat at different times during the day,” Noa shares. “Back home our evening meal is at 10 p.m. and our afternoon meal is between 1-3 p.m.”
“It is part of what makes this an enjoyable and educational experience,” Aaron notes. “It is fun to see things we take for granted through new eyes.”
Noa will return to Spain sometime next June and will eventually return to her school to continue her education.
“I have been saying for the past eight years that I want to study medicine,” she says.
It is somewhat fitting then that she ended up staying with a doctor’s family.
“I want to study cardiology,” Noa says. “Or maybe emergency room care.”
Whatever the future holds, she says she is thankful that she got to come to Blue Earth.
“I have met some nice people,” Noa concludes. “And I have a nice host family.”