Senior Marta Sevilla returned to CMR this year after being an exchange student from Spain last year. Sevilla really enjoyed all of the things she got to experience last year which made her decision to come back easy.

“I came back because of the activities that we did here, so mostly swimming. I really liked swimming, and I wanted to experience that again and I really had a great time with my host family and my friends here,” she said.

This year was a lot harder for her though, she said. She took harder classes this year and she also felt like it wasn’t as exciting this year since all the new things weren’t new to her anymore.

“It was harder with my family because I missed them a lot more this year than last year,” she said.

She does not regret coming back, however.

“It was hard and it’s been painful, but it would have been in my home country as well and I have a host family that supports me just like my family would,” she said.

This year Sevilla is graduating from CMR and she will go back to her home country when the school year is over. She decided to continue her studies in Spain since college there is free.

“You can’t really compete with that,” she said. When she gets back to Spain she’s going to start working and getting ready for her exams that she needs for the university she will attend next year.

Being here for two years made it even harder for her to leave.

“It’s the same feeling as the first year, maybe a little bit more because I know I’m not coming back so I definitely have the same 50-50 feeling,” she explained about wanting to go back home but still stay here.

Her biggest highlight of being here is the school experience because this is where she has spent the most of her time. She has loved how the teachers treat their students and the way people help each other here.

She’s not leaving America for good though and is already planning on coming back in the future.

“I plan on coming for vacation sometime soon and hopefully experience the 4th of July,” she said.