By Marta Portalés Oliva
Spain
Episcopal School of Dallas '09
Time goes fast, and now every second counts. I really don’t want to wake up from this American dream.
Thanks to ASSIST and the Episcopal School of Dallas, this was the best year of my life.
It feels as if it were yesterday, that I first put my feet on Texas territory.
I was expecting cowboys, gunmen, ranches and tumble weed. But I realized that Dallas was so much more, and it had a lot to offer me.
The first days were horrible. The words didn’t want to come out, I sent hours thinking what I wanted to say and people rarely understood me. Now I’m able to write every single thought and share with you all the feelings and experiences of this year.
I was impressed by the dimensions and Medias of the Episcopal School. My hometown high school was no bigger than ESD’s parking lot.
My schedule was awesome and I enjoyed school so much: I never thought it could be so fun. Journalism, American history, Chinese, photography, film and English.
In Journalism I found the most amazing people and the sweetest teacher. She is for me like my American grandma. We worked very hard each month to put together the school newspaper. We printed one issue every four weeks: that involves a lot of writing. Columns, features, reviews, interviews…. It all helped me to improve my language skills and learn about what was going on at school.
Our efforts were rewarded by the “Dallas Morning News” staff with a Honorable Mention for the best high school newspaper among 80 schools. I always helped with the illustrations and graphics and I received an Honorable Mention for a Project.
American history wasn’t my favorite class at all, and it was very hard to follow, but it helped me to understand the American culture and way of life. The teacher and students found always my European thinking and opinions hilarious. We attacked every new theme with both points of view. One from American and one from the other side of the ocean.
Chinese class has been a great experience. When I saw that the school was offering this amazing language I didn’t hesitate to choose it. I never had the opportunity to learn it before. This helped me to try to relate more with the asian-american population. Hearing the life stories of these American immigrants, I discovered the wonderful diversity of culture the States have and it helped me to learn how to be more tolerant.
During my photography and Filmmaking classes I was like a kid in a candy store. I got excited with every assignment and I spent a lot of extra-hours in the labs. It was a very success. I was chosen to be one of the 10 best photographers of Texas by the “Association of Texas Photography Instructors”. I received also several prizes in the ATPI Fall Photo contest, a Honorable Mention in Digital Imaging in the International Photo Contest of the “Photo Imaging Education Association”, I was recognized also by the “Texas A&M University” Commerce Texas High School Shootout, one of my picture was chosen for an exhibition “Texas Visual Art Association”.
Also, one of my films was shown and ha d a successful critique from the audience in the “American Film Institute” Festival in Dallas. Because my film was selected to the Highschool Showcase, I received from the festival a pass that allowed me to attend events of the Film Festival, premieres, filmmaker talks and Q&A. It was an amazing week in the Filmmaking world. I got to talk to Guillermo Arriaga, and the producer of the animation film “Caroline”…
As an extracurricular activity I played violin in the Strings ensemble. It was fun and I got to play several duet pieces with another violinist.
We went together to the All-State Orchestra in San Antonio were selected students from the Private Schools around the States got to rehearse and play under the direction of Jeffrey Grogan, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra conductor. We also participated in the ISAS Art Festival of Private Schools in Houston. We qualified in the TPSMEA music completion and now we get to compete at the State level.
This year was not only great in academics, this experience has helped me to grow was a person, discover the American culture and learn to share with others my knowledge about my home country, Spanish traditions and European way of life. This cultural exchange opened my eyes to a more tolerant world.
The coexistence with the families was great. The first host family had a Mexican mom so it made the communication easier, the second host family was very musical and I’m having a great time with the third one. Now I have three dads and three moms. We have built a lifelong relationship.
I will always remember: my first football game; the first time I cooked the Spanish dish paella for my host families with my mom giving me instructions through the webcam; the visit to the Six Floor Museum dedicated to the death of President Kennedy; the day in which I saw for the first time an ice sculpture exhibition; all the funny moments thanks to my Spanish accent…..I take with me great American memories that I will never forget. This year made a difference in my life.
